Open and responsible science as part of students' information searching skills
Responsible and open science is perhaps more associated with research practices, but students can also use and contribute to the opportunities it offers. Openness in science is part of doing science and following good scientific practice also during studies. At the same time, a new generation grows up in research sharing practices. So far, there has been relatively little research on the introduction of students to open science practices, but it has been shown to have a positive relationship with the development of scientific literacy, student engagement, and attitudes towards science (Pownall M. et al. 2023).
In the course of their studies, students will have the opportunity to learn about the themes and practices of open science. The visibility of open and responsible science has been further increased and sharpened within the learning outcomes and teaching content in the recently launched curricula for 2024-27.
Open science in a three-tiered model for teaching information searching skills
The teaching of information skills is integrated into the curriculum as a three-tiered model at different stages of studies. At the university, information searching skills studies take place in the first year, during bachelor's thesis or studies, and in master's degree phase. At TAMK, they cover the first year, professional and bachelor’s study stages (see Information searching studies).
Traditionally, the teaching of information searching skills focuses on the stages of the information searching process: making a search plan, developing search terms, and searching databases. It is also important that during the process, students learn to follow good scientific practice and understand the benefits of open science. The visibility of open science in the teaching depends on students' disciplines and their needs.
Open science is part of the student's journey of learning information searching skills from the very first year. This is when students become familiar with the concept of open science and are able to identify what open science involves. The Student's guide to responsible and open science contains a wealth of material on the different areas of open science.
At the bachelor’s thesis (University) and professional studies (TAMK) stages, the understanding of the concept of open science expands to a more concrete level. The students will learn, among other things, about open institutional repositories. They will also understand that their thesis becomes part of open science when it enters the repository.
At this stage, depending on the discipline, students will also become familiar with other open access search services, such as the Journal.fi archive of Finnish scientific journals, the Finna search service of libraries, archives, and museums, and the Digi.kansalliskirjasto.fi -service of digitized Finnish journals and periodicals. In some disciplines, preprint archives are an important part of learning, such as PhilPapers in philosophy and arXiv in physics, mathematics, and computer science. Students also try searching their own subjects, which can include using search services for open access materials. The teaching will also give guidance how to evaluate information sources.
In the Master's degree (University) and the Bachelor's studies (TAMK) stage, the student's knowledge and skills accumulate again. The students will understand the benefits of open access publishing in their studies and will be able to take into account, for example, the need for a data management plan in their thesis work if they collect data themselves. They will also be able to search for existing data, i.e. learn to make use of open materials.
The information searching skills will also include learning about Alternative Access, i.e. the possibilities to access data without separate identification and to find researched and responsible information also behind paywalls. Depending on the discipline, students may also be interested in publishing an article under a CC licence. The online courses on information searching in Masters’s studies have a section dedicated to the benefits of open access publishing and data management. Students will be provided with materials to read and answer multiple-choice questions on topics such as personal benefits of open access publishing and a resource management plan.
Information searching in working life
The studies will also come to an end in due course. Some graduates go on to conduct research, and many who find employment elsewhere still need information resources in working life, even if they no longer have access to it through the higher education community. This is where the resources and lessons of open science come in handy. Open science skills will also continue to strengthen the ranking of information searching skills as one of the most important skills in working life in the graduates' career monitoring survey.
More information on career monitoring in the Tampere higher education community: Tampere University and TAMK.
References:
Pownall M et al. 2023 Teaching open and reproducible scholarship: a critical review of the evidence base for current pedagogical methods and their outcomes. R. Soc. Open Sci. 10: 221255. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221255
Authors: Sari Mäkelä & Paula Nissilä
