Glossary

A quick reference to all the terms, phrases, and links you will encounter on our site. This is your one-stop guide to navigating with ease.

open-science-101

November 02, 2024

Published by America Munoz and Dhruvil Prajapati

Chicago, IL

Terms & Definitions

Altmetrics: Alternative metrics used to measure the impact and reach of research outputs beyond traditional citation counts. Altmetrics include social media mentions, downloads, and media coverage, reflecting a broader range of impact.
Citizen Science: The involvement of non-professional scientists in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data for scientific research. Citizen science engages the public in the scientific process and enhances open science through crowdsourcing and collaboration.
Collaborative Research: Research conducted by multiple researchers or teams working together, often across institutions or disciplines. Collaborative research is a key aspect of open science, facilitating the sharing of expertise and resources.
Community-Driven Research: Research initiatives led or heavily influenced by the needs and interests of a particular community or public group. This approach fosters collaboration between researchers and the public, enhancing the relevance and impact of research.
Creative Commons (CC): A nonprofit organization that provides free legal tools to enable the sharing and reuse of creative works. Creative Commons licenses are often used to publish open access research, allowing others to build upon or share the work under specific conditions.
Data Management Plan (DMP): A formal document outlining how research data will be collected, managed, and shared throughout the project lifecycle. DMPs ensure that data is organized, maintained, and preserved in alignment with open science principles.
Data Processing Tools: Data processing tools are software applications used to collect, transform, analyze, and visualize data. These tools help researchers and analysts handle large datasets, perform statistical analysis, and generate insights. Examples of popular data processing tools are Pandas, NumPy, MATLAB, etc.
Data Repository: A centralized database or archive where datasets are stored and managed. Repositories ensure data is preserved, accessible, and discoverable. Examples include Zenodo, Dryad, and the OpenICPSR.
Data Sharing: The practice of making data available to others, typically through a data repository or public platforms. Data sharing enhances collaboration, transparency, and the potential for new discoveries by allowing others to access and use research data.
Ethos of Open Science: The principles and guidelines that govern the responsible conduct of research, ensuring respect for human and animal subjects, data privacy, and the integrity of scientific work. Ethical considerations are central to open science practices.
FAIR: An acronym that stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. These principles guide data management to ensure that research outputs can be easily shared, discovered, and reused across different platforms and communities. Learn more here
GitHub: A web-based platform for version control using Git, enabling collaborative software development. It allows users to host, review, and manage code repositories, track changes, and collaborate across distributed teams.
Impact Factor: A metric used to measure the influence or importance of a scientific journal based on citation frequency of its articles. While impact factor is a common measure of journal quality, open science promotes alternative metrics and broader measures of impact.
Integrated Development Environment (IDE): An IDE is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. It typically includes a code editor, a debugger, a build automation tool, and other tools to facilitate coding and debugging. Examples of popular IDEs include Visual Studio Code, PyCharm, and RStudio.
Licensing: The legal framework that dictates how research outputs can be used, shared, and distributed. Open Science often involves using open licenses, such as Creative Commons (CC), to facilitate the reuse and dissemination of research.
Metadata: Data that provides information about other data, such as descriptions, formats, and source information. Metadata enhances the discoverability and usability of datasets by providing context and details about the data’s origin and structure.
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The United States government agency responsible for civilian space exploration, aeronautics research, and scientific discovery related to space. NASA leads missions to explore space, develop space technology, and enhance our understanding of Earth and the universe.
Open Access: A publishing model that makes research articles freely accessible to the public online, bypassing paywalls and subscription fees. Open access fosters the dissemination of knowledge and equal access to scientific findings.
Open Data: Data that is freely available for anyone to access, use, modify, and share without restrictions. Open data plays a crucial role in enhancing transparency and collaboration in scientific research.
Open Educational Resources (OER): Teaching and learning materials that are freely accessible and openly licensed. OER supports open science by providing educational content that can be freely used, adapted, and shared.
Open Innovation: A collaborative approach to innovation that involves sharing ideas, knowledge, and technologies across organizational and disciplinary boundaries. Open innovation accelerates research and development through collective problem-solving.
Open Methodologies: The practice of sharing detailed descriptions of research methods and procedures to allow others to replicate or build upon the research. Open methodology ensures that research processes are transparent and reproducible.
Open Notebook Science: A practice where researchers make their lab notebooks, including raw data, experimental details, and ongoing research notes, openly available. This approach promotes transparency and real-time collaboration.
Open Peer Review: A review process in which the identities of both the authors and reviewers are made public, and the reviews themselves may be shared. Open peer review promotes transparency and accountability in the scientific evaluation process.
Open Research: A broad term encompassing practices and principles aimed at increasing transparency, collaboration, and accessibility in research. Open research includes open data, open access, open methodologies, and open peer review.
Open Science: An approach to scientific research that promotes transparency, accessibility, and collaboration by sharing data, methods, and results openly with the broader community. The goal is to make research more efficient, reproducible, and impactful.
ORCID: ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is an essential tool for researchers and contributors in the Open Science community. It helps establish a unique digital identifier that distinguishes you from other researchers and ensures that your work is properly attributed.
Package Managers: Package managers are tools that automate the process of installing, updating, configuring, and managing software packages and dependencies. They simplify the management of libraries and tools needed for development and data analysis. Examples include pip, conda, npm, yarn, apt, etc.
Preprint: A version of a research paper that is shared publicly before it has been peer-reviewed. Preprints allow for faster dissemination of research and the opportunity for community feedback before formal publication.
Public Access: The principle of making research outputs available to the public without subscription or paywalls. Public access ensures that research findings are widely disseminated and accessible to a global audience.
Reproducibility: The ability to replicate or verify the results of a study using the same methods and data. Reproducibility is a key aspect of open science, ensuring that research findings are credible and reliable.
SCHOOL: The Science Core Heuristics for Open Science Outcomes in Learning (SCHOOL) is part of the NASA's Transform to Open Science (TOPS) Training initiative, designed to generate an inclusive culture of open science.
Scientific Workflow: The process and tools used to conduct and document scientific research, from data collection to analysis and publication. Open Science encourages transparent and reproducible workflows, often facilitated by digital tools and platforms.
TOPS: NASA's Transform to Open Science (TOPS) initiative which provides the visibility, advocacy, and community resources to support and enable the shift to open science.
Transparency: The principle of making all aspects of research methods, data, and findings openly available and understandable. Transparency fosters trust and reproducibility in scientific research.
Version Control System: A system that records changes to files over time, allowing teams to collaborate and track the history of changes in code or documents. Git is one of the most widely used version control systems in open science.