Making Open Science Work for Science and Society

The open science movement is transforming scientific practice with the goal of enhancing the transparency, productivity, and reproducibility of research. Nevertheless, transparency is a complex concept, and efforts to promote some forms of transparency may do relatively little to advance other impor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Environmental health perspectives 2019-07, Vol.127 (7), p.75002
Main Authors:	Elliott, Kevin C, Resnik, David B
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Analysis Book publishing Data Collection - methods Decision Making Disclosure of information Environmental health Ethical aspects Ethics Government agencies Grass roots movement Humans Low income groups Objectives Open access Philosophy Reproducibility Research Design - standards Research ethics Science Scientists Securities regulations Social aspects Society Sociology Studies Transparency
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	The open science movement is transforming scientific practice with the goal of enhancing the transparency, productivity, and reproducibility of research. Nevertheless, transparency is a complex concept, and efforts to promote some forms of transparency may do relatively little to advance other important forms of transparency. Drawing from the literature in history, philosophy, and sociology of science, we aim to distinguish between different forms of scientific transparency. Our goal is to identify strategies for achieving forms of transparency that are relevant not only to scientists but also to decision makers and members of the public. We draw a distinction between "scientifically relevant transparency" and "socially relevant transparency." Most of the prominent strategies associated with the open science movement (e.g., making data publicly available and registering studies) are designed primarily to promote scientifically relevant transparency. To achieve socially relevant transparency, which is particularly important in fields like environmental health, further steps are needed to provide scientific information in ways that are relevant to decision makers and members of the public. Promoting socially relevant transparency will require a range of activities by many different individuals and institutions. We propose an array of strategies that can be pursued by scientists and other scholars, journals, universities, funders, government agencies, and members of the public. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4808.
ISSN:	0091-6765 1552-9924