Open science practices like registering your research plan before beginning experiments, archiving your data, and sharing your code in Github can help increase the trustworthiness of your research results. But getting started with open science can seem daunting. If you’re looking for low-barrier ways to make your research more reproducible, consider OSF, the Open Science Framework.
OSF was built to make open science more effortless by putting multiple tasks in one place. Do you want to pre-register your study so that you can lay claim to your idea, declare your hypothesis before results are known, and avoid confirmation bias (including p-hacking) by choosing statistical tests in advance of data collection? You can register a study in OSF using templates for general research or systematic reviews.
Do you want to collect research documentation like lab manuals, data dictionaries, and code changelogs in a designated folder, so that both your collaborators and the public can access files whenever they’re needed? OSF allows you to create informational wikis and connect to storage accounts like Google Drive, OneDrive, and even GitHub.
Do you want to share your data to help other researchers understand and reproduce your results, or to comply with the requirements of the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy? OSF gives you 50 GB of free storage and meets the requirements of a generalist repository for the NIH’s policy.
Open science is more transparent, trustworthy science that benefits individual investigators and the common good, and we are enthusiastic in helping Pitt reach its open science goals. HSLS supports open science in a variety of ways, including classes and trainings from our Data Services team and Scholarly Communications and Publishing. To request a training or consultation, use our contact form and we will schedule a session at your convenience.
~Helenmary Sheridan