Open Science and Research Services

Showing 10 of 10 Results

07/03/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services

Librarians from NTU and NIE libraries recently conducted a workshop titled, “Showcasing your Impact with Research Metrics & Researcher Profiles” for both NTU and NIE faculty members.

 

 

This workshop was part of the Faculty Development Talk Series on Research & Teaching Excellence by the Provost Office. Lunch was provided for the participants and this gave them an opportunity to network and chat with the other participants.  The workshop proper started at 12pm, with Prof Theng Yin Leng, Associate Provost (Faculty Affairs), welcoming participants.

 

Open Science and Research Services Librarians, Su Nee and Amy began with an overview of the commonly used research metrics and tools. In addition to commonly used platforms such as Web of Science, Google Scholar Profile and Scopus, Terence, another Open Science and Research Services Librarian, also shared how newer platforms such as Publish or PerishDimensionsLens could be useful when looking up one’s research metrics.  Participants were seen engaged and raised questions with regard to the presentation topics.

 

Su Nee introduced how altmetrics, also known an “alternative” metrics could be used in a supplemental way alongside conventional metrics to articulate one’s research impact. She rounded up the session with tips on increasing research visibility, through a Research Visibility Checklist which covered areas such as optimising the use of ORCID, practising open research and linking all research outputs with a persistent identifier, among others. This checklist aims to guide the researcher in increasing their research visibility.

 

 

Prof Theng wrapped up the session by thanking the librarians, and inviting the participants to stay on for one-to-one consultations with the NTU and NIE librarians.

 

 

Participants were seen staying back after the workshop to speak with the librarians on how to improve their research impact and other follow-up questions. 

 

 

The 2022 NTU Open Research Award posters were displayed outside the Training Room for the participants to check out. The posters were good conversation starters for some of the participants, and some found them informational and inspirational. 

 

For more information on research impact, check out our guide here.

This post has no comments.
06/27/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services

 

 

On 28 May 2025, faculty, researchers and management support staff from the National Institute of Education (NIE) gathered for a thought-provoking session on Publishing Strategically for Research Impact. The event was co-organised by NTU Library and the Fellowships and Awards (F&A) team from the Research Support Office, in partnership with the NIE Office of Academic and Faculty Affairs (AFA), Office for Research (OfR) and NIE Library and Information Services Centre (LIBRIS). This cross-functional collaboration is part of ongoing initiatives to support NIE in enhancing its research visibility and performance in global rankings.

 

This event highlighted the collective effort of NTU’s research support ecosystem:

Fellowships and Awards (Research Support Office): Discussed data-driven insights on NTU’s Subject Rankings and actionable strategies to boost research visibility through metrics such as Citations per Paper (CPP) and the H-Index.

NTU Library: Shared tools, metrics, and resources to enhance research visibility, select top-tier publication venues, and maximise research visibility and impact.

NIE AFA, NIE Library and Office for Research: Reflected on cultivating research impact and shared how the NIE community can work collaboratively to strengthen publication efforts and make meaningful contributions.
 

Prof Low Ee Ling, Dean (NIE AFA), delivering a warm welcome to the participants at the NIE Lecture Theatre.
 

The session was structured into four parts, each offering practical insights and strategies from various points of view across the research ecosystem.
 

Part 1: Unlocking NIE’s Research Impact
 

Presented by Prof Khor Khiam Aik, Director of Fellowships and Awards (Research Support Office), this segment explored how strategic publishing can enhance research visibility and contribute to institutional performance in global rankings.
 

Key highlights included:

  • Understanding Research Impact Metrics: How metrics like Citations per Paper (CPP) and the H-Index reflect the quality and reach of research in global rankings.
  • Strengthening Publication Strategies: An exploration of effective publishing patterns and the importance of producing high-impact work within the research field.
  • Learning from High-Impact Publications: Analysis of the most cited papers to highlight the success factors, such as interdisciplinary focus, methodological strength, and timely topics.
     

NIE faculty, researchers and management support staff attending the community engagement session.

 

Part 2: Tools, Indicators & Resources for Research Visibility and Impact

 

This segment, presented by Ms Goh Su Nee, Deputy Director, NTU Library, provided participants with tools to make their research more discoverable, impactful, and credible.

Key highlights included:

  • Navigating Research Metrics: Practical tools were introduced to understand key metrics and their relevance in research evaluation.
  • The Research Visibility Checklist: A practical guide outlines key actionable steps for researchers to make their research work more visible and effective.
     

