Nici PfeifferCultural change within research often hinges on the actions of dedicated individuals — idealists who champion new practices and drive adoption. Idealists can demonstrate the feasibility and value of open science. They can also form communities to demonstrate the effectiveness of collective action.
How do we translate idealism into action and aspirations into realities? Idealists need the support of infrastructure and organizations to enable their actions, along with the visibility to influence others. Tools like the Open Science Framework (OSF) can aid early adopters and bridge the gap between idealism and tangible advancements in open science.
OSF empowers researchers to practice open scholarship across the research lifecycle with tools for data management, pre-registration, and collaboration. The platform is flexible, allowing users to adapt the tools to their needs. OSF and similar tools can ease entry barriers for open practices, which is critical for widespread adoption in the research community.
OSF research lifecycle
COS uses the OSF as a persuasive technology to encourage the adoption of open science, effectively using peer learning and guided workflows to promote specific open science practices. OSF developers and users ensure feedback and data are incorporated into platform development in an iterative approach that meets researchers where they are, rather than imposing a rigid top-down solution. Ecology researchers at the University of Melbourne had OSF tailored to meet their needs. That led to the creation of discipline-specific preregistration templates and an innovative pre-registration approach that allows for iterative modifications as research progresses.
While individual researchers championing open science serve as crucial catalysts for change, their effectiveness hinges on practical technological support. Successful case studies will amplify individual open science efforts and accelerate the transition to a more transparent, reproducible, and collaborative research landscape.
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