Open scholarship refers to the practice of making research processes and outputs openly accessible, transparent, and reusable. It encompasses open access publishing, open data sharing, transparent peer review, and broader public engagement with research. At its core, open scholarship aligns with the values of open education—accessibility, effectiveness, and equity—by removing barriers to knowledge and fostering a more inclusive academic ecosystem.

Open scholarship empowers educators to share their research more widely, collaborate across disciplines and institutions, and model scholarly transparency for students. It represents a fundamental shift from traditional academic publishing models toward more collaborative, transparent, and democratically accessible approaches to knowledge creation and dissemination.

Why Open Scholarship Matters

Open scholarship offers significant benefits for your research practice and professional development:

• Increased visibility and impact for your research through greater accessibility and discoverability
• Enhanced collaboration opportunities with researchers who can access and build upon your work
• Alignment with funding requirements, as many granting agencies now mandate open access publication
• Professional development through engagement with transparent, community-driven scholarly practices
• Greater research integrity through transparent methods and reproducible practices

Why Now

Open scholarship addresses several current challenges in academic research and publishing, particularly relevant to Canadian institutions:

Research Access and Equity

Traditional academic publishing creates significant barriers to knowledge access, particularly affecting researchers at smaller institutions, in developing countries, and in community organisations. Canadian institutions spend substantial resources on journal subscriptions, with Canadian university libraries paying more than $300 million annually for subscriptions to research journals, including those containing papers generated by their own professors (Grant, 2019), limiting funds available for research and teaching.

Open scholarship ensures that publicly funded research is publicly accessible.

Reproducibility and Research Integrity

The academic community increasingly recognises the importance of transparent research practices for maintaining public trust in scholarship (Nielsen et al., 2023).

Open methods, data, and peer review enhance the credibility and verifiability of research findings.

Institutional and Funder Requirements

Canadian funding agencies, including CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC, have implemented open access policies requiring funded researchers to make their publications freely available (Government of Canada, 2015; CIHR, 2024).

Understanding open scholarship practices is essential for compliance with these mandates.

Student Success and Engagement

When faculty model open scholarly practices, they demonstrate values of transparency, collaboration, and ethical knowledge sharing (Özdemir et al., 2025).

This inspires students to adopt similar practices and helps them understand how knowledge is created and verified in academic communities.

Global Research Collaboration

This is particularly important for addressing global challenges like the UN Sustainable Development Goals, where collaborative research across borders and disciplines is essential for finding effective solutions to complex problems like climate change, poverty, and educational inequality.

Open scholarship facilitates international collaboration by removing access barriers and enabling researchers worldwide to contribute to and build upon shared knowledge bases.

Key Components of Open SCholarship

Open scholarship encompasses four interconnected practices that work together to create more transparent and accessible research:

Open Access: Making research outputs freely available online without paywalls or subscription barriers, ensuring that knowledge reaches the broadest possible audience.

Open Science: Transparent research practices including open methodologies, reproducible workflows, and collaborative approaches that enhance the integrity and verifiability of scholarly work.

Open Data: Providing access to research datasets that support transparency, reproducibility, and collaborative analysis while maintaining appropriate ethical and privacy protections.

Open Source: Using and developing freely available software, tools, and technologies that enable collaborative research and remove proprietary barriers to scholarly work.

These components often involve public engagement and community collaboration, connecting research with broader communities through accessible communication, partnerships, and public scholarship that demonstrates the relevance of academic work.

Common Concerns and Clarifications

Open scholarship involves different stakes than open teaching practices—questions about research reputation, career advancement, and intellectual property carry particular weight in academic culture. Faculty exploring open scholarship often encounter both persistent misconceptions about what openness means for research quality and control, and legitimate anxieties about how publishing and sharing choices might affect tenure, professional recognition, and competitive standing. Additionally, real barriers exist around field-specific norms, institutional support, and time investment that deserve honest consideration:

“Open scholarship practices seem time-intensive, and I’m not sure where to start.”
Open scholarship can be adopted gradually, starting with practices that align with your current work. You might begin with depositing publications in institutional repositories, using open-source tools you’re already familiar with, or sharing datasets from completed projects. KPU Library can help you identify manageable first steps that fit your research context.