Ms Goh Su Nee presenting an overview of key research impact metrics to assist researchers in assessing 
and enhancing their research visibility and impact.

 

Part 3: Sharing by NIE Library

 

This segment was presented by Mrs Chew-Ooi Lian Ping, Senior Unit Head at NIE LIBRIS, who shared ongoing initiatives to foster a collective approach within NIE departments in identifying high-quality publication sources to reinforce NIE’s shared commitment to strategic publishing.
 

Mrs Chew Ooi Lian Ping offering journal evaluation examples to guide researchers in determining reliable publication venues.
 

Part 4: Cultivating Research Impact: My Lessons in Strategic Publication & Partnership for Impact
 

Assoc Prof Loh Chin Ee, Associate Dean (Impact & Partnerships), Office for Research at NIE, shared her personal reflections on navigating publication choices and developing long-term research influence.

Key highlights included:

  • Building Impact Beyond Academia: Research that supports national priorities could shape policy, inform academic practice, and promote system change.
  • Choosing Where and What to Publish: Publication strategies should reflect research goals and intended audience, balancing quality, relevance, and collaboration.
  • Partnerships and Outreach: Proactive engagement with stakeholders and public-facing scholarship can grow research impact and promote meaningful dialogue.

Assoc Prof Loh Chin Ee sharing her reflections on strategic publishing and research impact.


This community engagement session brought research strategy, resources, and reflective practice into dialogue. During the Q&A segment, Prof Khor encapsulated the broader aspiration of the research community with an easy but powerful reminder:
 

“GLOCAL” - Globally Influential, Locally Relevant Research
 

This guiding principle stresses the need to make meaningful contributions to international scholarship while addressing the unique educational challenges and opportunities in Singapore and the region. As the research landscape will continue to evolve, strategic publishing grounded in this GLOCAL vision will be crucial to maintaining relevance and maximising impact.

With contributions from the Fellowships and Awards (Research Support Office), NIE AFA, NIE OfR and NIE Library team at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

This post has no comments.
06/04/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services
decorative-image

The pre-conference workshop on Intellectual Properties and Open Science, held on 11 November, marked the commencement of the conference. Prof Julia Priess-Buchheit facilitated the workshop, which was attended by 47 participants. Most participants highlighted ‘finding balance between open access and IP’ as one of the workshop takeaways.

Intellectual Properties and Open Science Workshop

 

Right after the workshop, the Networking Session took place.

The Networking, which was held in collaboration with EURAXESS, was graced by Her Excellency Dr Iwona Piorko, European Union Ambassador to Singapore.

(L-R) Prof Lim Kah Leong, Dr Iwona Piorko, and Dr Liu Bin at the Networking Session

 

The conference proper took place on Tuesday, 12 November 2024 at NUS Shaw Foundation Alumni House Auditorium. There was a total of 207 conference participants – majority are from Singapore with several from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, and Malaysia.

The conference opened with an address by Guest of Honour, Prof Subodh Mhaisalkar who emphasized Singapore’s commitment to fostering open science.
Opening Address: Open Science and Singapore [Slide | Video]

Opening Address by Prof Subodh Mhaisalkar

 

Prof. Dr. Julia Priess-Buchheit then delivered the first keynote on balancing open science, security, and intellectual property rights.
Open Science, Security, and Intellectual Property Rights [Slide | Video]

Providing the different perspectives on Open Research, are:

Dr Wilson Goh, who zoomed in on open research that deals with personal, identifiable and sensitive data
Is Open Science Possible in Healthcare and Medical Research? [Slide | Video];

Dr Emma Crott, who looked at open research from infrastructure’s perspective
The Future of Digital Research Infrastructure [Slide | Video];

And Prof Jerry Menikoff, who underlined that one should not assume that the more ‘conservative’ position (requiring consent) is always the more ethical one.
Truly Open Research with Biospecimens: Can Research with Non-identified Biospecimens Be Conducted Without Consent? [Slide | Video]

Singapore Open Research Conference 2024 was attended by more than 200 participants from Singapore and neighbouring countries

 

Prof Min-Yen Kan delivered an impactful second keynote by unpacking FAIR principles, how to prevent UnFAIR outcomes and implications of AI on FAIRness.
Pre-mortem: UnF.A.I.R – the Death of Open Research [Slide | Video]

Following was the sharing of data management and adoption of best practices in Singapore and worldwide, by Mark Hahnel from Digital Science.
The Rate of Adoption of Good Data Practices in Singapore [Slide | Video]

Midday panel discussion was moderated by Prof Lim Kah Leong. A mixture of serious discussion and light-hearted comments, the discussion was highly engaging and thought-provoking.
Panel Discussion [Video]

Panel Discussion with Prof Lim Kah Leong, Prof Julia Priess-Buchheit, Dr Natalie Pang, Dr Willie Koh and Dr Emma Crott

 

The afternoon sessions showcased open research applications, from:

Qualitative data sharing (Dr Laurie J. Goldsmith and Leong Li Zi), scientometric insights into questionable research practices (Dr Michelle Neoh) and building open database for single-cell datasets (Dr Jinmiao Chen).

