The connection of open science practices and the methodological approach of researchers

Isabel Steinhardt (), Mareike Bauer (), Hannes Wünsche () and Sonja Schimmler ()
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Isabel Steinhardt: University of Paderborn
Mareike Bauer: Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS)
Hannes Wünsche: Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS)
Sonja Schimmler: Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS)

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2023, vol. 57, issue 4, No 32, 3636 pages

Abstract: Abstract The Open Science movement is gaining tremendous popularity and tries to initiate changes in science, for example the sharing and reuse of data. The new requirements that come with Open Science poses researchers with several challenges. While most of these challenges have already been addressed in several studies, little attention has been paid so far to the underlying Open Science practices (OSP). An exploratory study was conducted focusing on the OSP relating to sharing and using data. 13 researchers from the Weizenbaum Institute were interviewed. The Weizenbaum Institute is an interdisciplinary research institute in Germany that was founded in 2017. To reconstruct OSP a grounded theory methodology (Strauss in Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987) was used and classified OSP into open production, open distribution and open consumption (Smith in Openness as social praxis. First Monday, 2017). The research shows that apart from the disciplinary background and research environment, the methodological approach and the type of research data play a major role in the context of OSP. The interviewees’ self-attributions related to the types of data they work with: qualitative, quantitative, social media and source code. With regard to the methodological approach and type of data, it was uncovered that uncertainties and missing knowledge, data protection, competitive disadvantages, vulnerability and costs are the main reasons for the lack of openness. The analyses further revealed that knowledge and established data infrastructures as well as competitive advantages act as drivers for openness. Because of the link between research data and OSP, the authors of this paper argue that in order to promote OSP, the methodological approach and the type of research data must also be considered.

Keywords: Open science; Open science practice; Research data; Research data infrastructure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-022-01524-4

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