FORCE2023: Presentations 2
This session was part of FORCE2023. Learn more: https://force11.org/fsci/2023/
Moderator: Daniel Katz, University of Illinois, NCSA, CS, iSchool, ECE
A Systematized Review of Open Access Mandate Research
Elena Azadbakht, Teresa Schultz, Tara Radniecki (speaker), Amy Shannon, University of Nevada, Reno
Various entities, including public and private funders, universities, and academic journals, have enacted increasingly stronger open access (OA) mandates or data sharing policies, including Plan S and the recently announced Nelson Memo, to push researchers to share their work. It remains unclear, however, if these OA mandates and policies actually increase the rate of OA publishing. A team of librarians conducted a systematized review of the literature to answer this question. A comprehensive search of several scholarly databases and grey literature sources resulted in 4,689 unique citations. However, only five articles met the inclusion criteria and were deemed as having an acceptable risk of bias. This sample showed that while the majority of the mandates described in the literature were correlated with a subsequent increase in OA publishing or data sharing, the presence of various confounders and the differing methods of collecting and analyzing the data used by the studies’ authors made establishing a causative relationship difficult. Without better data, whether from small local case studies to bigger studies including multiple organizations, it will remain hard to say whether OA mandates are actually effective. We will lack important data needed to help inform broader policy. This presentation will discuss the issues found with research into OA mandates and strategies for improving the research.
Bringing Transparency and Openness to Sharing Grant Proposals
Hao Ye, University of Florida (speaker), Perry Collins, University of Florida; Hannah Toombs, Cornell University; Natalia Uribe-Castañeda, University of Florida
Transparency and openness have greatly transformed many facets of research, such as publications (open access and preprints), methods (pre-registration and protocols), and materials (data sharing, open source software, research resource identifiers). However, grant and fellowship proposals remain largely opaque, with sharing occurring mainly in informal networks that may reinforce inequities in access to training materials, and ultimately, research funding. With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, "Planning for Open Grants" (https://www.ogrants.org/about) brings together multi-institutional participants and perspectives, including funders, librarians, research administrators, and students to explore the social and technological challenges in sharing grant proposals. This presentation will synthesize preliminary findings over the first year of the project on the opportunities and obstacles to openness, achieved through literature review, face-to-face and virtual meetings, in-depth interviews, and draft implementation plans. We conclude with a call for further exploration of this important facet of the research enterprise; and highlight ways that attendees may participate in this effort as the planning project draws to a close in 2023.