Planning for Open Data in Qualitative Research: What Study Participants Want Researchers to Know [Slide (embargoed) | Video]

Questionable Research Practices and Open Science: A Scientometric Perspective of 50 years of Research [Slide | Video]

Rediscovering publicly available single-cell data with the DISCO platform [Slide | Video]

Networking and poster-viewing

 

The conference concluded with the announcement of Singapore Open Research Awards 2024 winners and lightning talks.

Lightning talk by Prof Loy Chen Change [Slide][Link to the poster]

Lightning talk by Assistant Professor Manuel Rigger [Slide | Video][Link to the poster]

Lightning talk by Assistant Professor Cynthia S. Q. Siew [Slide | Video][Link to the poster]

Lightning talk by Associate Professor Guillaume Thibault [Slide | Video][Link to the poster]

 

Winner
S-Lab for Advanced Intelligence

 

Winner
Open Research for Robustifying Data-centric Systems

 

Winner:
The Small World of Singlish Words

 

Winner
Guillaume Thibault

 

Special Mention
LiuTeam@NTU

 

Special Mention
Miguel Escobar Varela

A BIG thank you to Guest of Honour, Facilitators, Speakers, Sponsors, and all participants for your presence, interest, and support in embracing and championing Open Research. We hope to see you again at the next iteration of Singapore Open Research Conference.

 

Blog post written by Yuyun Wirawati Ishak.

This post has no comments.
05/29/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services

 

This past April, NTU library together with our colleagues from the Good Research Practice Office (GRPO) conducted a workshop on “Research Reproducibility in Science.”  The 2-hours long Team-Based Learning (TBL) workshop was held in Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine HQ.  It was facilitated by Celine Lee (GRPO) and Dr Amy Chou from Open Science and Research Services (OSR) at NTU Library.  Participants were mainly LKCMedicine’s Principle Investigators, Research Staff, and PhD students.

The objectives of the workshop were to help participants have a better understanding of:

  1. research reproducibility,
  2. impact on scientific advancement when scientific literature cannot be replicated,
  3. concerns and issues surrounding such impact.

The first session consisted of ten multiple-choice questions (MCQs).  They covered wide-ranging topics from p-hacking, outlier, undesirable research practices, fabrication of research data, fake peer review to institutional roles in fostering data reproducibility.  Participants were encouraged to attempt the questions before the workshop.  This individual exercise was followed up by group and class discussions to maximise team-based learning.

The second half of the session was levelled up with the presentation of a case study that was divided into three parts. The first was on specific research and ethical issues that could be raised from data reproducibility. The second looked at the importance of preserving the original research data . The final part focused on what would be helpful to support other researchers in replicating research findings.  Here again, team-based learning was employed with group discussions followed by a class discussion to maximise engagement and learning outcomes among participants. Some major highlights gleaned from the second segment included the need for a set of principles to support a more robust and transparent research as well as the sharing of some best practices in research reporting.

The general feedback for the workshop was good. A majority found it useful and helpful as the MCQs and case study (an adaptation from the National Institutes Health teaching material) were work related, and tailored to the biomedical discipline.  This could also be seen in the lively discussion among the participants in both group and class discussions.  They also found the duration of the workshop to be appropriate for the number of topics covered.

UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. CC BY IGO 3.0

 

This post has no comments.
05/29/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services

 

The inaugural Singapore Open Research Conference 2022 took place on 2 November 2022 at the Toh Kian Chui Annex, Headquarters Building of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

The Conference was jointly organised by NTU Research Integrity and Ethics Office, NTU Library, and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. The Conference aims to create awareness of Open Research (also used interchangeably with the term ‘Open Science’), which is the movement to make scientific processes and research outputs more transparent, inclusive, and accessible.

This year’s theme was “Accelerating Research with Responsible Open Science”. Open science, or open research practices, coupled with accessible and verifiable scientific knowledge, help to improve quality, reproducibility, reusability, and impact of science.

