Many scholars agree that open-science practices would have a positive impact on scientific progress. However, these practices have only been slowly adopted, and initiatives to encourage these practices often rely on intuitions about incentives, motivations, and social dynamics. In the current studies we turn some of these intuitions into empirical questions. We test the hypothesis that researcher's perceptions about the social dynamics of their field relate to perceptions of open-science and choices to implement open-science practices. To do so we begin by measuring (1) Perceptions of the social dynamics in the participant's field: Do early career researchers see it as competitive and hierarchical or as cooperative and participatory? (2) Perceptions of open-science practices: Do early career researchers see open-science practices as a way to get a competitive edge, or as a way to cooperate and collaborate with other researchers? (3) Open science Behaviors: when do early career researchers engage in open-science practices and to what extent? Our hypothesis is that researchers who perceive their field as cooperative and participatory will be more likely to see open-science practices as a way to collaborate with other researchers and will engage in more open-science. The findings of this study will help inform interventions aimed at increasing open-science practices.

Do researcher’s perceptions of the social dynamics in their field relate to their decisions to be open?

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.