Open research supports a more inclusive, equitable, transparent and effective research system. Using the LERU Pillars of Open Science as a framework, below we show how open practices can improve the reach, impact and integrity of research.
Open Access to Publications
What it means:
Your research publications are free for anyone to read online.
Why it matters:
Publications are available to all — researchers, students, practitioners, policymakers and the public. This increases visibility and accelerates scholarly and societal impact.
Learn more about Open Access publications
Open Research Data
What it means:
Sharing your research data in a suitable repository (where ethical, legal, and practical). Your open data follow the FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.
Why it matters:
It facilitates discovery, transparency, reproducibility, secondary analysis and interdisciplinary innovation.
Explore Research Data Management
Open Software and Code
What it means:
Sharing the software and code used in your research. This can also include using open-source tools and software in your research.
Why it matters:
It promotes transparency, improves reproducibility and supports methodological advancement.
Open Peer Review
What it means:
Participating in open peer review to increase transparency in the peer review process. This can be through open identities, published reviews, or community-based models.
Why it matters:
It builds quality, fairness and trust in academic publishing.
Citizen Science and Public Engagement
What it means:
Involving the public in your research. This can be through collecting data, community engagement or co-creation.
Why it matters:
It helps make research more connected to real-world needs and communities.
Learn more about Public Engagement at Cambridge
Education and Skills
What it means:
Finding out more about open research by attending training. This could be on how to manage data, use open licenses, and open publishing.
Why it matters:
Learning new skills increases engagement in open research and can save time. It creates opportunities to explore new ways to share research and make an impact.
Check out our training opportunities
Research Integrity
What it means:
Being a responsible researcher by making protocols, methods and results visible and verifiable. This includes sharing research data where ethical and legal to do so.
Why it matters:
It supports research reproducibility and replicability, and reduces the likelihood of misconduct.
Learn more about Research Integrity and Ethics at Cambridge
Rewards and Incentives
What it means:
To make open research the norm, we need to reward all kinds of contributions, not just traditional publications such as the journal article or book. Cambridge has signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). This highlights the need to recognise a diversity of research outputs – such as data, software, exhibitions and so on – and to not use journal-based metrics (such as Journal Impact Factors) as a measure of quality when assessing researchers.
Why it matters:
It encourages more open and creative ways of doing and disseminating research. It recognises how research practices and outputs differ across disciplines and career stages and supports healthier research cultures.
Learn more about Research Culture at Cambridge