Prior to the Conference, participants were treated to a workshop, titled “The Art of Writing Methods and Introduction to protocols.io” by Dr Lenny Teytelman, CEO and co-founder of protocols.io. Both sessions of the workshop were well-received by the participants, who enjoyed Dr Teytelman’s introduction on practical tips in writing methods as well as protocols.io, an open tool for developing and sharing of methods.


Workshop participants having an after-workshop chat with Dr Lenny Teytelman.

Main Conference Highlights

The main conference saw speakers from various institutions, sharing their practices on open science policies, governance, ethics and practical experiences.

Prof Joseph Sung, Distinguished University Professor, Senior Vice President (Health and Life Sciences), Dean, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and Professor, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, gave the welcoming opening address.

 

This was then followed by a keynote speech on “Accelerating Knowledge Creation with Responsible Open Research” by the guest of honour, Professor Ling San, NTU Deputy President and Provost, President’s Chair in Mathematical Sciences. He noted that Open Research could have started way back in the 1600s when the Royal Society first started systematically publishing scientific results. The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science includes various aspects such as open methods, FAIR data, open infrastructures, open-source software and hardware, open code, open access publications, open education resources and open engagement. As a mathematician, he also offered his perspectives on what Open Research meant in mathematics. Here are the links to his presentation slides and the video clip.

 

Dr Lenny Teytelman in his presentation “The Selfish Reasons for Practising Open Science” shared that according to a 2022 survey on researchers’ methods sharing practices and priorities [LaFlamme, M., Harney, J., & Hrynaszkiewicz, I. (2022)],  the biggest barrier was “It takes too long to prepare detailed methods information in a way that would be useful for others”. He advised that it is important to plan for data, methods and code sharing early. Thinking of sharing them only when submitting a paper will require a lot of extra work to share a good dataset at that point. However, if data, methods and code sharing, including the use of tools like protocols.io and GitHub is part of data management planning, then sharing the methods and code will be super easy at the time of publication.

 

Dr Lenny Teytelman’s presentation slides can be found here and the video clip here.

 

Dr Amy Chou, Manager, Open Science and Research Services, NTU Library; and Ms Celine Lee, Manager, Good Research Practice Office, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine presented the NTU Open Research Checklist through an engaging dialogue. As the Checklist is still a draft version, they invited the audience to give them feedback and suggestions. A video of their presentation is available here.

Lunch, Networking Session, and Poster Session Highlights

 

During the lunch, participants had the opportunity to speak to Awards recipients who were on standby next to their physical posters to exchange notes on open research experiences. More information on the Award recipients’ lightning talks, posters, and highlights of their open research practices can be found here and in this blog post.

Ms Michelle Neoh representing Social & Affective Processing Lab, sharing her team’s open research work with a conference participant.

Prof Fung Tat Ching and Assoc Prof Kevin Pethe having a discussion over lunch.

Conference participants enjoying the food and networking sessions; even outdoors.

Afternoon Conference Highlights

After lunch, Ms Koh Mingshi, Director (Chief Health Scientist Office), Ministry of Health, shared that TRUST is a new national health-related data exchange platform that adopts the Five Safes Framework ‘Safe Purpose’, ‘Safe People’, ‘Safe Settings’, ‘Safe Data’ and ‘Safe Output’ in her talk “Improving Health Outcomes and Advancing Healthcare Innovation Through TRUST”.


Her presentation slides can be found here.

Up next, was Assistant Professor Owen Schaefer, for Centre for Biomedical Ethics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, with his talk titled “From Open Data to Open Access: Ethical Tradeoffs in Open Science”.

 

Assistant Professor Schaefer presented on the ethical tradeoffs in Open Science and explores how to explore these tradeoffs in an ethically principled way. His presentation slides can be found here and a video of his presentation is available here.

Next, we had the pleasure of Professor Nicole Wenderoth, Director of Institute for Human Movement Sciences and Sport at ETH Zurich; and founding Director of Future Health Technology programme at Singapore-​ETH Centre sharing with us her take on “Sharing Data Collected via Future Health Technologies”.

 

She introduced to the audience the international, multidisciplinary research programme “Future Health Technologies” at the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), which offers a test bed and data microcosm for identifying challenges for sharing health-related data and developing first solutions. Check out these links for her presentation slides, and the video clip.

The next segment of the conference was the Panel Discussion, moderated by Assistant Professor Wilson Goh, Biomedical Informatics and Head, Good Research Practice Office, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. Members of the panel included Dr Lenny Teytelman, Ms Koh Mingshi, Assistant Professor Owen Schaefer and Professor Nicole Wenderoth.

