Open Research (also referred to as Open Scholarship or Open Science) aims to make research as open as possible as early as possible. It encompasses practices such as Open Access publishing, sharing of Open Data, Open Peer-Review, using Open Licenses (such as Creative Commons), and use of pre-prints.

In 2022, UNESCO stated in its Recommendations on Open Science that "Open Science has the potential to make the scientific process more transparent, inclusive and democratic." Open Research can make research more efficient and address issues of research integrity, bias, and reproducibility of research findings.

Throughout this guide, you will find some information on how to make your research 'as open as possible and as closed as necessary' in line with the University's Open Research statement and IP policy.

An Open Research Statement has been released by the University of Sunderland. Through this statement, the University demonstrates its support for Open Research, encouraging researchers to develop Open Research practices while respecting potential legal, ethical, commercial, or other requirements. The statement can be read by students and staff on the Research and Graduate School SharePoint page.

The different sections of this guide will help you consider how you can practice Open Research in your discipline.

If you need any support, please get in touch at sure@sunderland.ac.uk

To familiarise yourself with Open Research, you can try the Open Research: A research journey game. This was developed by Lisa Meek, a 2024 Research Intern with the Library, and is available with a CC-BY license. It is a choose-your-own-adventure game in which you can try out scenarios and find information about Open Research.

While this addresses mostly early career researchers and their specific challenges, it is worth listening to this podcast provided by JISC if you are starting your Open Research journey.