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Open your minds and share your results (Nature article)

oceanblue

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Open your minds and share your results

An open approach is the best way to maximize the benefits of research for both scientists and the public, says Geoffrey Boulton

There is a compelling case for having open access to scientific papers, to enhance the efficacy and reach of scientific communication. But important though this is, the open-access debate has drawn attention away from a deeper issue that is at the heart of the scientific process: that of 'open data'. In an attempt to focus much-needed attention on this subject, I chaired a group that produced Science as an Open Enterprise, a policy report from the Royal Society in London, published last week.

Open enquiry has been at the heart of science since the first scientific journals were printed in the seventeenth century. Publication of scientific theories — and the supporting experimental and observational data — permits others to identify errors, to reject or refine theories and to reuse data. Science's capacity for self-correction comes from this openness to scrutiny and challenge.

Full free text from Nature

I particularly liked this quote:
Too often, we scientists seek patterns in data that reflect our preconceived ideas. And when we do publish the data, we too frequently publish only those that support these ideas. This cherry-picking is bad practice and should stop.
 

oceanblue

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Dear Nature, what about open publishing? ;)
Indeed! This new journal, eLife, is an open access journal aiming to challenge Nature and Science ie top quality and open access. Backed by the Wellcome Trust, Max Planck Society and Howard Hughes medical foundation it won't charge any fees to researchers for publishing for at least the first year, which should help. Look out Nature.