Open Science

Guidelines (Recommendations) for the Handling of Research Results at the IES (Slovenian)

Regulations on Ensuring Open Access to Scientific Publications at the Institute for Ethnic Studies

The core principles of open science are transparency, collaboration, and the sharing of scientific research results—both within the research community and with the general public. Open science not only ensures that scientific knowledge is openly accessible, but also promotes a research process that is inclusive, equitable, and sustainable.

Main objectives of open science:

  • To promote greater equity among researchers, especially those from less well-resourced countries and underfunded research centres.
  • To ensure the openness of scientific content, tools, and processes.
  • To guarantee the traceability of research data.
  • To foster collaboration and the free flow of information within the academic community.
  • To strengthen the connection between academia and the general public.
  • To enhance the role of science in addressing societal and global challenges.

Open science practices include open access to scientific research results, open access to research data, open publication of scientific works, and citizen science.

The SPOZNAJ Project

The Institute for Ethnic Studies participates in SPOZNAJ, a project supporting the introduction of the principles of open science in Slovenia. This state-funded initiative is carried out under the national Recovery and Resilience Plan, coordinated by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.

The project’s goal is to introduce open science principles into scientific research and to align the activities of 20 public research organisations therewith.

Slovenian regulations on open access

Useful links

Repositories

Open science journals

Bibliographic benchmarks

List of predatory journals

FAQ about open science

Research data

What are research data?

  • Research data refers to any material used or generated during the research process that supports or validates research findings.
  • Research data are defined as factual records (numerical scores, textual records, images and sounds) used as primary sources for scientific research, and that are commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings. A research data set constitutes a systematic, partial representation of the subject being investigated. This term does not cover the following: laboratory notebooks, preliminary analyses, and drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, or personal communications with colleagues or physical objects (e.g. laboratory samples, strains of bacteria and test animals such as mice). (OECD, 2007)

Why are research data used?

  • Data are part of research production – CITATION.
  • Data contribute to the transparency and quality of research.
  • Research data contribute to REPRODUCIBILITY.
  • The production of research data is often driven by the requirements of funders and publishers.

Research data can have significant research impact.

 

Where are research data stored?

Research data are typically stored in open access repositories. In Slovenia, for example, the Central Technical Library (CTK) manages DiRROS – the Digital Repository of Research Organisations of Slovenia. DiRROS serves as a central access point for electronic versions of scientific and professional works, reports, research data, and other materials produced by research organisations, as well as by independent researchers and artists who may not have institutional support for publishing or preserving digital resources. (Raziskovalni podatki, n. d.)

Is it necessary to share research data?

Pursuant to Article 6č of the Act amending the Access to Public Information Act and Article 4 of the Decree on the Implementation of Scientific Research in Accordance with the Principles of Open Science, research data must be shared if they have been generated through research that has been co-funded by public sources by at least 50%. (Raziskovalni podatki, n. d.)

What counts as OPEN research data?

Open research data are all data that are openly accessible and meet the FAIR principles (see Table 1).

Data and FAIR principles

Findability and Accessibility: Data is stored in a trusted repository, where it is tagged with identifiers and metadata. This ensures findability and accessibility.

Interoperability: Data is recorded or described in a generally accessible and widely used language (standards, protocols), which allows data to be transferred between different systems without significant human intervention.

Reusability : Data is accompanied by an open license and all relevant information (description of the method, software, protocols, etc.). This means that other researchers can understand the data in context and reuse it for their own purposes.

SOURCES:

UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. (b. d.). UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/open-science/about?hub=686

OECD. (2007). OECD Principles and Guidelines for Access to Research Data from Public Funding, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264034020-en-fr

Raziskovalni podatki. (b. d.). Centralna tehnična knjižnica Univerze v Ljubljani. https://www.ctk.uni-lj.si/raziskovalni-podatki/

Odprta znanost. (b. d.). Javna agencija za znanstvenoraziskovalno in inovacijsko dejavnost Republike
Slovenije. https://www.arrs.si/sl/dostop/predstavitev.asp