Cultivating an Open Research Culture in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Lead investigator: Dr Lai Ma, Assistant Professor at University College Dublin Lai.Ma@ucd.ie
Lead administrative institution: University College Dublin
Funding call: 2023 Open Research Fund. Strand II: Open Research Stimulus
National Action Plan theme: Theme 1: Establish a culture of open research
Overview of the project: Open research is often associated with the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines. Sometimes it is referred to as ‘open science’—a term that encompasses practices related to open data, open code, open methodology, open peer review, and open access. Open research practices are significant for dissemination, replicability, reproducibility, and transparency in STEM research. But why is open research important for the humanities and social sciences? How can we encourage early career researchers to engage in open research practices? What are the perceived challenges faced by researchers and scholars?
The overall objective of the project is to foster a culture of open research in the humanities and social sciences (HSS) by:
- building an open research network of researchers and practitioners (HSS)
- providing training in open research practices
- understanding the tensions between open research and research assessments
- exploring the rewards and recognition systems in supporting open research, including funding programmes and awards
Additional project-related information: The 4th Research Evaluation in the Social Sciences and Humanities Conference (RESSH) will be held in Galway on May 23-24, 2024. The theme of the conference is “Open Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences: Evaluation, Infrastructure and Practices” with the goal of stimulating discussions about the tension between open research and research evaluation criteria, the best practices of promoting open research culture, and the societal impacts of open research. Conference website: https://ressh2024.wordpress.com.
