Webinar – Open Science Explained: Why it Matters and How to Get Started

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HrZZhWl7RN6SHKpm8l5hRg

This Webinar, presented by Dr. Cerys Willoughby, provides an introduction to Open Science. The session will explore the core principles of Open Science, highlighting the role of infrastructures like PSDI in driving progress.

Abstract

​Just this month, yet another significant study highlighted a major challenge in scientific research—the inability to replicate or validate a significant portion of published findings. Since science builds upon previous discoveries, this issue has serious implications for the whole of science, with fields ranging from medicine to environmental science reliant on trustworthy data to make critical decisions. New researchers often struggle due to incomplete methods and inaccessible research data, making it difficult to reproduce experiments or advance knowledge. Many scientific findings remain locked behind paywalls, with crucial details buried in supplementary files or restricted due to intellectual property concerns. While AI holds great promise for accelerating scientific progress, much of the research landscape remains inaccessible or formatted in ways that machines cannot process effectively. Open science offers a solution by promoting transparency, accessibility, and collaboration. By making research freely available, ensuring methods are detailed enough for replication, and structuring data in machine-readable formats, we can address this reproducibility crisis in science just when we need it the most. 

This Webinar provides an introduction to Open Science, a game-changer for researchers and society at large – if only we can persuade the science community to engage. However, its success depends on engaging the scientific community. The session will explore the core principles of Open Science, highlighting the role of infrastructures like PSDI in driving progress. We’ll explore how Open Science promotes accessibility, ensuring that research is available not just to scientists but to everyone, fostering transparency, collaboration, and meaningful discussions on critical issues. The webinar will showcase successful examples of Open Science in action and examine its impact. Additionally, we’ll discuss practical steps for making science more open, including the significance of FAIR principles. Finally, we’ll identify key stakeholders and explore ways to cultivate a collaborative research culture. 

Dr. Cerys Willoughby is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton. Cerys has been collaborating with the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Southampton for nearly 20 years after working as a usability expert for IBM. She has had involvement in various projects focusing on how technology can be used to support researchers in the physical sciences. Her research interests include record-keeping and process recording in science, digital notebooks and ELNs, data management and curation, metadata capture, researcher behaviour, and storytelling in science. 

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