Open Research

Our Library Research Support team has now launched the Open Research podcast. We have created that audio-space for more in-depth discussions around open research. We have now been recording for few months and will be releasing a new episode each month to keep the conversations going. 

Here is a direct link to visit our Spotify profile with the very first episode "Why do we need Open Research?" that explains the purpose and benefits of open research. We have invited our Research Development Manager for Policy and Performance Dr Keith Fildes to join us in the recording studio. 

For the second episode we have invited our colleague from Library Research Support team, Dr Pete Smith to talk about open data. Do you know what are the FAIR principles? What should you consider when planning for your next research project? You can now listen to our second episode of Open Research podcast via Spotify.

We have now launched our third episode of the Open Research podcast. We have invited Dr Pete Smith, our colleague from Library Research Support team to discuss research data management at different stages of your project lifecycle. The episode is now available on Spotify. 

In our fourth episode we talk about Open Access  which is a key component of Open Research. We encourage you to make your work as open as possible when entering the publishing stage. Did you know that Sheffield Hallam University was the very first university in England to introduce the Right Retention statement? We invite you to listen to this episode to learn more about different aspects of Open Access.

Keep informed about updates on the next REF requirements and go to https://2029.ref.ac.uk/

In our fifth episode we talk about the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment to encourage you to look beyond the traditional journal-based metrics in order to make research assessment fairly and justly. DORA is a set of recommendations for funding agencies, institutions, publishers, researchers and other stakeholders, to improve practices in research assessment. Responsible metrics was expanded upon by the ⁠Leiden Manifesto for Research Metrics⁠, and in the independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment and management, called ⁠The Metric Tide⁠ both from 2015. Sheffield Hallam University signed DORA in 2019. Our guests are Bea Turpin and Dr Eddy Verbaan from the Library Research Support team. 

In our sixth episode Dr Keith Fildes, Research Development Manager for Policy and Performance talks about responsible metrics which refers to the appropriate and responsible use of ⁠citation-based metrics, altmetrics⁠ and other quantitative measures in the assessment and evaluation of research. In practice, a responsible metrics approach means that you understand the limitations of any metrics you use and that you use them for appropriate purposes only.

Research England undertakes a quality assessment of research conducted at UK universities about every six years. This informs a league table of research excellence for institutions and individual Units of Assessment as well as the allocation of public research funding to institutions. What is driving REF or how is REF driving our academic community? Our guests, Professor Wayne Cranton and Dr Keith Fildes explain how REF aligns with the principles of Open Research and supports innovation. You can listen to our seventh episode here. 

In our eighth episode we discuss various aspects of public engagement and the shared principle of transparency in research. Our guest, Dr Pete Smith also explains what are the benefits of public engagement across the entire research life cycle.

Citizen science is one of the eight pillars of Open Research. This is why we have invited our researchers, Prof Liz Laycock, John Grant and an external project partner Josh Hunter from the Diocese of Sheffield to talk in our ninth episode about their experience in citizen science, where we involve local communities in research projects.

In our tenth episode we discuss the synergy between Open Research and citizen science. Dr Rachel Schwartz-Narbonne and Dr Mel Lacey from our Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre run their own participatory research projects at Sheffield Hallam University and explain how they engage with local communities, who is research for and why practicing citizen science means that everybody wins.

Practicing open research is vital for the environment. When looking at the broader aspect we realize that open research can help us to save the planet. For the eleventh episode we’ve invited John Grant, our Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Construction and Climate Change at Sheffield Hallam University to talk about open research being the only solution to tackle climate change collectively. We also discuss some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), address what seems to be the biggest carbon saver and more.