This handbook is a practical guide to Open Research for staff and research students. Using Open Research practices has the potential to transform the way you conduct and communicate your research. Along with guidance on best practice, you can use this handbook to find information about useful resources and University support.
The Open Research Handbook tells you about key open practices, why they have evolved, and how you can use them in your own research.
The University of Reading has made a commitment to the aims and principles of Open Research. We believe that research conducted on open principles is more accessible, transparent and reproducible, and best serves the University’s mission to disseminate knowledge for greatest public benefit. We all have a responsibility to be as open as we can in our research practice.
We also believe that Open Research is good for you: open practices will improve the quality and integrity of your research, and open communication of outputs will maximise their potential to generate value - for yourself, as well as for others. Being an open researcher involves learning new ways of doing things, and may challenge some assumptions and established customs. But the rewards can repay the effort. And help is available - from the Research Engagement team in the Library, from your academic advisors, and from your peers.
The purpose of this handbook is to help you put principles into practice, and realise the full potential of your research. In support of this aim we have also published a number of Open Research Case Studies, in which researchers and research students at the University explain how they have used open practices to carry out and communicate their research, and explore the challenges as well as the benefits of being open. We will continue to build a library of case studies from our researchers, so if you have an interesting story about your experiences in Open Research, please get in touch. You can find out more about how to submit your case study to us on the case studies page of this guide.
We hope this handbook provides both inspiration and practical equipment to help you on your Open Research journey.
Feedback and suggestions for new content are welcome, so please do contact us and let us know your thoughts about the Handbook.
The Open Research Handbook (excepting embedded external content) is © University of Reading and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.