Biomedical Institutions Agree on a Set of Open Science Practices to Monitor

Eighty stakeholders from twenty major biomedical research institutions across the globe have agreed upon a list of 19 open science practices to be implemented and monitored. The study, led by Dr. Kelly Cobey, Scientist and Director of the Open Science and Meta Research Program at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Canada, forms the basis for the future development of institutional digital dashboards that will display that institution's compliance with open science practices. The study will publish in the open access journal PLOS Biology on January 24th.

Globally, mandates and guidelines relating to open science have grown in recent years. Open science practices including open access publishing, preprints, data sharing, and clinical trial registration help to ensure that research is as transparent, accessible, and useable. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how the traditionally "closed" nature of biomedical research does not serve the global community. To transition to an "open" research ecosystem researchers require training and support. Despite a multitude of a calls and policies that aim to "open up" research, no system to monitor the state of practice at academic institutions currently exists. Monitoring is necessary to track progress over time, but also to identify areas where interventions are needed to change practice. The 19 core open science practices established in this article will help to standardize monitoring globally.

The study describes an iterative process through which stakeholders at institutions communicated to obtain consensus. A three-round Delphi study in which a group of stakeholders voted on potential open science practices to monitor was used. The first two rounds of the Delphi voting took place via electronic surveying, while the final round was completed over two days as a virtual meeting. Participants had the opportunity to comment and anonymously vote on potential practices, and to suggest novel practices to the group. This approach helped to standardize communication and reduce bias. The 19 practices will now be tested in terms of how feasible they are to automate for inclusion in an open source digital dashboard that will be developed for use at biomedical institutions.

"Having an agreed set of open science practices to monitor is an important milestone for the community. Through taking this community-centred approach we hope to develop and make available a tool for biomedical institutions to monitor open science practices," said Dr. Cobey, "Ultimately we need to track open science practices in order to ensure that we are taking timely steps to open up research and to ensure we comply with existing open science mandates."

Cobey adds, "Policy in the absence of monitoring is not effective. We have reached agreement on how to design a digital dashboard to track open science practices to determine if we are doing a good job implementing them or not."

Cobey KD, Haustein S, Brehaut J, Dirnagl U, Franzen DL, Hemkens LG, et al.
Community consensus on core open science practices to monitor in biomedicine. PLoS Biol 21(1): e3001949. 2023. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001949

Most Popular Now

ChatGPT Shows 'Impressive' Acc…

A new study led by investigators from Mass General Brigham has found that ChatGPT was about 72 percent accurate in overall clinical decision making, from coming up with possible diagnoses...

WiFi SPARK's Healthcare Business Re…

Leading WiFi provider WiFi SPARK is rebranding its healthcare arm as SPARK Technology Services Limited. The new identity marks the completion of the integration of the former Hospedia bedside unit...

Online AI-Based Test for Parkinson'…

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by researchers at the University of Rochester can help people with Parkinson's disease remotely assess the severity of their symptoms within minutes. A study...

ChatGPT is Debunking Myths on Social Med…

ChatGPT could help to increase vaccine uptake by debunking myths around jab safety, say the authors of a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics. The researchers asked...

AI Performs Comparably to Human Readers …

Using a standardized assessment, researchers in the UK compared the performance of a commercially available artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm with human readers of screening mammograms. Results of their findings were...

Siemens Healthineers Expands Production …

Siemens Healthineers is expanding its site in Rudolstadt, Germany. By mid 2024, a new manufacturing building will be built on the site. The new manufacturing plant will produce electron accelerators...

More Cases of Breast Cancer Detected wit…

One radiologist supported by AI detected more cases of breast cancer in screening mammography than two radiologists working together, reports the ScreenTrustCAD study from Karolinska Institutet in The Lancet Digital...

ChatGPT Performs as Well as Doctors for …

The artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT performed as well as a trained doctor in suggesting likely diagnoses for patients being assessed in emergency medicine departments, in a pilot study to be...

Smartphone Technology Expected to Advanc…

Since the 1980s, we have known that neurological soft signs (NSS) can distinguish people with schizophrenia from psychiatrically healthy individuals. NSS are subtle neurological impairments that principally manifest as decreased...

AI may Outperform Most Humans at Creativ…

Large language model (LLM) artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots may be able to outperform the average human at a creative thinking task where the participant devises alternative uses for everyday objects...

MEDICA 2023 + COMPAMED 2023: "Where…

13 - 16 November 2023, Düsseldorf, Germany. The medical technology market is in worldwide motion and the signs ahead of MEDICA 2023 and COMPAMED 2023 in Düsseldorf as the internationally leading...

AI and Machine Learning can Successfully…

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can effectively detect and diagnose Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which is the most common hormone disorder among women, typically between ages 15 and...