Open research

Reviewed: March 2024

AMRC supports members to encourage open research as a responsible funding practice. This topic is quite broad, can cover different research practices and has close links to other areas like research culture, career development, research assessment, etc. Here we will focus on open access, data sharing and clinical research transparency.

What is open research?

Open research is the practice of making research open and accessible from beginning to end. This includes making funding decisions, research data, lab notes, protocols and methods freely available, under terms that enable their reuse, redistribution and reproduction (Foster Open Science). It also includes the registration of research, and the publication of the results of research in a manner that is accessible to professionals, the public and research participants.

Open access  research outputs are freely available online to read, download and reuse by anyone, anywhere. This differs from the traditional method of keeping research outputs behind paywalls. In the context of academic publishing, research outputs usually refer to peer reviewed outputs, such as scientific articles, methods, study protocols, systematic reviews, registered reports, datasets and more. Other research outputs such as impact reports, policy guidelines and strategy documents can also be made openly accessible.

There are two routes for open access, known as the ‘Gold route’ and the ‘Green route’. The Gold route involves paying a fee (APC, article processing charge) to the publisher which makes the full text freely available to readers immediately on publication. For the Green route there is no publishing fee, but the author must deposit a copy of the full text in an open access repository after an embargo period (usually six months).

Data sharing/open data  makes the data resulting from and underpinning research freely and openly available. This can include research materials, software, code, or participant information. This data is held in a public repository and  provided within research articles so that it can be accessed and reused by others. Research data should be formatted and located in such a way that it is FAIR – findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.

However, there are cases where data should not be openly shared. In these cases, it is helpful to follow the principle of keeping it “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”. For example, personal information like patient data requires extra safeguards to protect people’s privacy and should not be made ‘open’ unless the person consents to this. Find out more about our work on patient data and its role in enabling the research our members fund.

Why is open research important?

AMRC members are committed to saving and improving people’s lives through research. Ensuring that data and outputs from the research they fund are shared widely and freely minimises waste, duplication and delay, thereby maximising the return on investments and benefit to patients. .

Open research benefits the research, researchers, funders and patients:

• When research is not transparent it skews our evidence base, harms patients, damages trust in research and creates waste. Transparent research can be more easily replicated and reproduced. and the sharing of all research results regardless of whether the study ends in success or failure generates essential evidence for other researchers, healthcare professionals, policy makers and research funders. This avoids waste and accelerates the translation of research into tangible improvements for people and society.
• Researchers who publish open access and make their data openly available gain more visibility and reach in the community, which in turn can lead to increased credibility and recognition, better career development, and more opportunities for collaboration.

Open and transparent research , by showing them what was achieved, encourages members of the public to take part in and support research, respects the contribution of research participants and allows all to see the latest evidence for themselves.  

If you have any questions about this topic or information to share, please get in touch with our Policy Team ([email protected]).