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WHAT IS OPEN SCIENCE?
“An inclusive construct that combines diverse movements and practices in order to make scientific knowledge openly available and accessible to all, as well as reusable by all, increasing scientific collaborations and the exchange of information for the benefit of science and society , and the processes of creation, evaluation and communication of scientific knowledge are opened to social agents beyond the traditional scientific community.” (UNESCO, 2021)
Main statements:
- HORIZONTE EUROPA Programa. Horizon Europe is the research and innovation (R&I) framework program of the European Union (EU) for the period 2021 -2027. It involves open science and citizen science. It is committed to guaranteeing open access to research data following the principle “as open as possible and as closed as necessary.” You can access the Participant Guide. prepared by the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI), included in the Spanish Portal of the European Research Framework Programme.
- ALLEA Declaration on Open Science, 2012.
- The Hague Declaration on Knowledge Discovery in the Digital Age (Declaración de La Haya), 2015.
- The Vienna Declaration on the European Open Science Cloud (Declaración de Viena), 2018
- Panamá Statement, 2018
Spanish statements:
- Ley 17/2022, de 5 de septiembre de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación Article 37 about Open science. Researchers in the public sector or whose research activity is financed mostly with public funds and choose to disseminate their research results in scientific publications, must deposit a copy of the final version accepted and the data associated of the publication in institutional or thematic open access repositories, simultaneously with the publication date.
- Ley Orgánica 2/2023, de 22 de marzo, del Sistema Universitario. Article 12 about promotion of Open Science and Citizen Science. The PDI must share a copy of the final version accepted for publication as well as the associated data in an open access institutional or thematic repository, simultaneously with the publication date. Data must follow the FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable).
- Estrategia Nacional de Ciencia Abierta (ENCA) 2023_2027. Four important points: 1) Digital infrastructures for open science; 2) Research data management following FAIR principles; 3) Open access to scientific publications; 4) Incentives, recognition and training.
Open science (OS) has the potential of making the scientific process more transparent, inclusive and democratic.
- It increases scientific collaborations and sharing of information for the benefits of science and society;
- It makes multilingual scientific knowledge openly available, accessible and reusable for everyone; and
- It opens the processes of scientific knowledge creation, evaluation and communication to societal actors beyond the traditional scientific community.
Our interconnected world needs open science to help solve complex social, environmental, and economic challenges and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
By promoting science that is more accessible, inclusive and transparent, open science furthers the right of everyone to share in scientific advancement and its benefits as stated in Article 27.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- It’s based on the publication of any kind of research
- It’s a collaborative science
- Everyone has access to the research
- It’s an interdisciplinary science
- It’s a citizen science
- Credit science based in researcher’s impact
- New metrics
Science and technology are transformative forces that have granted humans the capacity to alter ecosystems, the Earth’s climate, and even the building blocks of matter and life itself. R&I have improved our world and our lives in many ways, and will most likely continue to do so.
However, parallel to the large positive impact on human welfare and wellbeing, science and technology sometimes create new risks and ethical dilemmas, fail in solving the problems they are meant to, and spur controversy.
Over the last decades many efforts have tried to reduce the distance between science and society, leading to a European-wide approach in Horizon 2020 called Responsible Research and Innovation. RRI seeks to bring issues related to research and innovation into the open, to anticipate their consequences, and to involve society in discussing how science and technology can help create the kind of world and society we want for generations to come. Discover more information here.
RRI is:
- Involving society in science and innovation ‘very upstream’ in the processes of R&I to align its outcomes with the values of society.
- A wide umbrella connecting different aspects of the relationship between R&I and society: public engagement, open access, gender equality, science education, ethics, and governance.
- A cross-cutting issue in Horizon 2020, the EU Programme for Research and Innovation 2014-2020.
Citizen science involves the active participation of the public in scientific research, often in partnership with professional scientists. It enables non-experts to contribute to data collection, analysis, and problem-solving on issues affecting their communities and the environment. Policies supporting citizen science encourage inclusivity, open data, and collaboration, promoting scientific literacy and community involvement.
European Citizen Science Association
OPEN ACCESS TO PUBLICATIONS
Open Access (OA) provides free online access to all available scientific information (articles, monographs, research data…) under a license so that it can be used and exploited by everyone. Open Access mainly covers two types of scientific information: publications resulting from research (journal articles, conference papers, reports, theses and academic papers, etc.) and research data.
Following UNESCO OA policy (2013): any type of digital content can be published in open access: from texts and databases to software and audio, video, and multimedia media.
Law / Statements
Why OA is important?
What are its benefits?
How can IEU Library help you?
Law / Statements
Main statements about OA:
- Budapest Statement (Budapest Open Access Initiative, BOAI), February 2002.
- Bethesda Statement, April, 2003
- Berlin Statement, October, 2003.
- Alhambra Statement, May 2010
Plan S:
Plan S main objective is that scientific publications resulting from research funded with public (or private) money are published in open access journals or platforms that meet the established requirements.
Spanish Statements:
- Real Decreto 99/2011, de 28 de enero, por el que se regulan las enseñanzas oficiales de doctorado. Article 14.5 establishes that it is mandatory for universities to archive doctoral theses in their repositories.
- Ley 14/2011, de 1 de junio, de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación. Article 37 (Open Access Dissemination) it’s mandatory to publish research results that were financed with public funds in repositories, establishing a maximum period of 12 months for this purpose.
Others:
- HORIZONTE 2020 Program European Union program to promote research, and open access research funded from the public budgets of the EU or member countries, establishing deadlines for the deposit of publications and research data in repositories.
Why OA is important?
- Due to the increase of subscription costs and the Publisher’s impositions for the acquisition of package contracts.
