INED and Open Science

October 21-27, 2024, is International Open Access Week. What is INED’s Open Science policy?

INED has long been in favor of sharing data and publications from its research studies, The Institute’s scientific council formalized this commitment in 2022 when it adopted an Open Science charter with three objectives: to further broaden access to INED Publishing publications; to practice organized, controlled diffusion of survey data and demographic and contextual databases; and to offer a wide range of incentives for sharing scientific material. In addition, INED is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment. 

INED’s “Science Ouverte” Mission or MISO conducts and does follow-up on the Open Science policy.  Specifically, MISO is in charge of diffusing scientific and technical information on open science questions and has expertise in the areas of publications, data, and analytic methods.

Moreover, INED personnel can access practical information and resources for implementing the policy via the Institute’s dedicated website,  « La Science Ouverte à l’Ined ». 

ArchINED is an open institutional and heritage archive of publications and other scientific studies by INED researchers, post-doctoral fellows, doctoral students, and research technicians. The archive, launched in 2019, has opened up much larger access to Institute publications for internet users. At present, ArchINED has nearly 11,000 references, over half of which (57%) include a document on open access. 

Meanwhile, the open access rate is rising for recent publications: 64% of 2018 publications and 74% of 2023 publications were on open access in May 2024 (see HCERES [High Council for Research and Higher Education Evaluation] report). Moreover, open access levels vary by type of publication: between 2018 and 2023, they reached 82% for journal articles, 44% for book chapters, and 39% for books. 

The substantial increase in journal article accessibility is consistent with the development of open access publication models in a rising number of French and international scientific journals, as well as with the adoption in France of a policy known as the Digital Republic Law authorizing the deposit of materials in open archives. The general tendency to open access has not advanced as quickly and clearly for books and book chapters since these types of published material are not covered by the above-cited policy. 

The DataINED catalog has more than 250 referenced surveys, and since 2023 it has made available an “Open Data” collection containing anonymized data that can be downloaded immediately, openly, and free of charge. For the time being, that collection contains two survey files, both on the “Apprentice Researcher” learning program for secondary school students. In November 2024, two new study files will be added, one developed from the “Trajectories and Origins”  (TeO 1) survey, the other from the “Study of Family and Intergenerational Relations” survey (ERFI 1); these will be included in teaching kits designed to enable students to replicate results from the two surveys that have already been published in INED’s 4-page monthly bulletin Population & Societies (available in English). In addition to the survey files, DataINED allows free consultation of frequency tables for the variables of over 30 surveys. 

In the matter of methods, INED has been exploring and setting up new tools for ensuring analysis replicability and training researchers in their use through special seminars. 

Online: October 2024