Open science as research practice, not an afterthought.
Open science at COSSEE is not a side theme. It shapes how projects are planned, how decisions are documented, how evidence is shared, and how research communities are built across ecology and evolution.
The aim is to make research more trustworthy, reusable, and collaborative by treating transparency as part of everyday scientific work rather than something added once a study is finished.
What this looks like in practice
- Planning studies clearly: making hypotheses, methods, and analytical choices visible early.
- Using registrations and protocols: creating stable public records when they strengthen the research process.
- Supporting registered reports: shifting evaluation toward design quality and reasoning rather than novelty alone.
- Building reusable synthesis projects: designing reviews, maps, and meta-analyses that can be revisited, updated, and extended.
- Linking transparency with inclusion: connecting open practice with clearer credit, broader participation, and collaborative community building.
Why it matters
Better science is not only about producing results. It is also about making the reasoning, design, and workflow behind those results easier to evaluate.
In ecology and evolution, where studies can be heterogeneous, context-dependent, and difficult to replicate directly, open science helps make evidence easier to interpret, compare, update, and reuse.
Registrations
Registrations help make the logic of a study visible before results reshape the story. They are especially useful for clarifying research questions, hypotheses, design decisions, and planned analyses.
Registered Reports
Registered reports move peer review earlier in the research process so studies are judged on design strength, clarity, and reasoning before outcomes are known.
Published Protocols
Protocols provide detailed, citable records of how studies and syntheses will be conducted. They are especially useful for complex reviews, evidence maps, and collaborative projects.
Research culture and shared standards
Open science also depends on how people work together. At COSSEE, this includes reproducible workflows, better reporting, clearer research records, shared standards, and infrastructure that others can inspect and build on.
In that sense, open science is tied not only to tools, but also to research culture: how projects are organised, how decisions are recorded, and how contributions remain legible over time.
Community and infrastructure
Open science grows through broader ecosystems of repositories, societies, software, and training networks. COSSEE treats these communities and infrastructures as part of the research process rather than separate support layers.
Read more
See how COSSEE approaches registrations, registered reports, and protocol-based planning.
ResourcesBrowse societies, hubs, tools, and networks connected to open science and synthesis work.
Research OverviewExplore how open science connects with COSSEE's broader research themes, methods, and workflows.