Policy overview #

The ICArEHB Open Science Policy establishes guidelines for all researchers, students, and collaborators working under the ICArEHB umbrella. The policy covers key aspects of Open Science that all members must adhere to, ensuring that research outputs are accessible, transparent, and reusable.

Open Access Publishing:

• ICArEHB mandates that all research publications resulting from funded or institutional projects must be made openly accessible. Researchers are expected to publish in Gold Open Access journals or deposit accepted manuscripts in institutional or public repositories (Green Open Access).
• Preprints should be shared whenever possible to accelerate the dissemination of findings.

Data Management and Sharing:

• All ICArEHB research projects must have a Data Management Plan (DMP). DMPs ensure that data collection, organization, storage, and sharing are handled in a structured and compliant manner.
• Research data should be deposited in open repositories and follow the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) to promote reuse and long-term preservation.

Pre-registration of Studies:

• ICArEHB encourages researchers to pre-register their studies, specifying hypotheses, methodologies, and analysis plans before data collection begins. Pre-registration increases research transparency and reduces the likelihood of biases such as p-hacking or selective reporting.
• Pre-registration platforms like OSF Registrations or AsPredicted should be used where applicable.

Open Methods and Code:

• To ensure research reproducibility, ICArEHB requires researchers to openly share their methods and code. By providing detailed methodologies and code in open repositories (e.g., GitHub, Zenodo), researchers enable others to replicate and build upon their work.
• All shared code must be properly documented and licensed under open licenses, such as MIT or GPL, to facilitate reuse.

Open Peer Review:

• ICArEHB encourages researchers to engage in Open Peer Review whenever possible. Open Peer Review promotes transparency by making review reports and reviewer identities public, fostering a fairer and more constructive peer review process.

Ethical and Legal Considerations:

• ICArEHB’s Open Science practices must adhere to ethical standards, including the protection of sensitive data and compliance with privacy regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation. Researchers are responsible for ensuring that all shared data is ethically managed, particularly when dealing with human participants or confidential information.