Open Research across Disciplines

How the principles of open research can be applied to your discipline

Environmental Sciences, Ecology and Geography

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Case Studies

UKRN case study: Human Geography

University of Reading case study: Urban climate modelling

University of Reading case study: Data for the transition to clean energy

University of Reading case study: Worldwide flood forecasting

University of Reading case study: Environmental software for all

University of Bristol case study: Fireside Tales: the power of sharing stories of volcanic risk mitigation.  Video.

University of Bristol case study: Using climate data across disciplines.  Video.

University of Bristol case study: A Greenhouse Gas Data Dashboard. Video.

University of Bristol case study: Advancing Earthquake Predictability Research with Open Science Practices.  Video.

University of Bristol case study: Geographic Data Science for All.  Video.

University of Manchester case study: Making UK weather and air quality data available to a diverse research community

University of Newcastle case study:  Open research and ecological networks: an early career researcher’s experience

University of Newcastle case study: (The First) Ten Years of the Newcastle Urban Observatory

University of Newcastle case study:  Untangling the web of mistrust in arachnology with open research practices

University of Newcastle case study: Shedding light on the murky world of sand mining in SE Asia

University of Sheffield case study: Stephen Livingstone on Automated mapping of Antarctic surface meltwater (dataset and code). Video

University of Suffolk case study: How My Research and Practices Support University of Suffolk Open Access and Open Science Agenda

University of Surrey case study: Space4Nature (S4N) – A model for open research in biodiversity conservation

University of Surrey case study: Open research for transparent energy planning in developing countries for carbon-constrained growth

 

Examples of open research practices

Open Data: Dr Jon Blower is the Chief Technology Officer at the Institute for Environmental Analytics (IEA) and contributed to developing an open source software named ncWMS (https://reading-escience-centre.github.io/ncwms/) which allows users to visualise and explore large-scale environmental datasets online. Data providers in the US and the European Commission’s Copernicus Marine Service adapted the software to create an interactive web-based ‘quick-look’ tool which allows users to browse through their data holdings online. With the distribution of the software source code for free (available on GitHub at https://github.com/Reading-eScience-Centre/ncwms) it allows reuse, modification and redistribution of the code that has been used in developing cutting-edge environmental data products and services. (https://www.reading.ac.uk/research/research-environment/open-research/open-research-case-studies.aspx)

Resources

General Resources

  • Community dashboard for EuroMarine (a consortium of 56 research and academic organisations) and monitoring dashboard for marine research initiatives, including infrastructures (e.g. EMBRC and EMSO), advisory boards (e.g. Marine Boards and ICES), and transnational funding bodies (e.g. JPI-Oceans and Tara Foundation). Includes the following tabs of sharable resources: publications, research data, software, other research. https://mes.openaire.eu/
  • The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). SDSN mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development. Developed TReNDs (Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics, that aims to create high quality, replicable and open data.
  • Guide on open educational resources in geography. https://libguides.humboldt.edu/openedu/geog

Open Methods

  • Reichman, O. J., Jones, M. B., & Schildhauer, M. P. (2011). Challenges and Opportunities of Open Data in Ecology. Science, 331, 703–705. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1197962
  • Bonnefille, B., Karlsson, O., Rian, M. B., Raqib, R., Parvez, F., Papazian, S., Islam, M. S., Martin, J. W. (2023). Nontarget Analysis of Polluted Surface Waters in Bangladesh Using Open Science Workflows. Environmental Science & Technology, 57(17), 6808-6824. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c08200
  • University of Sheffield discipline-specific guidance on how to make research data and software FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable & reusable). This pilot was conducted in seven departments across the University: Architecture, Biosciences, English, Geography, Mechanical Engineering, Psychology, and the School of Health and Related Research. You can find the full set of checklists from the pilot departments at: https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.20496855.v2

Open Data

Open Outputs

This page is adapted and extended from: Farran, E. K., Silverstein, P., Ameen, A. A., Misheva, I., & Gilmore, C. (2020, December 15). Open Research: Examples of good practice, and resources across disciplines. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/3r8hb