Guest post from Dr Christine Daoutis, Open Research Manager, Library and Learning Services
Happy Academic Writing Month! We hope that your writing is going well and that you’ve had the chance to set some goals, adopt some good writing habits and share tips with others along the way.
This post is not about writing as such, but about doing research with a view to make it open and transparent, so that others can discover it; access and read it; easily identify you as the author; and reuse it in their own research, policy and practice, while crediting you. It is also about making your research data, methods and protocols, software and code as available as possible, so that others can understand how your research was designed, conducted, analysed and interpreted throughout the research cycle. In other words: Open Research (also known as Open Science).
Openness is at the core of why you write up, publish and disseminate your research. Open Research strengthens your professional reputation; helps you reach and influence audiences beyond academia; and offers you opportunities for collaboration with other researchers, industry partners and policy makers. Read: How open science helps researchers succeed, and how you can apply open practices in different disciplines
Whether you are new to Open Research or have some knowledge and experience of it, here are three things you can do this academic writing month to make your research more open.
- Do this 5-minute activity to create your ORCID or register your existing ORCID in the University’s research repository[i]. An ORCID is a unique researcher identifier that ensures that your publications, grants, data and other research activities are correctly attributed to you. This will make your research more discoverable and help you keep a comprehensive research portfolio.
- Learn more about all things Open Research by taking the Open Research in Practice online module (available on SurreyLearn). You can complete this at your own pace and earn the Open Research badge at the end: a micro-credential that you can add to your CV, website and social media.
If you prefer to complete the module in a group, with the chance to discuss with the course facilitator, register to attend our upcoming online workshop on 17 November at 4 pm
Please register on SITS (Surrey Self-Service).
- [i] Visit the Open Research Repository
- On the top right corner, select Surrey Researchers sign in (use your university username and password)
- Select Edit profile (top left corner). Scroll down. Under GLOBAL IDs, select Register or Connect your ORCID iD.
3. For all things Open Research, visit the Open Research website, which includes information on many practices, from making your papers and data open to preprints, Registered Reports and preregistrations and from narrative CVs to open education resources.
Contact openresearch@surrey.ac.uk for more information.
