Similar to open source, open science is the movement to make scientific research and data accessible to all. This includes amateurs and professionals. This interesting information came to us from Phys.org in their article, “The value of the open science movement.”
One of the first steps includes open access: ensuring all scientific publications are accessible free of charge. According to a European study published in 2014, more than half of all the articles published since 2007 are open access. With the cost of publishing articles increasing constantly, this continues to be a problem to those who believe in open access.
The landscape has changed as well, with some websites making millions of articles freely available, and not always legally. Science publishing will have to respond to this situation.
Another aspect of open science is open research data, and this will require a change in the attitudes of scientists with regard to their raw data. This protective feeling of ownership is not always respected. Many believe that, when science is publicly funded, all results of the research should be publicly available.
There is something to be said for collaboration and a place where researchers resolve their problems in concert with each other.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Access Innovations, the world leader in thesaurus, ontology, and taxonomy creation and metadata application.
