Open Science Days 2021

The Max Planck Digital Library (MPDL) cordially invites you to participate in the Open Science Days 2021.

19.10.2021, 13.15-16.45 Uhr

20.10.2021, 9.30-14 Uhr

The conference will take place as a virtual zoom meeting and is going to extend over two half days (October 19/20).
After the last minute cancellation of the OSD 2020 due to Corona, we would like to dedicate now in a virtual way to the topic of back then: we will broaden our view on the world of research and to examine the relationship between Open Science and Good Scientific Practice.

What does that mean?
When looking at the different areas of Open Science in the past years, we were often confronted with the question on where and how the growing significance of Open Science does affect reality of a daily research routine within the various disciplines. Or: how it should be affected?

This is the key question we would like to shed light on during the conference.

A number of challenges for academic everyday life are reflected by the principles of Good Scientific Practice.

Major changes within the complex system of research routine and publication workflows are caused not least by elements of Open Science turning into reality.

This applies in particular to the fields of Open Access, Open Research Data and Open Research Software, which have been at the center of attention for quite some time now.

The “official” side
It may be seen as a sign for the changed conditions within research, that the German Research  Foundation (DFG) has decided to significantly revise it’s Proposals for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice and to establish a “code” including new guidelines.

Overall, a series of concrete policies and requirements implemented by politics, funding organizations or publishers have had a huge impact on the mentioned development in recent years.

What motivates researchers?
But what are researcher’s very own needs, visions and ideas regarding the development of their future working conditions?

The motivation of those engaged in Open Science activities often is aimed at the idea, that one’s research (outcome) should be re-usable und may benefit the efforts of fellow researchers.

But, of course, the question of personal benefit as established part of the scientific reward systems will be a crucial one for the acceptance and durable establishment of Open Science principles. This may for example apply to an improvement of one’s reputation through data or software citations – resulting in better chances regarding appointments or funding.

Further topics of interest
In other cases, the motivation can also be connected to terms like “integrity”, “transparency”, “credibility” or even “justification”.

In the light of these considerations, reproducibility and replicability have become quite essential aspects of research and publication workflows within many disciplines. The practice of pre-registration is one example for a very concrete action in this field.

Preprints have a rather diverse role and importance within the research workflows throughout the range of disciplines. In the course of the Open Science development, they might acquire new significance within the research lifecycle – for example in connection with pre-registration workflows.

Replication studies can also be an interesting topic. They provide a notable contribution to scientific research in several disciplines, but are often regarded as carrying less “weight” than original studies. The sharing of data, methods, tools and not least the approach to the research procedure itself are a crucial precondition for the conduct of such studies.

Views on the future
Besides the question on how today’s reality has already been changed by Open Science transformations, it would also be interesting to discuss, what is still missing and what would be needed to ensure a positive development for the future.

The conference language will be English.
Participants will have the opportunity to present their own ideas, experiences, initiatives or activities and to discuss current topics related to Open Science in Good Scientific Practice.

Here is the program.

Quelle: https://osd.mpdl.mpg.de/