The butterfly effect – how understanding the big picture research ecosystem will help open practice

The concept of the butterfly effect – that the world is deeply interconnected, such that one small occurrence can influence a much larger complex system – can be directly applied to the research ecosystem. Everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. This course is an attempt to articulate these connections and identify areas where change might be possible.

Many aspects of research operate in isolation from each other yet are part of an interdependent whole. Areas such as research culture, research assessment, open scholarship, research integrity, research support, research infrastructure and research impact can be managed by completely different agents within a research institution (if at all). The training we offer all members of the research endeavour does not currently take a holistic view, which makes effective decision-making and positive change deeply challenging.

Recent events in the USA have demonstrated how fragile research integrity and trust in science actually are. The principles of open research are more essential than ever in this environment.

In this course classes will be 1.5 hours long, with three classes and will build on an hour of pre reading/watching per class. The classes will combine direct instruction with discussion, small group work and whole group activity. The goal for each lesson will be to collectively develop some resources (digital, physical and conceptual) to help articulate these concepts and issues to a broader audience.

Each class of the course will focus on a different area: 

• How bad is it really? A dive into the accelerating increase in poor research practice, paper mills, fraud, retractions … (yes this is the depressing lesson!)

• How did we get to this? Looking back to see forward. What has been happening over the past 20 years in terms of changing research assessment, the ownership of research infrastructure, and the rise of the Open movement

• What’s working? A celebration of – and critical look at – initiatives that are shifting the dial. The common thread is the connection across different aspects of the ecosystem. A (possibly lofty) goal of the course is to collectively develop a visual representation of ‘the fundamental interconnectedness of things’

This course is aimed at all participants in the research endeavour – from researchers to research administrators, librarians, third space professionals – everyone. It is intended to be interactive and constructive where all participants can contribute to the process.