 

The audience was immersed in the engaging panel discussion on concerns about sharing methods and data, how institutions can incentivise researchers to practice open science, and programmes and initiatives to engage the younger generations. They also discussed “Diamond” publishing and if it will help ease the pressure for researchers in regard to very expensive article processing charges (APCs).

Panel members going back and forth on their take on the various questions posed by the moderator.

In this next segment of the conference, Open Research in Practice was the buzzword. Associate Professor Roderick W. Bates, from NTU School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CCEB) and NTU Research Integrity Officer captivated 100% from the audience with his talk titled “Correcting the Natural Product Literature through Open Data”. 

 

Associate Professor Bates illustrated the importance of access to original data, in the determination of the molecular structure in the isolation of natural products from plants, fungi, bacteria and animals. For more details, do check out his presentation slides and the video clip.

The next speaker was Professor Ginny Barbour , Director of Open Access Australasia, and Co-Lead, Office for Scholarly Communications, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, who delivered her talk virtually. She spoke on “The Acceleration of Open Science Initiatives in 2022: an Australasian View of What’s Needed Next”

 

She highlighted that the past 12-18 months had seen an extraordinary increase in open science initiatives globally as well as regionally in Australasia. She added that while these policy changes and initiatives are to be welcomed, there is increasing urgency to recognise the need for a diversity of approaches to open science and to ensure that equity is a key part of the future open ecosystem. Check out her presentation slides and her video clip.

Another virtual presentation followed, and it was presented by Dr Hiromitsu Urakami, Academic Engagement Director for Springer Nature (Japan). In his talk, titled  “Progressing Open Science through Publishing, he shared how Springer Nature champions Open Science and is committed to supporting the research community as it transitions to a more open way of conducting research.

 

His presentation slides can be found here and the video clip here.

The last presentation of the day was delivered by Ms Dju-Lyn CHNG, Regional Solution Consultant for Clarivate. She talked about the “Trends in Open Research through the Web of Science Lens”, where they made use of data from Web of Science to shed some light on the recent patterns of open access publishing using perspectives from funders, subjects, countries, publishers and journals.

 

She invited participants to discover how publisher-neutral data and analytics in the Web of Science help one find trusted open access content, as well as assess productivity, collaboration and impact in alignment with evolving open research initiatives. Check out the links to her presentation slides and video clip.

NTU Open Research Awards 2022 Highlights

The next segment of the conference was the NTU Open Research Awards 2022 ceremony. Ms Goh Su Nee, Deputy Director and Lead, Open Science and Research Services, NTU Library gave the opening remarks and invited the Award recipients on stage to receive their certificates.

 

The Awards were presented to the following recipients:

  • Individual Award Winner (Nanyang Asst Prof Suzy Styles)
  • Team Award Winner (Volcanic Hazards and Risk Group)
  • Special Mention (Digital Signal Processing Lab)
  • Special Mention (Social & Affective Neuroscience Lab)
  • Special Mention (TeraX Labs)

After the ceremony, the audience were treated to two lightning talks by the winners; Nanyang Asst Prof Suzy Styles and Assoc Prof Susanna Jenkins for Volcanic Hazards and Risk Group.

More information on the Award recipients’ lightning talks, posters, and highlights of their open research practices can be found here and in this blog post.

Closing Remarks

The closing remarks to mark the end of the conference was delivered by Dr Willie Koh, Director, NTU Research Integrity & Ethics Office. He thanked the audience for their participation and support in the inaugural Singapore Open Research Conference and hoped to continue to foster an open research community. He also thanked the speakers for sharing their expertise, to which further discussions would continue on the topics they raised.

With that, the successful first Singapore Open Research Conference 2022 was concluded!


 

This post has no comments.
05/28/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services

 

Ms Caroline Pang (top left); Professor Michael Khor (top right), Alexander van Servellen (bottom left), Prof Theng Yin Leng (bottom right)
Click here to learn more about citation index databases and tools.

This post has no comments.
05/27/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services

 

As we embarked on the NTU Open Research Expedition with a series of talks, workshops, and conference planned for 2024, our first stop was an introductory workshop on Open Research, this past November.

The Library’s Open Science and Research Services Team has always placed great emphasis in promoting open research and its benefits. Two workshops on open research centered on different themes were conducted this year alone.  The April workshop held in LKCMedicine was focused on reproducibility and its impact on research. The workshop in November, on the other hand, was focused on open methods, open code, open data, and open access.

