Video - Open Science and Researcher Visibility – A Conversation with Experts

Watch the video Open Science and Researcher Visibility – A Conversation with Experts.

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Video 6. Open Science and Researcher Visibility – A Conversation with Experts

Transcript

Open science has evolved from a mere trend to a standard practice in the European and Croatian scientific communities. This concept encompasses various specific practices and tools that scientists can leverage to enhance the visibility, transparency, and accessibility of their work. In this video, we delve into insights from experts who have been engaged in this field for many years and contributed to the development of these systems. Before we engage with experts from information systems of science and higher education libraries, we outline the fundamental tools. In Croatia, systematic efforts are underway to develop tools that connect scientists, their work, and institutions in the digital realm. These include the ORCID, CroRIS, and Dabar. ORCID provides global identification, CroRIS maintains publication records, and Dabar ensures public accessibility. These systems are synchronised to facilitate the evaluation of scientific activities and are increasingly becoming prerequisites for funding, career advancement, and participation in international projects.

What benefits does maintaining a personal bibliographic profile in CroRIS offer? 

CroRIS allows the consolidation of all data related to scientific activities in one place, ensuring the identification and visibility of Croatian scientists. Additionally, it verifies the connection between scientific work results.

How is CroRIS employed to evaluate scientific work? 

The data entered into CroRIS are used to generate reports essential for reaccrediting higher education institutions. Additionally, reports on the reaccreditation of scientific institutes are prepared. Updated profiles in CroRIS are required for the advancement of scientists in the scientific system. 

How does data exchange between CroRIS and the Dabar and ORCID systems function? 

Data exchange between CroRIS and Dabar occurs via a REST-API architecture and a permanent identifier, allowing records from Dabar to be downloaded to CroRIS. Although CroRIS does not facilitate exchange with ORCID, it can be recorded in the profile. 

What would you suggest to scientists who are not yet actively using CroRIS? 

I would advise them to register or log in to CroRIS and begin entering and updating their data. This will enhance their visibility and enable them to connect with both domestic and international members of the scientific community to collaborate on research topics. 

What is Dabar and why is it significant for open science in Croatia? 

Dabar is a Croatian network of open repositories, created primarily to enable all institutions within the science and higher education system to establish their own institutional repositories easily and store works produced at these institutions, preferably in open access. 

What types of works can be stored in repositories? 

Technically, any type of work can be stored in a repository, but the repository owner decides what they actually want and can store, ranging from student papers, assistant professor papers, scientific papers, journal papers, books, lectures, and all audio, textual, or image formats. 

How does a scientist determine which version they can publish: preprint or postprint? 

Typically, a scientist is always allowed to store the preprint version and, most often, the postprint version, which is the version edited after reviews but not yet graphically formatted, often with a time embargo on it. However, scientists or authors can find precise information about this in their contract with the publisher, on the publisher's website, or through a tool called Open Policy Finder. 

What does it mean when a work is published in both a journal and a repository? 

Ideally, the work in the journal will be published as open access, whether the scientist pays for open access or, optimally, by publishing in a diamond open access journal. However, if the work is in closed access, enabling open access through the repository is crucial. Even when a work is published as open access in a journal, it remains important for institutions to collect everything in their repository that represents the production of that scientific institution. Therefore, it is important to save a copy in the repository.

Why is it important for every scientist to have an ORCID identifier? 

The ORCID has a dual function. On the one hand, it is an identifier and makes it possible to recognise at the international level if it is the same author who publishes under different variants of the name or if it is different authors who have the same first and last names. On the other hand, ORCID also serves to create a scientific profile, which again has international visibility and recognition, and that is why it is good for every scientist to invest effort, not only in opening the ORCID identifier but also in editing the profile.

What should they pay attention to when entering data into the OCRiD Profile? 

When creating an ORCID profile, it is very important to connect it with your scientific institution, that is, to enter a correct email address that will connect the author with the institution where they currently work and are active. In addition, it is important to describe all your activities in as much detail as possible and determine their visibility to others. Therefore, for each piece of information entered, it is possible to determine whether it will be visible to everyone or hidden; thus, it is important to display as many of your scientific works, activities, etc. as possible in that profile and, of course, duplicate and edit them.

How can ORCID be connected to other systems such as CROSBI, WoS, and Scopus? 

Connecting ORCID with CROSBI or CroRIS currently works exclusively so that an OCRiD identifier can be entered in the CroRIS Profile and also that a CroRIS identifier can be entered in the ORCID profile. On the other hand, with systems such as WoS and Scopus, functional integration is also possible, which means that it is possible to pull records of works from, for example, Scopus and WoS into the ORCID profile. Alternatively, the CroRIS identifier can be entered in the WoS profile and in this way, information will be displayed through Web of Science or Scopus.

To what extent is it used in Croatia, and which areas still require improvement? 

Thanks to Hrčak's promotion of ORCID identifiers in Croatian scientific journals, ORCID is extensively utilised. However, improvements could be made in two key areas: first, ensuring that all scientists update their ORCID profiles, and second, encouraging institutions to use ORCID identifier registers more actively to track the scientific output of their researchers. Additionally, it is crucial not to rely solely on the ORCID identifier but to consistently use identifiers at other levels, such as DOI labels for works or identifiers for the institution or funder of scientific research, such as ROI. Integrating and monitoring all these identifiers would enhance the tracking of scientific output at institutions. Tools such as ORCID, CroRIS, and DABAR are available to make your work more accessible and recognised within the scientific community. However, it is essential to remember that these tools require regular updating. Begin by opening at least one profile and editing the data. This step marks the beginning of your journey towards open science.