Open Science encompasses several practices, including Open Access and Open Data, as well as research metrics, research integrity, and citizen science. Broadly speaking, it describes a change in the way in which science is conducted, including the use of technology to make the practice of research more collaborative and open. Publishers support such efforts, especially where they can improve the quality and availability of knowledge. From our position at the interface between researchers, their research and the rest of the world, publishers have a unique opportunity to support the transformation of science and scholarship towards more openness.

This resource shines a light on some efforts by publishers to transform aspirations for Open Science into reality, including by evolving business models to meet researcher and societal needs, building infrastructure, providing expertise in technology and thought leadership, and utilizing strong relationships with the research community to effect change.

What are publishers doing?

Providing Open Access Publishing Options and Supporting Author Choice
As we support a transformation in terms of how published information is conducted, disseminated, used and consumed, it is vital that researchers maintain their freedom to publish in the publication outlet of their choice. This ensures their work reaches the widest possible audience and has the greatest impact.  Publishers support author choice through a growing number of business models, transformative agreements and online tools. These provide a flexible selection of mechanisms for authors to make their works as widely available as possible, whilst maintaining the highest standards of quality and integrity, discoverability and usability. They also ensure that adequate funding is available for vital investments into review, stewardship, discovery tools, and preservation, as well as to support continued innovation in scholarly communication.

Regardless of the field of study, sharing data is one of the most fundamental aspects of maintaining the integrity of research. The availability of research data plays a vital role in ensuring reproducibility and in advancing the impact of research. There is an increasing need to ensure the availability, discoverability and re-usability of research data for all stakeholders working across scholarly communications. Publishers are pivotal in offering solutions which meet this need, contributing to Open Science and boosting the sharing of research data. STM is a leader in the Research Data Alliance, FAIRsFAIR, and other initiatives to promote data sharing.

Educating the public and providing free resource
Publishers are continually developing new ways of engaging both researchers and the wider community in science. Some examples include training for researchers on open science practices, tools to facilitate researchers to identify reliable publishers and journals, the publication of lay summaries of articles analysing important research and the opening up of scholarly communication to wider public audiences. All of these efforts can accelerate discovery and create a more equitable system of research and scholarship.

Driving sustainable Open Science policy and thought leadership 

STM publishers are keen on engaging with policy-makers and other industry stakeholders across the globe to develop Open Science practices and policies that promote sustainable and forward-looking scholarly communication and support and allow innovation and experimentation. We offer our expertise and data to ensure that policy decisions are evidence-based and can ensure the sustainability, integrity and long-term availability of the scholarly record upon which any innovation is built.

Many publishers have exhibited thought leadership by examining how open science can be best practised by undertaking research, publishing white papers and supporting industry principles, with respect to research integrity, open science practices, and innovation.

Collaboration and Investing in Infrastructure

STM members provide the sometimes-invisible information infrastructure upon which the progress of science and scholarship relies. This is equally true in the Open Science context, where scholarly communication resources and services, including software is critical to enable the scientific and scholarly community to collect, store, organise, access, share, and assess research (see The Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS).

STM and Open Science

Research Data
STM marked 2020 as its Research Data Year, with a pro-active campaign “Share-Link-Cite’ by and for its members to encourage the sharing, linking and citing of research data alongside publications.In 2021 the very popular program was continued as STM’s Research Data Program. Results of the program can be found here.

STM was awarded for its activities as a Research Data Champion in the EU program Fair-s-Fair for Research Data. STM also participates in the EOSC Task Force for FAIR metrics and Data Quality.

Research Integrity
Another program of initiatives by STM regards Research Integrity. Recommendations for best practice were published on Transparent Peer review, AI and Ethics, on Image Alteration Detection, on Retraction Policies, on Reproducibility Badging and more. To make optimal use of sophisticated software detection tools, STM is catering for a Research Integrity Collaboration Hub, scheduled for launch during 2022.

Article Sharing
To support authors in their wish to share their articles with peers, guidance is provided on How Can I Share It?. An Article Sharing Framework has been developed to supply this information also per article in machine-readable format.

SeamlessAccess
Users of research information want easy and seamless access to articles and other research outputs. STM is running a single-sign on project for this, based on federated identity management, together with NISO, GÉANT and Internet2, see SeamlessAccess. A related program is GetFTR which will bring researchers searching for PDF’s to the best available version of an article.

STM Trends 2025
In our most recent forecast outlook to 2025, STM has identified many more trends and opportunities for strengthening trust and integrity in the whole research process. This is depicted in a river delta landscape, as a metaphor for the flow of research outputs – with infrastructure along the river to help check for trust issues. The 2025 STM Trends carry the motto: Let’s Go Upstream. View the infographic.