On open science and public engagement with engineering

Abstract

Open Science is an emerging approach to the conduct of science, technology and engineering projects, in which information about the whole of an ongoing investigation is made available on and through the Internet. Adopting an Open Science approach means the audience for the research can extend beyond the researchers involved to other researchers and to members of the public. Thus, Open Science has implications for engineering research, practice, publishing and public engagement with engineering. This paper reviews the history and evolution of the Open Science movement, includes some reflections on the related areas of Open Access, peer-review and public engagement with science and engineering and discusses data gathered from interviews. The analysis suggests that interviewees have concerns about issues such as precedence and protection of original work and the time needed to integrate open science practices into daily work. Successfully working in such collaborations is likely to require not only common practical tools but also the development of shared language and understanding between researchers and members of the public. Interviewees recognise the value of Open Science in collaborative research and its innovative facility to sustain direct public access to research outputs. It also has the potential to allow members of the public to make real practical contributions to research.

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