The promotion of Open Science practices is integral to fostering innovation and collaboration in the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior. To support researchers in implementing these practices, a collection of step-by-step guides has been curated, offering valuable direction for integrating Open Science principles into the research process.
Manage Data
Well-organized data management practices save time and resources by streamlining the research process, minimizing the risk of data loss, and enabling efficient data retrieval and analysis.
Watch/read FASEB’s Data Management 101 guide. FASEB also has webinars on preparing a data management plan, understanding NIH’s data management and sharing policies, and making data sharing worthwhile. FASEB provides guidance before, during, and after designing the research project.
Watch WeShareData’s videos that describe how to follow journal data policies, how to become interoperable, and how to navigate public access and ease of sharing research data.
Watch NIH’s guide on Getting Help at Your Institution: Institutional Repositories, Data Management, and More for building a data management plan and utilizing librarian’s skills to improve data use and sharing. The video includes a tutorial on the DMP Tool to build a data management plan.
Read Data Sharing in Education Science, a step-by-step guide to share your data.
Use the Open Science Framework (OSF), a free, start-to-finish project management tool and repository.
Pre-Register Work
Preregistration prioritizes a study’s design quality above its outcome, which promotes transparency, replication, and collaboration within the scientific community.
Use AsPredicted to pre-register studies and get a unique URL to share with others.
Use the Open Science Framework (OSF), a free, start-to-finish project management tool and repository.
Look through Registered Report’s list of journals who participate in pre-registration.
Read/watch the HHS’ guide on Pre-Registering Studies – What Is It, How Do You Do It, and Why? which dispels some common misconceptions related to pre-registration.
Use PLOS – Open Science, a publisher that accepts preprints, preregistered research, protocols, and code, and other materials.
Preserve Data
It is important to select a data repository that is suitable for your research data and that helps ensure the reliability, security, and accessibility of data for the broader research community.
See FABBS’ Repositories Page for a list of behavioral and brain repositories and for resources on picking and using repositories.
Publish Work
Publishing practices can promote or hinder open science depending on the model used to pay for journals. Choosing a publisher that supports open access can aid the equitable discovery and application of research findings.
Use PLOS – Open Science, a publisher that accepts preprints, preregistered research, protocols, and code, and other materials.
