Ensuring Open Research Collaboration with the Open Science Framework: The Experience of the SPSTL SB RAS

Openness and accessibility of scientific research are becoming increasingly important aspects of promoting open science and reproducible research. Open scientific practices provide many benefits to both researchers and science as a whole. The Open Science Framework enables the application of open and collaborative research practices in the scientific community – from creating a data management plan, pre-registering one’s research and using version control to exchanging data and other research materials or publishing a preprint for rapid dissemination. The objective of the study was to analyze the OSF platform in order to identify the main functions and capabilities for open scientific communication and the use of this tool within the framework of the scientific project “Development of a Model for the Functioning of a Scientific Library in the Information Ecosystem of Open Science” of the State Public Scientific Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences to comply with the principles of open science. The author analyzed the OSF tools for creating projects, pre-registrations, posting preprints, as well as the possibilities of integration with various third-party services, such as Dropbox, GitHub, Google Drive, etc. Examples of projects and components are provided. The process of creating a project, adding components, metadata, creating preregistration is described. The results show that the user-friendly interface and variety of functions allow the OSF to be integrated into a researcher’s workflow and provide an opportunity to document and archive research projects, materials and data. They also facilitate the exchange of materials and data as well as promote research transparency. Russian researchers working in a wide range of scientific fields can use this open science tool to ensure open scientific collaboration and promote open and reproducible scientific research.