A total of 34 participants from both NTU and NIE attended the November workshop led by staff from both the Good Research Practice (LKCMedicine) and the Open Science and Research Services (OSR) team.

The workshop was structured to be engaging and interactive with a series of MCQs at the end of each segment, after a brief introduction to the various topics.  Group discussions were encouraged during the MCQs, and the teams with the top three scores were given a prize at the end of the workshop.

From the feedback garnered, most of the participants felt that the workshop was well organized and executed, and the duration was just about right. Below are examples of the feedback received:

  • “The workshop is very interactive and the MCQs breaks up the content/knowledge very well.”

  • “The workshop was very informative, and the facilitators were very energetic and friendly.”

  • “Good bite sized, engaging workshop.”

  • “We should have more informal discussions on open research in the future.”

On top of the mostly positive feedback, some participants shared that they wanted more content and in-depth discussions. Some felt that longer pauses between the questions and answers were desirable as that would allow time for the participants to digest the content.

At the end of the workshop, participants were invited to view the NTU Open Research Award 2022 posters which were displayed at a corner of the room. They were also asked to pledge which of the open research practices they most likely to embark on, by indicating their preferences with stickers on the four practices. A majority chose ‘Open access’ followed by ‘Open data’, ‘Open methods’, and ‘Open code’.

The Library has also prepared an Open Research Checklist for interested NTU researchers who wish to make practical changes to their scientific process and research outputs.

Check out some of the photo highlights taken during the workshop:

 

Participants settling down
NTU Open Awards Posters gallery
Participants viewing the posters
Stickers showing participants’ choice of open research practices
Scoreboard for MCQs

 

Prof Wilson presenting prizes to the top 3 winners
Prof Wilson presenting prizes to the top 3 winners
Prof Wilson presenting prizes to the top 3 winners
OSR Team – Su Nee, Kala & Yasmin

This post has no comments.
05/27/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services


 

Open research is a movement that advocates transparency, collaboration and accessibility in research. In 2022, NTU Library introduced the Open Research Checklist and one of the Checklist items is Open Methods. Making methods open, transparent, and accessible to the public is known as Open Methods. Open methods promote trust, reproducibility, and reusability (1).
 

As part of NTU Library’s initiatives to advocate for broader adoption of open research practices, we invited Dr. Crystal Steltenpohl from the Centre for Open Science (COS), to share with the NTU research community on open methods. COS is a non-profit technology organization dedicated to increasing the openness, integrity, and reproducibility of scientific research. Its Open Science Framework (OSF) is open-source software designed to facilitate open methods and collaboration in scientific research. Crystal, based in the United States, conducted the two hybrid workshops on 27 and 29 February 2024 via Zoom.
 

Workshop 1: Finding and Writing Open Methods

In the first workshop titled: ‘Finding and Writing Open Methods’, Crystal provided an overview of open science practices and their contributions in making research more available, reproducible, and impactful by sharing data, methods, and results. This workshop also geared towards orientating NTU, NIE staff and students to the OSF project management tool to support researchers in the entire project lifecycle.

Participants were given the opportunity to explore the platform and many found it useful as it integrates project files, data, and protocols, and enhances collaboration through connections to third-party services like Dropbox and Google Drive. OSF centralizes locations for researchers, facilitating collaboration among those using different types of software. It offers 5GB of storage for private projects and up to 50GB per component for public projects. Crystal recommended adding more components to increase storage, noting there are no limits to the number of components per project.

During the hands-on activity, participants were encouraged to search for reproducible protocols in their research field, to reuse. Notable platforms they searched in were protocol exchangeprotocols.io and PLOS ONE. One of the participants pointed out an observation – that whilst some repositories may have detailed protocols information, others were less comprehensive, as what he encountered. Crystal encouraged participants to consider what information they would need to replicate research and what might be missing from existing protocols. She also introduced tools like SciScore and Penelope.ai to check for protocols and manuscripts for transparency.
 

Key Questions and Discussions

Chemical Engineering Protocols:
“Can chemical engineering methods and procedures be found in protocols.io?”

Crystal noted that protocols.io might not be commonly used by chemical engineering researchers and offered to help find suitable repositories.
 

Editing Public Registrations:
“For the registration process, when the documents are uploaded into the OSF, this is usually done at the data analysis stage. However, if we do upload it and make it public, and during the process of the analysis, we discovered that this method that we chose initially may not be suitable. Is there a way to edit the process in OSF, once this information has been made public?”

