Increasing research FAIRNESS with Open Science
Researchers who value fairness in Open Science are changing the culture of research.
By sharing more, recognizing all contributions equally, and embracing new practices for scientific communications, researchers who embrace fair Open Science ensure that their peers have more opportunities to read, share, and engage in their research, fairly and without bias.
Watch this video to see why research needs FAIRNESS
Researchers like you are changing the culture of research. You aspire to live and work in a world where everyone enjoys the same opportunities to read and publish research, where science is evaluated on its merits, without bias, and where all contributions to knowledge are honored and valued.
Do you want to ensure more communities have access to your research?
Explore the below Open Science practices that embrace fairness to ensure your research is more widely read and shared among those who need it most.
Access to research is the first and most basic step toward a fairer culture of research–one where all scholars can read, publish, and contribute as editors and peer reviewers.
Choosing an Open Access journal advances information equity by making your research more visible, useful, and more transparent.
Preregistration is the practice of formally depositing a study design in a repository—and, optionally, submitting it for peer review at a journal—before conducting a scientific investigation.
Evaluating research on the study design and analytical approach helps provide the most objective possible assessment, based purely on scientific merit and the importance of the research question.
You can claim credit, track, and showcase your work with ORCID, CRediT taxonomy, and Publons. These open software and taxonomic solutions track specific academic contributions with ease and granularity.
Together, more published research outputs and more detailed and accurate records let you showcase your work and build your reputation as a researcher.
Fairness flourishes in an open and transparent environment. Knowing that their review may become public can lead to more constructive, collegial, and just reviewer feedback.
Choosing to publish decision letters, peer reviews, and author responses opens the peer review process to readers of published research articles. Making the decision to share, verifies the rigor of the peer review process the study has undergone, and strengthens trust in the results.
Publishing protocols, preregistered research articles and more artifacts from your investigation help to reflect the full breadth of your research, so you can claim credit for all of your science – not just the results.
Find out more about your options to publish more of your work at PLOS.
“Fairness helps instill trust in science…”
Hear from Emily Chenette, Editor in Chief of PLOS ONE on how the journal embodies fairer practices in research publication.
How do you want your research to make a difference?
Learn how other Open Science practices benefit your work and the research community
Explore your publishing options with PLOS
How much do you already incorporate Open Science as part of your research process?
How do your actions support scientific communications?
With multiple time pressures and choices, which of your values influence the decisions you make. Challenge yourself to find out your motivations by taking our quiz, then learn how your values are helping to make science communication stronger.