“I’m concerned about the quality and credibility of open science practices and publications.”
This is a legitimate concern, especially given the existence of predatory publishers and questionable research practices. However, many high-quality journals and research practices embrace openness, and transparency often enhances rather than compromises research integrity. Focus on established quality indicators like peer review processes, institutional backing, and community standards when evaluating open scholarship opportunities.

“I don’t understand how open scholarship might affect my career advancement or professional reputation.”
Open scholarship practices are increasingly valued in academic evaluation, with many institutions and funding agencies now recognising open access publishing, data sharing, and collaborative research. These practices often increase research visibility and impact while demonstrating commitment to transparency and public engagement.

“I’m worried about intellectual property rights and losing control over my work.”
Open scholarship doesn’t mean giving up all rights to your work. Open licenses allow you to specify how others can use your research while retaining important rights. Understanding your options helps you make informed decisions about sharing while protecting your interests.

“My field doesn’t seem to have established open scholarship practices yet.”
Every discipline is at a different stage of adopting open practices, but most fields have some open scholarship opportunities. Even in traditional fields, you can often find open access journals, institutional repository options, or collaborative tools that enhance your research without requiring dramatic changes to your workflow.

Open Scholarship-washing: Recognising True Openness

As open scholarship has gained prominence, some organisations engage in “open scholarship-washing”—using open terminology without providing genuine transparency, accessibility, or collaborative benefits:

Superficial Transparency: Claiming to be “open” while maintaining significant barriers to access, reuse, or meaningful participation in scholarly processes.

Selective Openness: Providing access to some outputs while restricting others, or offering openness only under conditions that limit its practical benefits.

Commercial Exploitation: Using open language for marketing purposes while maintaining business models that contradict open scholarship principles.

To identify genuine open scholarship practices, look for:

• Clear, open licensing that specifies permissions for reuse and adaptation
• Transparent processes that allow meaningful participation and verification
• Accessible formats and platforms that don’t create new barriers
• Alignment with recognised open scholarship principles and community standards
• Evidence of genuine commitment to transparency and collaboration rather than just marketing claims

Exploring Open Scholarship at KPU

Open scholarship represents a natural extension of the open education principles you’ve explored, aligning research practices with the same values of accessibility, transparency, and collaboration that guide OER and open pedagogy.

Open scholarship represents both an opportunity and a responsibility for faculty committed to accessible, equitable education. Whether you’re interested in sharing your research more widely, contributing to teaching and learning scholarship, or simply understanding the changing landscape of academic publishing, open scholarship practices can enhance your professional impact while advancing the collective good of knowledge sharing.

This appendix will introduce you to practical aspects of open scholarship, starting with open access publishing as currently supported by KPU Library. As additional support develops for open data and other practices, this section will expand to provide comprehensive guidance for all aspects of open scholarly practice.

References

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). (2024). Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications. https://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/32005.html

Government of Canada. (2015). Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications. https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/interagency-research-funding/policies-and-guidelines/open-access/tri-agency-open-access-policy-publications-2015

Grant, K. (2019, March 9). Why does it cost millions to access publicly funded research papers? Blame the paywall. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/research-public-funding-academic-journal-subscriptions-elsevier-librarians-university-of-california-1.5049597

Nielsen, K. H., Olesen, B. R., & Pooley, J. (2023). Equity, transparency, and accountability: open science for the 21st century. The Lancet, 402(10407), 1306-1308. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01575-1

Özdemir, M., Aypay, A., Ertem, H. Y., & Gafu, G. (2025). Faculty views on normative behaviors in graduate teaching, research, and mentoring. Innovative Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-025-09813-0