Welcome to this Special Issue of EuroScientist on: Open Science!
Open Science: never have terms been interpreted in so many different ways by so many different people. The diversity of perspectives on this matter reflects the evolving nature of what research has become.
These reflections led to the idea of this EuroScientist special issue together with early stage discussions with Stephane Berghmans, EuroScience governing board member and Elsevier vice-president of academic and research relations in the EU. They were further compounded by exchanges with experts such as Max Haring, executive editor at mega-journal SpringerPlus and Timo Hannay, managing director of Digital Science, which invests in innovative tech solutions for publishing and grew out of the Nature Publishing Group. An international perspective came from Brazil, with the view of Abel Packer, CEO of open access publisher SciELO.
In this special issue, we wanted to give you food for thought before the summer break, as to what it means to be a scientist in 2015 and beyond. You will hear about transparency, accountability, crediting researchers for their work, as well as about the influence of technology in this paradigm shift.
We have invited experts representing the fields of publishing, technology, EC institutions and academia to share their wisdom of how changes in the way we do science are going to affect the present and the future of thousands of scientists.
So be prepared for this trip to the future, which has yet to unfold in your day-to-day life as a researcher, policy makers or science enthusiast.
It is no longer a matter of whether science will be fully open, but rather of when. This may take longer than anticipated. But one thing is sure, one day, the term open science will become redundant as all science will be that way. And we all have a part to play in ensuring that this will happen.
Find out how by reading this special issue of EuroScientist and sharing it as widely as possible in your circles.
Download a free PDF version of the article and spread it!Editorial
Thoughtful debate is losing ground over appearance
By Sabine Louët, EuroScientist Editor.
Open Science in question
The day when science is truly open
By Vanessa Schipani, science journalist, The Netherlands.
Skype interview: The new open science paradigm requires fine tuning
By Jean Claude Burgelman, European Commission, Belgium.
A new kind of science: research in the age of big data
By Timo Hannay, managing director at Digital Science, UK.
Evolving publishers
Skype interview: Further opening science with a cultural shift
By Jan Velterop, Scholarly publishing expert, The Netherlands .
Open Science helps researchers get the impact they deserve
By Max Haring, SpringerPlus, Germany.
Raising the bar for national language open access journals
By Abel Packer, SciELO, Brazil.
Emerging trends
Does Science 2.0 foster greater academic freedom?
By Constanze Böttcher, science journalist, Germany.
The brave new worlds of crowdfunding science
By Arran Frood, science journalist, UK.
Do you believe that scientists have a greater role to play in ensuring that science is open?
Can publishers help science become more open?
Should there be more incentives at institutional level to ensure that science becomes more open?
Your thoughts and opinions are valuable, feel free to use our simple comment section below.
Featured image credit: Alex Gorka via Shutterstock
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