When asked about updating methods during data analysis, Crystal explained that updates should be included in Registrations with justifications.
 

Linking ELN to Projects:
“What are the best practices surrounding linking ELN to the project? Is it via a link to the ELN?”

Crystal suggested using OSF as an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) or exporting ELN files to include them as components in OSF.

Crystal ended the session with the hands-on activity, where participants were tasked to create a test protocol, and share it with their collaborators. She emphasized that registrations can be assigned to existing projects or new ones, regardless of the project’s status.
 

Workshop 2: Preregistration and Registered Reports

The second workshop led by Crystal was a deep dive into one of the key principles of Open Science – Preregistration and Registered Reports. The importance of this topic was evident as it is key in encouraging authenticity and integrity in a researcher’s work. By publicly registering a study design before conducting the research, researchers are less likely to change their analysis after the data collection.
 

Preregistration and registered reports have been used by researchers doing experiments, randomised clinical trials, descriptive studies, qualitative studies, systematic reviews and others. Even if a researcher is doing exploratory research, they can still preregister, and capture the research questions and the variables they will be studying.
 

But more importantly, the trainer pointed out that Preregistration is particularly important in addressing publication bias. Studies with positive results are more likely to be published than those with negative ones. The other advantage of registering a study is that information is publicly available. There was a question that shared concern on their ideas getting scooped, to which the trainer assured that the preregistration can be embargoed, until it is ready to be published and made public. The length of time that the preregistration can be embargoed on OSF is up to four years. She added that on the contrary, preregistration allows the researcher to put a stake on their ideas.
 

One of the questions posed by the participants is if there are any limitations or risks of doing preregistrations? Crystal discussed the risks and limitations of preregistration, such as potential misunderstandings by reviewers unfamiliar with the process. She noted that fields like psychology are becoming accustomed to preregistrations, but qualitative researchers and those in education may find it challenging.
 

The invited speaker, Dr Pierina Cheung, shared a personal insight, where she recently had some experience trying to submit a paper with a preregistration to an early childhood education journal, and the editor and one of the reviewers asked what a preregistration is in the reviews. She added that, in response to the question raised by the participant, she agrees that general education is moving towards the preregistration direction but there re subfields that are still pretty new to it, and she notes that in early childhood a lot of the studies are mixed methods and qualitative.
 

For the rest of the session, Crystal ran through the steps to writing a preregistration and shared templates that can be found on OSF, and websites such as AsPredicted.org. The OSF currently has templates for qualitative research, psychological replications, registered reports, secondary data analysis, social psychological research, and systematic reviews. For the next part, participants learned how to register and update a study on the OSF, via a hands-on activity, while Crystal did a demo, using the various templates on OSF.
 

The second part of the workshop was a sharing by Dr Pierina Cheung, a lecturer (Research Scientist) in the Office of Education Research at the National Institute of Education (NIE). She shared with the audience the practical aspects of using open science practices in research. She started using preregistrations in 2017/2018, as a post doctorate at a university in Canada.
 

Pierina shared that one difficulty that she personally experienced when it comes to designing the research projects is the study part that you have an idea but detailing it and turning it into something measurable. Or, as someone mentioned earlier, specifying your study design, and fleshing that out, making sure your study design matches you research questions.
 

The goal of adopting open science practices, as reiterated by Pierina, is to enhance transparency in scientific research.
 

For more information on Open Methods, do check out our Open Methods LibGuide.
 

Reference:
(1) Public Library of Science (PLOS). Open Methods.

This post has no comments.
05/27/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services

Dear Colleagues and Students,
 

We’re thrilled to announce an upcoming workshop: “Realising Your Authorship Potential”.  This event is organised by LKCMedicine Good Research Practice Office (GRPO), in collaboration with NTU Research Integrity and Ethics Office, NTU Library and LKCMedicine Office of Faculty Affairs.
 

Event Details

Date: 26 August 2024, Monday
Time: 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Venue: LKCMedicine, Novena Campus, HQ Level 2 Seminar Room
 

Why You Should Attend

Authorship is a critical component of the research process, with significant academic, social, and financial implications. It’s not just about who gets credit; it’s about understanding and managing the responsibilities and expectations that come with being an author. This workshop will cover:

  • Criteria for Authorship: Learn the guidelines that define who qualifies as an author.
  • Acknowledgements vs. Authorship: Understand the difference between acknowledging contributions and claiming authorship.
  • Questionable Practices: Identify and avoid dubious authorship and publication practices.
  • Maximizing Impact: Strategies to enhance the success, reach, and impact of your publications.
     

