Advantages and challenges to open science practices

Abstract

The article examines open science practices in relation with the Open Science framework. The core values of open science, emerged as a response to the long-standing challenges to scientific knowledge production, include: transparency, scrutiny, critique and reproducibility; equality of opportunities; responsibility, respect and accountability; collaboration, participation and inclusion; flexibility; sustainability. These are the guiding principles for open science practices. The spread of open science practices is uneven, in terms of regional, disciplinary, gender, and institutional differences. The overview of international studies shows that open science practices are beginning to affect the whole research cycle, from idea emergence throughout the dissemination and exploitation of research results. We analyzed four most widespread practices – open data, open peer review, preregistration and registered reports, and open access. Our findings suggest that all these practices, while solving particular problems, simultaneously create new ones. To overcome new challenges, shift in the principles themselves, scheme of funding and workload sharing, evaluation and reward processes are necessary. The most challenging is the need to change research culture in accordance with Open Science values. In Russia, open access is a commonly spread practice, whereas the rest three practices yet to be discussed.