23nd Open Science Meet-up: Intended and unintended consequences of Open Science

Monday 20 Jun 2022, 13:00 → 16:30 Europe/Berlin

Alfred-Hessel-Saal (SUB Göttingen, Historical Building)

Astrid Orth (SUB Göttingen), Birgit Schmidt (SUB Göttingen), Daniel Beucke (SUB Göttingen), Julika Mimkes (SUB Göttingen)

Open Science offers a range of practices in research workflows including the communication and sharing of research outcomes. Expectations on what Open Science may bring about include: a higher degree of inclusivity and diversity, improved transparency (e.g. of peer review), reproducibility or replication of research findings, improved quality and overall trust in research, and an accelaration of knowledge production and transfer, etc.

However, unintended effects can also emerge - due to old and new incentives and motivations - at the individual level as well as more broadly. Some of these can result from expectations of institutions, research funders and other stakeholders towards research and researchers (e.g. to demonstrate impact). We have also touched on such issues in former sessions (e.g. cost barriers, journal quality and misconduct).

In this session we look forward to discuss with you: Who benefits from Open Science in which ways, and is this what was intended? How can progress or adverse effects be measured and described? What steps could be taken to mitigate certain undesirable effects?

presentations

1 Welcome & Round of introductions

2 Short presentations

Short takes on expectations and effects related to Open Science, some intended, others less so

• Effects of cumulative advantage and threats to equity in Open Science - Nicki Lisa Cole, Know-Center & TU Graz
• Effects of Open Access - a literature study based on empirical works - David Hopf et al., TIB Hannover
• Challenges for journals: Reverse flips from OA to subscription & vanishing OA journals - Najko Jahn, SUB Göttingen

14:30 Coffee & tea break

3 Show & Tell

Examples of intended consequences

Examples of unintended consequences

• financial issues, e.g. cost barriers for publishing from the author perspective
• journal landscape: financial, sustainability issues, market concentration similar to subscription journal market (e.g. partly due to large agreements with publishers / DEAL)
• journal editor perspective: barriers and how to handle them when setting up or switching an OA journal

Examples of (un)intended consequences

• growth of publishing in journals with agreements (“easy route”) (additional question: do authors care about the type of agreement? e.g. transformative or not)

4 Breakout discussion

https://pad.gwdg.de/OpenScienceGOE20220620

5 Summary, updates & what’s next