Michael Carroll
Professor Michael Carroll.

Professor Michael Carroll co-authors National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Report on Open Science by Design

July 26, 2018

On Tuesday, July 17, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released of a consensus study report, Open Science by Design: Realizing a Vision for 21st Century Research, co-authored by American University Washington College of Law Professor Michael Carroll.

Carroll, director of AUWCL's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, joined committee chair Dr. Alexa McCray, professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, at the National Academies for the release of the report.

The peer-reviewed report stresses that challenges to the open access of scientific research, including cultural barriers and the economics of scientific research, need to be overcome in order to further open access advancement. The solution, the report states, is to foster openness during the research process and a stronger coordinated effort from the academic and research community.

The objective of furthering open science is to ensure the free availability of scholarly publications, the resulting data, and methodologies used, according to the report.

report cover
 

"The opportunities for open science have never been better," Carroll said. "I was delighted to have the opportunity to work through the issues of how these opportunities can be realized with the thoughtful, illustrious members of this committee to produce this important report. It is a credit to the National Academies to have supported this work. I hope the framework and ideas about making openness an integral part of the research process from beginning to end will become a natural part of the scientific research process in the near future."

The reporter’s proposed "open science by design” framework outlines practices and that should occur at each stage of the research process, including the provocation, ideation, knowledge generation, validation, dissemination, and preservation phases. Such practices include researchers having access to the most recent publications and data for free, and utilizing collaborative tools to network with colleagues.

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