Open Research - What it is and why is it important?

Open Research is a fresh approach to the research process that embodies the idea of openness and collaboration. It's the idea that new knowledge and the processes that generate it should be made universally and openly accessible. The Open Research approach also acknowledges the many different ways in which people contribute to the research process.

Digital technologies in particular have made it possible to measure more aspects of research impact, enable collaboration, and to increase dissemination. The gap between what digital technologies make possible and what is practiced in research has grown very wide. The open research movement seeks to close that gap.  Research has traditionally been assessed mainly using metrics derived from journal citation counts, which remain important, but on their own are quite one-dimensional.

Open research, and open access, is seen as being beneficial to the economy and to society as it fosters innovation, enhances reproducibility, and makes the research process more efficient.  As such, it is backed by policy and large amounts of funding across the EU, and globally. It is also supported nationally by the National Open Research Forum, and all the major national funders.

This presentation will outline the European, national, and institutional policy developments that now support Open Research, and what obligations are incumbent on researchers, including on open access to research publications and research data.    

Location: Library Training Room, Cork Road Campus, Waterford. Spaces are limited. Register using the form below before Tues 4 October at 5pm to secure your place. 

Topics covered include:

• Definitions of Open Research
• The Reproducibility Crisis
• E-Infrastructures
• The role of the publishing industry
• Citation based metrics and alternative metrics

For more information please contact: [email protected]