It’s International Open Access Week and we’ve rounded up some of the ways the McMaster Libraries and the Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship support open scholarship!
Open scholarship is transforming the research landscape by making it more accessible, efficient, and impactful for academics, policymakers, students, community organizations, and the public. It advocates for open access to scholarly publications, ensuring anyone, anywhere can engage with the latest research, along with open data to enhance transparency and allow others to verify and expand on findings, and open educational resources (OER), which make teaching and learning materials freely accessible, creating equitable access to knowledge.
At the McMaster Libraries and the Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship, we support open scholarship by providing tools and training that help researchers engage with open scholarship practices. Whether you’re just beginning your journey into open scholarship or looking to refine your practices, we have various resources to support you every step of the way.
Learn more about the how we support open scholarship below:
Research Data Management
Research Data Management Services supports open scholarship by assisting researchers in making data open. The RDM team provide consultations, training, and resources to enable researchers in depositing and sharing research data. RDM can help with preparing a dataset–describing and writing out an explanation of your data and how you collected it–so your future self and others you share it with openly can understand and reuse it. Book an appointment with an RDM Specialist or send us an email at rdm@mcmaster.ca
Recommended Open Resource: McMaster Dataverse is a free research data repository, a platform where data can be shared openly with other researchers. Data sets are given DOIs and are discoverable in databases and search engines.
Library Data Service
Library Data Service provides access to a wide assortment of numeric open data resources. The access to these resources is available from Data & Statistics section of McMaster University Library’s website.
Recommended Open Resources: Odesi Data Portal is a Canadian social science data repository and provides researchers with access to 5,700+ datasets in a web-based data extraction system and allows the downloading of data into external statistical analysis packages. Odesi is openly available for anyone to search and use. Some data collections (e.g. Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF), Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) etc.) are only available to current McMaster users after being authenticated directly by Odesi data portal. Always refer to the licensing terms and conditions for each dataset. You can also explore and download open data for the City of Hamilton from the Hamilton Community Data Portal. Find a variety of topics such as Population & Demography, Society & Community, Labour & Income etc.
Geographic Information System (GIS) Services
GIS Services supports McMaster and community researchers with GIS and geospatial data needs. Many datasets in our geospatial database are open, with links to open data portals found under the “Portals” subject category. For more details, visit the GIS Services website or reach out directly at libgis@mcmaster.ca.
Recommended Open Resource: GIS Services offers guidance and training on QGIS, a free and open-source GIS software program, alongside access to open data.
Research Impact Services
Research Impact Services helps researchers quantify and express the impact of their open scholarship and supports the adoption of persistent identifiers (e.g. ORCID, DOI, ROR) to enhance the infrastructure necessary for open science.
Recommended Open Resources: ORCID is an author identifier and researcher profile system that allows you to assert authorship of your research outputs and establish connections between publications, funding streams, collaborators, and more. ORCID is a non-profit organization and is completely free to use. You can also explore OpenAlex, an open bibliometric database that provides valuable insights into the impact of your research by tracking things like collaborations, citations, open access publications, and much more.
Digital Scholarship Support
Digital Scholarship is here to assist researchers and students on computational needs, including but not limited to infrastructure, programming advice, dissemination and publishing.
Recommended Open Resource: Github is the world’s largest repository of open-source software, but beyond that, it can be used for non-code purposes as well, like publishing of research results and dissemination of datasets.
Data Visualization Services
Data Visualization Services can support researchers in using free, open-source tools like Gephi (network analysis), R (statistical computing and graphics), and Voyant (text analysis and visualization) to disseminate and share their scholarship. We can also help with cleaning data, design techniques and principles, or creating impactful infographics. You can reach out at sivajos@mcmaster.ca for more information.
Data Analysis Support Hub
The Data Analysis Support Hub helps with statistical support, methodological help and using open source tools such as R, Python, QGIS etc. We offer different workshops using these tools throughout the year and can provide one-on-one consultations for projects in varied disciplines. Feel free to email us directly at libdash@mcmaster.ca for more information.
Recommended Open Resource: DASH offers workshops, as well as consultations throughout the year.
Research Software Development
The Research Software Development team develops and supports researchers to produce sustainable research software using a variety of open source tools and technologies. The team also trains, consults with, and develops resources for researchers to share their code and software in open and reproducible ways. Learn more about the team at u.mcmaster.ca/rsd or reach out to them at rsd@mcmaster.ca.
Recommended Open Resources: Check out RSP’s learning modules and workshops.
Content, Access, and Open Licensing Division
The Content, Access, and Open Licensing Division supports open access through strategic acquisitions of resources and tools. The negotiation of open access agreements (transformative agreements) waives Article Publishing Charges (APC) for select journals. Supporting organizations that provide open access services (e.g., DOAJ, DOAB), innovative publishing models (subscribe to open: MIT Press), and infrastructure (e.g. Érudit), the division contributes to enhanced discovery and access to open access content. In addition, subscribing to tools, such as SciFree, Lean Library, and Libkey, the Division facilitates connections to open access content and journals where researchers can publish open access for free or at a reduced cost.
Recommended Open Resources: Library Support for Open Access, Off-Campus Access, SciFree
Health Sciences Library
The Health Sciences Library Team is available to meet with individuals or teams looking to navigate their open access publishing options. Drop by the information desk or visit https://hsl.mcmaster.ca/ask-us/ to set up an appointment. Custom workshops are available to all library users looking to learn how to navigate access to publishing waivers, publisher agreements, OA budgeting, open data requirements, and article submission requirements. Services are available to anyone, including students, faculty, and staff, wishing to learn more about Open Access.
Recommended Open Resources: Publishing Agreements, Research Consultations
Teaching & Learning
The Teaching & Learning team supports the use and creation of open educational resources (OER). Instructors can use the OER finding service to discover what OER are available to support their courses or apply for a McMaster OER Grant to fund the adoption, adaptation, or creation of OER. Learn more by visiting the OER Guide or email us at oer@mcmaster.ca.
Recommended Open Resources: OER Guide, OER Finding Service, OER Grant
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