- The restrictions imposed on the access and distribution of scientific literature. It’s a faster way to exchange information.
What are its benefits?
- The content can be accessed freely and universally without any cost.
- The author or Copyright holder grants all potential users, for an unlimited period and irrevocably, with the sole condition that due credit is given to the author.
- Promotes the collaboration between authors.
- Increases the scientific activity visibility.
- Contributes to the promotion of I+D.
- Promotes SDGs Goals such as: #4 Quality Education; #10 Reduced inequalities, etc.
How can IEU Library help you?
- Advising of which type of Open Access Route fits better with your publication
- Providing information about how to request an APC
- Providing information about the Creative Commons License
- Access to Open Access databases
IEU University recommends our affiliated researchers to self-archive their scientific articles after they have been published in our institutional Repository. Also, Doctoral dissertations should be published openly with a selected Creative Common License.
If your research has been funded, it’s mandatory to mention the Grant and to add a “Funder Acknowledgment text in your article.
ROUTES OF OPEN ACCESS PUBLICATIONS
- Diamond OA: you publish in an Open Access Journal without any cost to authors and readers.
- Gold OA: you must pay for publishing in Open Access in an Open Access or Subscription Journal.
- Green OA: it consists in deposit your publication in an Open Access Repository (considering the embargo period, correct version and license)
- Bronce OA: the Open Access version it’s only in the editor’s site without reusing license.
VERSIONS OF SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE
Creative Commons develops, supports, and administers legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation. Licensing a work is as simple as selecting which of the six licenses best meets your goals. It then marks your work so that others know that you have chosen to release the work under the terms of that license.
These types of licenses purpose is to separate the dissemination and use of a work from the restrictions and limitations imposed by traditional commercial licenses. However, each author can choose the type of Creative Commons license to assign to their work. These licenses range from the most open, which only require recognition of authorship and allow any modification and subsequent commercial use of the original work, to the most restrictive, which prohibit the creation of derivative works (such as translations) and commercial use.
ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE (APC)
The Transformative Agreements is a partnership between the publishers and institutions (libraries or other kind of consortia) where among the subscription, the option of publish in Open Access in their journals without extra cost. In 2021, CRUE-CSIC has arranged their first agreement with the aim of advancing the socialization of knowledge through increasing free access to it. This changes the traditional model academic subscription into a sustainable and open system.
In the IEU Library, our researchers have the opportunity to publish a limited number of articles from a specific list without assuming the cost of the publication Article Processing Charge (APC), we manage the requests in collaboration with the Research Department. If you need support with this, contact us at openaccess@ie.edu.
The IEU Library has Transformative Agreements with:
Additional information: IEU researchers interested in publishing with SAGE are eligible for a 15% discount. Upon receiving the request, the Research Department will review and approve the submission.
HOW TO REQUEST AN APC
IEU Library collaborates with Research Department to manage and approve the APCs. Each year, the IEU Library has a limited number of credits available for each Agreement. An APC is used for each publication. Once you have submitted your article, we will manage the process. Check out these guides to see how to submit your Article:
Upon submission of your request, the IEU Library will receive a notification. The Research Office will assess the request to determine whether to approve or deny the Article Processing Charge (APC). This decision will be based if the article meets the required criteria and the availability of APCs. After the approval or rejection, the journal notifies the result to the researcher. If the submission is rejected, the researcher will need to cover the APC, which is usually funded by their research group.
You must deposit a copy of the publication in the IE Repository.
OPEN DATA vs FAIR DATA & RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT
OPEN DATA
Open Data refers to data that is made publicly accessible and reusable without restrictions, allowing for transparency, collaboration, and innovation across various fields. The principle of Open Data promotes the idea that information should be freely available to anyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents, or other control mechanisms. According to the Open Knowledge Foundation, Open Data is “data that can be freely used, modified, and shared by anyone for any purpose” (Open Knowledge Foundation, 2015). The European Data Portal also highlights how Open Data can drive economic growth and improve public services by enabling businesses, researchers, and citizens to build upon shared information resources (European Data Portal, 2020).
FAIR DATA
As we try to be as open access as possible, a series of good practices for scientific data research were needed. This is because data is starting to be considered as the main production of scientific research, as its reproduction is necessary to guarantee its reproducibility.
In March 2016 was published The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship, which offers a set of precise and measurable qualities that a data publication should follow so that the data is:
- Findable: the data and metadata can be found by everyone after its publication, through searching tools.
- Accesible: the data and metadata are accessible and can be downloaded by other researchers using their identifiers.
- Interoperable: the data and metadata must be definied following the community rules, using open standards to let its exchange and reuse.
- Reusable: the data and metadata can be reused by other researchers, knowing its origin and reusable conditions.
Check out this FAIR tool to see how FAIR your research is.
RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT PLAN
A Research Data Management Plan (DMP) is a formal document that outlines how researchers will handle the data they collect, use, and store throughout a research project. DMPs are integral to responsible research practices as they promote data security, ethical handling, and long-term accessibility. In addition to ensuring compliance with funding agencies that may require data-sharing protocols, a well-constructed DMP can streamline data processing, aid in collaboration, and increase the research’s impact by making data reusable. An effective data management can improve the efficiency and replicability of research, thus playing a critical role in Open Science and collaborative efforts.
Some tips to create a DMP:
- Define the types of data: Specify what data will be collected and how it will be organized and stored
- Include metadata: Describe the data content and context to enhance discoverability and understanding for future users.
- Establish protocols for data sharing and preservation:
- Choose suitable repositories.
- Define licenses and formats that facilitate data access and reuse.
- Implement security measures: Protect sensitive information through encryption and access controls
- Review the DMP periodically: Ensure the plan remains aligned with project goals and external guidelines over time.