{"id":4214,"date":"2023-06-21T12:15:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T12:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/how-to-use-open-source-data-and-materials-in-your-research\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T06:21:05","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T06:21:05","slug":"how-to-use-open-source-data-and-materials-in-your-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/how-to-use-open-source-data-and-materials-in-your-research","title":{"rendered":"How to use open-source data and materials in your research"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the distant past, information was never subject to licensing or other restrictions. All across Eurasia, scribes would copy texts that they encountered, leading to great repositories of knowledge with often unknown providence. Still, only a lucky few were able to access this knowledge. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite later innovations, such as popularization of libraries, automated printing, and the Internet greatly improving access to knowledge, intellectual property laws mean that readers have often remained restricted in what they can do with information1<\/span><\/sup>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Open-source data and materials contain no or far fewer restrictions. Such materials are freely available for anyone to access, use, modify, and share at no cost. They can include datasets, software, hardware, publications, educational resources, and more. Here, we discuss how to intelligently use such information to improve the open science ecosystem.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A brief history of open source<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

The open-source movement appeared in the 1980s in response to the restrictive patents and copyright that constrained software distribution2<\/span><\/sup>. In response, the open-source movement introduced a novel idea\u2014applying licenses to data and software that ensure that users\u2019 liberty is not restricted. This now comes in two models: copyleft<\/i> licensing, such as the GPL license, wherein information is shared so that anyone can use and share information without restriction provided that they apply the same license; and permissive<\/i> licensing, such as the BSD license, which places no restrictions on users3<\/span><\/sup>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Since the monumental success of the free and open software movement, open licensing is now being applied to other types of data, such as scientific datasets, picture files, text publications, and even hardware.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Open source in scientific research<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Open-source data is growing due to the many benefits it confers to researchers, particularly to early-career researchers4<\/span><\/sup>. First, it facilitates collaboration and in particular interdisciplinary research. Making data open also increases transparency, which can aid the reproducibility and reliability of research, as well as aiding reach. Finally, it can also lower the costs and barriers of conducting research. A researcher in a university in the Global South is far less likely to have access to cutting-edge equipment like a next-generation sequencer, but if they have access to open-source data, they can perform useful bioinformatic analyses despite having fewer resources.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

However, using open-source information comes with challenges and pitfalls, including difficulties with finding relevant and high-quality sources, questions regarding the validity and reliability of these data and materials, and ethical principles and practices that must be maintained.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Finding relevant sources<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Before using open-source data and materials, one must, of course, find sources that are relevant to your research topic and methods. To facilitate the sharing of such data, researchers have developed many platforms and repositories that host open-source information for many disciplines. Some examples are:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n