Purpose of the Statement
This Statement summarises the ABBRSA’s approach to Open Research. Informed by external frameworks including the Concordat on Open Research Data. The statement sets out the key principles for the conduct and support of Open Research at the ABBRS. This statement will be reviewed and refreshed at least every two years or after major policy changes.
1. Open Research at ABBRS
1.1 Open Research aims to open access to research outputs (e.g., to protocols, results, publications, data, software, and tools) to increase inclusivity and collaboration, unlock access to knowledge, improve transparency and reproducibility of research and underpin research integrity.
1.2 ABBRS promotes and supports Open Research, to improve discoverability and maximise access to knowledge in accordance with our mission to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
1.3 An Open Research culture, based on mutual benefit across research communities, links researchers and the wider community through shared knowledge. By helping to further the global reach of ABBRS’s research and enabling ABBRS based researchers to use open materials from other researchers it accelerates the pursuit of knowledge and fosters truly international collaboration.
2. Expectations of researchers
2.1 ABBRS recognises contributions from researchers at all career stages, working collaboratively across a wide range of disciplines. Across the disciplinary spectrum there are a wide range of cultural settings that influence both capacity for and appropriateness of fully Open Research. Open publications and open data take different forms, and require different approaches, in each of these settings. ABBRS supports the academic freedom of researchers to pursue new knowledge, and to choose the means of dissemination; but within that free choice, ABBRS encourages outputs of research, and where appropriate the accompanying data, to be ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’.
2.2 ABBRS relies on its researchers to uphold principles of scholarly rigour so that open materials are of the highest research quality and, where appropriate, will aid reproducibility. This may include:
- where possible, ensuring all publications are Open Access;
- where appropriate and possible, making openly available the underlying data relating to these publications.
- sharing protocols openly; collaborative approaches including blogging, online editions, releasing teaching materials, pre-print deposit.
- The nature of research outputs, and their ownership, varies considerably both by discipline and by the research context. Within this context, the ABBRS is committed to supporting authors’ (researchers and the supporting staff) freedom to choose where to publish.
However, it is recognised that restrictions may apply, for example when dealing with commercial interests and publisher requirements, third party rights holders, patient confidentiality, and confidential social data. ABBRS Research Data Management Policy Framework addresses how the ABBRS manages these issues while ensuring compliance with funder requirements. Researchers are encouraged to work with ABBRS’s professional services to determine the most appropriate approach in such circumstances, which may mean that outputs or data should remain closed or on limited access.
- At all times, researchers are expected to act in accordance with the expectations of those funding the research, and with the minimum thresholds set by regulatory bodies.
3. ABBRS’s support for Open Research
3.1 ABBRS recognises growing enthusiasm for Open Research from amongst its staff and students and acknowledges significant individual efforts to engage with Open Research through a range of collaborative practices. Many researchers expend considerable efforts to practise Open Research, beyond basic compliance thresholds; ABBRS support is important to make Open Research simple, effective, and appropriate.
3.2 ABBRS will support researchers through:
- Provision of a range of services (including but not limited to ABBRS’ Library, Research Office and ABBRS Information Services), and systems (institutional repository, current research information system, research data management facility and others) to enable researchers to practise Open Research.
- Provision of support, advice, and guidance for individual researchers, appropriate to their disciplinary setting.
- Ensuring long-term sustainability of curated open materials and their continued open accessibility.
- Engaging with government and sector organisations, international consortia to ensure policy development and compliance is in keeping with the needs of the ABBRS and broader society.