Towards a Sustainable and Responsible Future of Open Science

A special issue of Publications (ISSN 2304-6775).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 9251

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, department of medical humanities, The Netherlands

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Guest Editor
Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, department of medical humanities, The Netherlands

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Guest Editor
Graz University of Technology and Know-Center GmbH, 8010 Graz, Austria
Interests: Open Science; Open Access; FAIR data; science policy; research integrity; innovative research infrastructures; alternative peer review models; information ethics; philosophy of technology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Open Science practices are currently regarded as ‘good’ or ‘responsible’ research practices. Adopting Open Science practices like the sharing of data and code is expected to improve the validity and reliability of research, and reduce research waste. The social, legal, ethical and research integrity challenges of transitioning to Open Science are, however, being increasingly recognised. To name a few: by shifting the cost of publishing to research budgets, Open Access might increase the existing inequalities between research groups, institutions and world regions; FAIR data practices might lead to data being used inappropriately or even fake data being widely disseminated; time and budget needed per research project may increase with more labour intensive Open Science practices; and the increasing participation of citizens in all stages of the scientific process may lead to unclear responsibilities between citizens and professional researchers. Articles in this special issue of Publications will explore such challenges, describe pertinent cases, and offer recommendations for more sustainable and responsible Open Science practices.

This issue especially welcomes contributions that address the following:

  • New forms of malpractice or research misbehaviours
  • The relationships between Open Science, Research Integrity and Research Ethics: synergies and conflicts
  • Case studies on ir/responsible Open Science practices
  • Limits of preprints and open peer review
  • Assessment: Bias and gaming in (alternative) metrics
  • Data sharing and legal, ethical or social issues related to privacy, data protection, intellectual property
  • Open Science and dual use (fake news, weaponization of doubt, security issues)
  • Predatory publishing: legitimate threat, or red herring?
  • Ethics and integrity issues in Citizen Science
  • Gains, losses and challenges for industry collaboration
  • Sustainability: How resource intensive are Open Science modalities?

Dr. Joeri Tijdink
Dr. Natalie Evans
Dr. Tony Ross-Hellauer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Publications is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) is waived for well-prepared manuscripts submitted to this issue (and all Publications submissions in 2020). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Open Science
  • Research Integrity
  • Responsible Open Science
  • Responsible research practices

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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15 pages, 1021 KiB  
Article
Open Academic Book Publishing during COVID-19 Pandemic: A View on Romanian University Presses
by Mariana Cernicova-Buca and Katalin Luzan
Publications 2020, 8(4), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8040049 - 10 Nov 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3852
Abstract
In the context of the 2020 public health crisis that discourages exchanges of physical objects in society, university-led publishing needed to rethink its operations. Worldwide the opening of quality scholarly content proved to be a solution. University presses reacted rapidly and offered books [...] Read more.
In the context of the 2020 public health crisis that discourages exchanges of physical objects in society, university-led publishing needed to rethink its operations. Worldwide the opening of quality scholarly content proved to be a solution. University presses reacted rapidly and offered books according to the open access model. The present research aimed to map the editorial landscape of Romanian university presses, to identify the main features displayed online by the university presses parented by public universities and to highlight the readiness of these players to further open access academic books, especially in the time of the COVID-19 crisis. The quantitative approach investigated the availability of e-books in the university presses’ portfolios, including the alignment to the open access scholarship movement, the use of social media accounts to promote the presses and the response of the presses to the challenges of the health crisis. Out of the 46 active university presses, only six had open book titles in their portfolios and only one genuinely responded actively to the challenges posed by the need for electronic formats in 2020. Unless Romanian university presses modernize and restructure their modus operandi, they can prove irrelevant in the post-crisis period. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards a Sustainable and Responsible Future of Open Science)
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7 pages, 212 KiB  
Commentary
Responsible Open Science: Moving towards an Ethics of Environmental Sustainability
by Gabrielle Samuel and Federica Lucivero
Publications 2020, 8(4), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8040054 - 11 Dec 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4422
Abstract
The integration of open science as a key pillar of responsible research and innovation has led it to become a hallmark of responsible research. However, ethical, social and regulatory challenges still remain about the implementation of an internationally- and multi-sector-recognised open science framework. [...] Read more.
The integration of open science as a key pillar of responsible research and innovation has led it to become a hallmark of responsible research. However, ethical, social and regulatory challenges still remain about the implementation of an internationally- and multi-sector-recognised open science framework. In this Commentary, we discuss one important specific challenge that has received little ethical and sociological attention in the open science literature: the environmental impact of the digital infrastructure that enables open science. We start from the premise that a move towards an environmentally sustainable open science is a shared and valuable goal, and discuss two challenges that we foresee with relation to this. The first relates to questions about how to define what environmentally sustainable open science means and how to change current practices accordingly. The second relates to the infrastructure needed to enact environmentally sustainable open science ethical and social responsibilities through the open science ethics ecosystem. We argue that there are various ethical obstacles regarding how to responsibly balance any environmental impacts against the social value of open science, and how much one should be prioritised over the other. We call for all actors of the open science ethics ecosystem to engage in discussions about how to move towards open data and science initiatives that take into account the environmental impact of data and digital infrastructures. Furthermore, we call for ethics governance frameworks or policy-inscribed standards of practice to assist with this decision-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards a Sustainable and Responsible Future of Open Science)
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