Submission guidelines

Open Research practices aim to make scientific research, data and dissemination accessible to all levels of an inquiring society. Similarly, Open Education practices aim to make scientific knowledge more openly accessible through the creation and sharing of educational resources such as textbooks, assessment structures, and student work.

Staff members, PhD students and (Research) Master’s students from all UG faculties and the UMCG can submit case studies of Open Research practices, either as individuals or as teams.

Please note that case studies that had already been submitted for this award in previous editions are not eligible unless they are significantly improved upon. Individuals who have already been awarded an award or certificate in previous editions cannot participate again, unless it is with a team and on a different project.

A case study of no more than 600 words in length should discuss the use of one or more open practices in the conduct of research and/or communication of outputs to achieve specific research aims or solve particular problems. Applicants should use the open research and education objectives, practices and examples (below) to identify suitable subjects for their case study.

We are looking for candid accounts of researchers’ motivations for making open choices and how those choices have impacted or may impact research, education and/or society.

The case study should be no more than 600 words in total (excluding the title and anything entered in the URLs, references and further information box).

The jury will judge entries based on their adherence to the following criteria:

• One or more of the Open Research or Education objectives/practices are addressed in your case study (see below).

• Introduction: a brief description of the open practice(s) used, as well as the context in which the open practices were used is included.

• Motivation: a clear and convincing description of why the Open Research or Education practices were used (e.g., what are the benefits and for whom) is provided, and what impact it has made or could potentially make. 

• Lessons learned: Please reflect on the barriers or challenges you needed to overcome for your case as well as possible supporting factors (e.g. field-specific and/or institutional barriers / supporting factors)

• The submission includes a deliverable.
  Submissions should describe the applicant's completed or ongoing experiences with Open Research and education practices. Ongoing experiences and projects do need a current deliverable (e.g. an open course that is available but is continuously modified to include new material does qualify, a plan for a future project or a project just starting does not).

References to the described work in your case are provided and openly accessible. For example, if your case concerns a preregistration, please include the URL to the preregistration, if you have developed a free software package, please provide the URL, etc.

Please carefully check all references, broken or not accessible references in principle make a submission not eligible. There may be rare cases in which references cannot be shared publicly, a justification is required which will be evaluated by the jury.

Applicants should describe activities that align with one or more of the following objectives and practices:

• Making the outputs of research, including publications, data, software and other research materials freely accessible.

  • Examples are open books, software packages, results translated to accessible material for the research population or society.

NB: this excludes just publishing an open-access article given that this is currently the most common publication mode and often mandated by funders.

• Using practices and or using or creating online tools and services to increase the transparency of research processes and methodologies. For example:
  • Creating a public pre-registration of a study design + sharing of syntaxes or publishing a study as a registered report. 
  • Doing a registered report

NB: In the case of a pre-registration, it needs to be finished, and a URL to the pre-registration provided. Final publication is not required, but at least a pre-print should be available. Moreover, If quantitative analyses have been done, syntaxes should be shared as well. For qualitative analyses, coding schemes should be included.

• Using alternative models of publication and peer review to make the dissemination and certification of research faster and more transparent.

• Using open collaborative methods and tools to increase efficiency and widen participation in research. Examples include:

  • Incorporating open and participatory methods into the design and conduct of research, e.g. by using open notebook-based methods or creating a project using a ‘citizen science’ online platform;

• Using open materials to decrease the cost of education and/or increase the sustainability of (public) investments in education.

• Capitalizing on the unique open aspects of open educational resources to reinvent course design, empower learners, and apply innovative ways of teaching. Examples include:

  • Undertaking activities to develop the environment for Open Research or Education, e.g. by engaging in high-profile communications, by causing a journal to adopt pro-Open Research policies, by supporting or mentoring other academics and communities interested in or new to Open Education, or by participating in community initiatives to develop data or metadata standards.

  • Openly sharing self-created or adapted educational materials using open licenses to enable and encourage reuse and customisation by others.

  • Developing and using course design and assessment forms where student-created materials are shared beyond the classroom (i.e., in collaboration with societal partners) or are incorporated into future iterations of the course.

• Promoting and facilitating the use of Open Research and Education practices. Examples include:
  • Introducing Open Research concepts and practices into teaching and learning, including teaching about Open Research, and making teaching material openly available
  • Undertaking activities to develop the environment for Open Research or Education, e.g. by engaging in high-profile communications, by causing a journal to adopt pro-Open Research policies, by supporting or mentoring other academics and communities interested in or new to Open Education, or by participating in community initiatives to develop data or metadata standards, or by being actively involved in Open Science/Research Communities and initiatives.

NB. All of the above practices should be published in an open environment (i.e. open access article / pre-print, open access book, or other open platform). If for some reason this is not possible and the submitter thinks the submission still follows the spirit of the ORA, a case needs to be made for how the practice still facilitates Open Research and Education. The jury will decide whether they agree on eligibility.

Examples of previous recipients of the Open Research Award / Certificate:

• Interdisciplinary Explorations of Neuroscience: A new open textbook reviewed and edited using open pedagogy - Christopher May

• Sharing knowledge through free online courses for audiences beyond the West - Rashid Gabdulhakov

• The Netherlands Neurogenetics Database - Nienke Mekkes & team

• A New, Free, and Independent Method for Standardised, Reproducible and Reliable Analyses of Antimicrobial Resistance Data - Matthijs Berends

• Preregistering qualitative research: our known unknown - Aranka Ballering & team

1. Researchers, registered PhD and Master’s students are eligible to submit entries. Entries should be submitted using the application form. The closing date for applications is 15 October 2024, midnight.
2. Entries may be submitted as individuals or as teams. Team entries must be submitted by one named individual who will be the lead applicant for the entry.
3. The applicant must be a researcher and current member of staff or a registered PhD or Master’s student and expect to continue as a member of the University until at least November 2024, the date of the award ceremony. For team entries, team members may include non-research staff (teaching staff, professional service staff) or individuals from outside the University.
4. The jury will screen submissions to make sure that they satisfy the eligibility requirements. All eligible submissions will receive a certificate of participation.
5. The jury may, by majority vote, decide to determine a submission eligible in cases where strictly speaking the eligibility criteria are not met, but a convincing case has been made for which the current criteria were not foreseen or appropriate.
6. The submission includes a deliverable. Submissions should describe the applicant's completed or ongoing experiences with Open Research practices. Ongoing experiences and projects do need a current deliverable (e.g. an Open Course that is available but is continuously modified to include new material qualifies, a plan for a future project or a project just starting does not).
7. Case studies that had already been submitted for this award in previous editions are not eligible unless they are significantly improved upon. Submissions that have already been awarded with an ORA award or certificate in previous editions are not eligible again.
8. Three entries will be drawn randomly among the eligible submissions; each of these will receive a prize of 500 euros. These three entries will be notified by early November 2024 and will be invited to give a short presentation of their case study during the Celebrating Openness event on 21 November 2024.
9. Applicants must give permission for the University of Groningen Library to publish an edited version of the case study and to disseminate it via internal and external communication channels. Final versions of material will be submitted to the applicants for approval prior to publication. All case studies will be published prior or after the event on 21 November 2024.