Open Research
The aim of open research is to make knowledge openly available, accessible, and reusable for everyone.
We support researchers at Edge Hill in improving the discoverability and accessibility of their work.
As a term, open research is interchangeable with open scholarship and open science (commonly used elsewhere in the world).
Read the University's Open Research statementOpen research explained
“Open science is a set of principles and practices that aim to make scientific research from all fields accessible to everyone for the benefits of scientists and society as a whole. Open science is about making sure not only that scientific knowledge is accessible but also that the production of that knowledge itself is inclusive, equitable and sustainable.”
UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science
Kelsey Bezaire and Dr Helen Gray (Newcastle University) have produced a comic about open research to help researchers understand the principles and practices, including addressing common questions and barriers to implementation, regardless of discipline.
The University of Glasgow’s video is a good review of the practices that you can adopt before, during and after a project.
Benefits of open research
Sharing publications, software, code, data and protocols benefits research and society in the following ways:
- Improves research integrity, preventing data manipulation or misrepresentation, and giving greater confidence in published findings.
- Increases citation rates by enabling researchers’ work to reach the widest audience and removing cost barriers.
- Enhances collaboration opportunities.
- Enables greater efficiencies (and value for money) as research does not need to be repeated.
- Maximises research impact.
- Increases researchers’ profiles and visibility both within and outside their discipline.
- Compliance with funder policies can enhance future funding opportunities and career opportunities.
Edge Hill is a partner in the annual Open Research Week (ORW), a series of events celebrating new, developing and current practice in Open Research.
Explore ORW 2025 via the recordings and summary blog.
UK Reproducibility Network
The UKRN is a national peer-led consortium, with a broad disciplinary representation. Its aim is to develop approaches that improve the trustworthiness and quality of research.
Edge Hill is an institutional member of the UKRN. We have two Institutional Leads who have responsibility for research improvement and research integrity. They are Leon Culbertson, Dean of the Graduate School, and Nik Bessis, Professor of Computer Science.
We also have a Local UKRN Lead, Michel Belyk, Senior Lecturer in Psychology.
Research assessment and responsible metrics
The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) recognises the need to improve the ways in which researchers and the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated. This is a worldwide movement and Edge Hill University is a signatory. The full declaration is available on the DORA website.
Responsible metrics refers to the ethical and appropriate use of citation-based metrics, altmetrics and other quantitative means of evaluating research. Edge Hill issued a statement on the use of responsible metrics in 2021; this is due to be updated in the summer of 2025.
As a signatory of DORA, Edge Hill supports assessment of research independent of journal level metrics and supports the development of new policies and practices for hiring, promotion, and funding decisions. The University supports DORA’s statement on the loss of eLife’s Impact Factor and change in indexing status. Research published in eLife will continue to be eligible for the purposes of promotion and tenure.
As a member of the UKRN, we support reforms to research assessment that result in rigorous and transparent research being better recognised and rewarded.
Further support
For support in implementing open research or with any other questions about open access publishing or open data, please contact the Open Research Team.