Your next step in open science need not be a whole hike
... together our steps make the journey!
Knowing what steps to take next in your Open Science journey can be tricky. That’s why, during the Open Science Week at Leiden University, we visited five faculties to raise awareness of what steps there are, and understand the specific support researchers and students need. We found that while many are eager to engage with Open Science, they often aren’t sure where to start or who to turn to for help. If you are curious of what steps to take, how we promoted these during the Open Science Week 2024, and what we learned during that week: keep reading!
Some of you might be new to Open Science. Some of you are well on your way on your open science journey. Regardless of what stage you are at, you now might be asking yourself : what is the next step? How do I proceed? In a world with endless information, it can be hard to prioritize and figure out what the most important next step is, how to go about it and who to ask if you were to get stuck.
This is something we as a community recognize. The Open Science Community Leiden (OSCL), together with Academia in Motion (AiM) and the University Library, has therefore, put a focus on the Next Step in Open Science. Toghether, we aim to give you easier access to the large support network that exists. In addition, we try to get a better understanding of what the community needs in terms of Open Science support.
What is the next step?
The next step can depend on where you are in your academic journey. Some of you are just starting and might want to become members of the community. Others need guidance on open publishing. What field you are in, or more exactly what faculty you affiliate with, also matters. For instance, researchers at the faculty of Science might deal with quantitative data, where as someone at the faculty of Humanities might obt for interviews and find themselves with qualitative data. Different data calls for different processes.
Seeing that the next step heavily depends on where you are at both in terms of field and open science journey, we provide faculty specific contacts for several steps. This way you know exactly who can provide you with information that applies directly to your research. For more information on specific steps to take, check out the OSCL website.
National Open Science Week 2024 – what we did
To spread awareness of the next steps, we kicked of the start of the academic year by arranging the Open Science Week at Leiden University. This, as a part of the National Open Science Week 2024 – initiated by OSC-NL. During this week support staff – faculty spesific data stewards, OSCL community reprasntatives and our collegues from the Centre of Digital Scholarship – visited several of the big faculties. The aim was to let people know that there does exist a support system and that the next step in their open science journey is right around the corner.
In total we visited five faculties. Humanities, Science, Archeology, FGGA and FSW. One faculty each day of the week. At each faculty we had a booth, where a group representing the local support network was present – ready to answer your questions. We handed out flyers and talked with both students and staff about open science, what practices people already use and what people are curious to know about. We also visited common rooms and did some rounds at each faculty to state our presence. The goal was to reach out to both our current community members who are familiar with open science practices, but also those new to the topic.
National Open Science Week 2024 – what we learned
Most people gladly took a flyer, but seemed too busy to stop and have a chat. Those who did stop can roughly be categorized as either Seasoned Researchers or Curious Students. The Seasoned Researchers were familiar with open science and had specific questions. The topic of open publishing and how to find a good journal was quite frequent in this category. The Curious Student wanted more general information – asking what open science is as a whole and why there is a focus on it. Big thanks to our team, both the Seasoned Researchers and the Curious Students left us with questions answered.
We as a community recognize that progressing in one’s open science journey might seem like a whole hike. We therefore try our best to be the support network our members need. The Open Science Week allowed us to convey the importance of open science in advancing research, as well as putting an emphasis on the practical guidance we can offer regarding the next step. We also gained valuable insight into who is already engaging with open science practices, who haven’t started yet but are interested, and what kind of support they’re seeking.
It is clear that what is needed is both encouragement from our colleagues (we've got you, learn how to become a member of OSCL here!) and a concrete place to ask for help. with one’s open science journey. As the steps and support differ, see the webpage with next steps and always feel free to post a question in the OSCL teams Q&A. After all, together our steps make the journey!