A starter’s guide to Open Science

Overview

Welcome to the Erasmus University Rotterdam Open Science MOOC! This course aims to empower researchers and research support professionals with foundational knowledge to conduct, support, and disseminate research efficiently and responsibly. This MOOC consists of 8 modules that cover the most common open science practices. At the end of this MOOC, you will be able to define open science and its main values, identify the main open science movements and practices, and recognize open science practices that you can incorporate in your workflow.

Syllabus

Module 1 - Introduction to Open Science

In this module, we will talk about the history and foundational ideas of open science. We will then explore similarities between open science principles and ethical standards of research. Finally, we will highlight the benefits of open science for individual researchers, research disciplines, and society.

Module 2 - Open Access

In this module, we will talk about the definition and history of open access. We will learn the most common types of open access, and we will highlight the benefits of open access for individual researchers and society.

Module 3 - Open Data

In this module, we will talk about the definition of research data and what does open data means. We will then learn about the FAIR principles and finally we will talk about data repositories.

Module 4 - Open Materials

In this module, we will talk about the definition of research materials and what does open materials is. We will then learn about examples of materials and how can researchers share these materials.

Module 5 - Preregistration and Registered Reports

In this module, we will introduce preregistration and highlight its usefulness by using clinical trials as an example. We will also introduce a special article format called Registered Reports and show how it can help mitigate cognitive biases and issues associated with current incentives in academic publishing.

Module 6 - Open Educational Resources

In this module, we will introduce open educational resources, we will present a few examples and discuss the benefits and challenges of creating and using Open Educational Resources.

Module 7 - Open Engaged Research

In this module, we will explore the connection between engaged and open research, we will present ways and examples of this connection and discuss the process and challenges of Open Engaged Research.

Module 8 - Open Evaluation

In this module, we will explore some new trends in the evaluation of research performance. We will briefly describe the current evaluation practices to highlight why open science offers a new perspective on research evaluation on three different levels: individual, institutional, and international.