Event Highlights

  • Bento Lunch Sets: Enjoy a delicious meal while engaging in valuable discussions.
  • Quizzes and Prizes: Participate in interactive quizzes for a chance to win exciting prizes!
     

Who Should Attend

This workshop is highly recommended for Principal Investigators (PIs), Research Staff, and PhD Students. Whether you’re early in your career or a seasoned researcher, understanding authorship is crucial for your professional development and the integrity of your research.
 

How to Register

Interested in attending? Please register your interest via this registration link.

For more details, refer to the poster below:

 

 

We look forward to seeing you there and exploring how we can all enhance our research practices together!
 

On Behalf of:
LKCMedicine Good Research Practice Office (GRPO)
NTU Research Integrity and Ethics Office (RISE)
LKCMedicine Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA)
NTU Library (OIKLS)

This post has no comments.
04/22/2025
OIKLS Open Science & Research Services
decorative-image

On 14 March 2025, NTU brought together 35 faculty, researchers, and support staff for a collaborative community engagement session aimed at enhancing research visibility and impact. Co-organised by the Fellowships and Awards (Research Support Office), NTU Library, and LKCMedicine, the event served as a platform to discuss actionable strategies for amplifying research influence within the academic and global landscape.

 

A Collective Effort to Support Research Excellence

 

This event highlighted the collective effort of NTU’s research support ecosystem:

Fellowships and Awards (Research Support Office): Sets the strategic framework and guides research toward excellence.
NTU Library: Equips researchers with essential tools, data, and insights to navigate the publishing landscape.
LKCMedicine (RAISE): Delivers research support services to drive impact measurement and enhance dissemination.

 

Assoc Prof Sanjay Chotirmall, Vice Dean (Research) delivering a warm welcome to the participants at LKCMedicine Novena Campus. The session was structured into three sections, each offering practical insights and strategies from distinct perspectives.

Section 1: Strategies for Research Visibility and Impact

Presented by Prof Khor Khiam Aik, Director of Fellowships and Awards (Research Support Office), this segment delved into essential aspects of research impact, including:

  • Research Impact Metrics: An exploration of key performance indicators such as the Category Normalised Citation Impact (CNCI) and Journal Impact Factor (JIF).

  • Publication Strategies: How publishing in high-tier journals especially those listed on the Tier 1 list can bridge the research impact gap.

  • Balancing Global vs. Local Impact: A discussion on the balance between aligning research with global trends and addressing region-specific challenges such as tropical infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

Prof Michael Khor sharing insights on publishing strategies for research visibility and impact.

Section 2: Tools, Indicators & Resources for Research Visibility and Impact


This segment, presented by Ms Goh Su Nee, NTU Library, the focused on leveraging tools and data for strategic decision-making:

  • Navigating the Publishing Landscape: Practical advice on selecting reputable publication venues using the Tier 1 list, DR-NTU, and databases.

  • Data-Driven Decision Making: Leveraging citation analytics and research impact dashboards to monitor and enhance research visibility.

  • Optimising Research Profiles: Recommendations to update and link author profiles (e.g., ORCID, Google Scholar) and to use platforms like ResearchGate for broader dissemination.

Ms Goh Su Nee introducing tools and resources to boost research visibility.

Section 3: Research Support Services

In the final segment, Ms Koh Ee Kheng, from LKCMedicine’s RAISE (Research Achievement, Impact and Strategic Enhancement) Unit, discussed how research support services contribute to amplifying research influence:

  • The unit’s core mission is to disseminate LKCMedicine’s research impact and achievements. They also devise strategies to enhance the school’s profile nationally and internationally.

  • Detailed methodologies for tracking research inputs (grants, publications, patents, awards) and outputs (publication scores, personalised portfolios) were discussed.

  • RAISE showcased initiatives and the use of LKCMedicine Office of Research social media channels (e.g., the X account) to communicate research successes and foster a broader dialogue within the academic community.

 

Ms Koh Ee Kheng highlighting LKCMedicine’s research support services and initiatives.

 

The session concluded with an open invitation for continued dialogue and feedback, encouraging all participants  to contribute to NTU’s collective pursuit of research excellence Through collaborative efforts and strategic support, NTU remains dedicated to empowering researchers to maximise their impact in the academic world and beyond.

The Q&A segment at the end, where the presenters took turns answering the participants’ enquiries.

With contributions from the Fellowships and Awards (Research Support Office) team at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

This post has no comments.
Field is required.