Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated with science. As a toddler, I remember my parents reading me children’s books about our human body and taking me to the local museum to see the new exhibits on a regular basis. Now, as a student, having been involved with research for some time, I rely on published research to inform my understanding of current scientific discoveries. Scientific journals are the primary resource for scientists to share information, data and inform the world of scientific breakthroughs. [Slide 1] However, throughout my own research journey, the politics and business aspects of research have presented roadblocks in the form of high prices and a lack of openness. Although I am grateful to have access to such research through an affiliation with an institution, the do it yourself scientist within me struggles to keep up in a world where a hunt for money dominates scientific discovery instead of a desire to broaden our understanding of the world around us. Therefore, creation of a method to increase the sharing and openness of scientific research is of the utmost importance.
For centuries, humankind has been plagued by such a deadly disease. Utterly destructive, its symptoms include sub-optimization, bad decision making and an inability to innovate. However, this disease has no biological roots. [Slide 2] Instead, it is a lack of transparency. Often used to describe business or politics, transparency is regarded as a positive feature. However, the definition of transparency is quite difficult to sum up in just one sentence. To be transparent, it is necessary to disseminate the information the recipient deserves yet at the same time sharing information beyond the sender’s willingness. If we are to achieve true transparency, we have to be willing to put all the facts on the table, regardless of whether some of them are uncomfortable. Transparency allows us to ask the necessary questions and have conversations in open and honest manners, creating mutual understanding. It removes barriers that hinder the accessing of information and makes people and their talents, knowledge and ideas visible to a broader audience. However, most importantly, it makes certain that the information available is trustworthy and reliable. Such a caliber of public integrity cannot be maintained without a system of transparency.
[Slide 3] According to a 2014 study by the American Psychological Association, nearly 25% of employees don’t trust their employer. [Slide 4] Even worse, about 50% believe their employer is open and upfront with them. Unfortunately, the problem with a lack of transparency is amplified within the sciences. [Slide 5] In a 2016 study in the journal Nature, 70% of scientists who attempted to reproduce published findings were unsuccessful. [Slide 6] About a third of the participants believed that such a failure meant that the study was invalid while 73% trusted the validity of at least one-half of the papers published in their fields. With such a big jump in statistics, how can we be even sure that the statistic that I just stated was even credible? Clearly, there exists a problem with the reproducibility of our scientific findings. Unfortunately, this grave problem is quite unnoticed within the greater scientific field as within the same study, only 52% agreed that a crisis actually exists.
Within scientific research, credibility is extremely important. In order to ensure the integrity and credibility our discoveries, we invest in designing, conducting and reporting experiments with rigor and transparency. Science can only push forward if there is corroboration among fellow scientists. However, reproducing results can be difficult when studies contain unsound scientific procedures, misinterpretations of results or a plethora of other issues that may have been purposely overlooked in order to better represent desired findings.
Some organizations have recently started to recognize the issue of a lack of scientific transparency. Nature, one of the most prominent journals for scientific discoveries states that “there is a growing alarm about results that cannot be reproduced.” Certainly, there exists a problem with the reproducibility of today’s scientific discoveries as we live in a scientific climate fueled by more scrutiny, advanced statistics and the constant pressure to publish.
[Slide 7] While this issue continues to jeopardize our scientific credibility, there exists a simple solution: more interdisciplinary collaboration. Current concerns devote attention to the rigor of experimental design, which explore how the experiment is set up, the characteristics of test subjects used, and the variables measured. Additionally, concerns focus on the total transparency in detailing such parameters and the manner in which they are described. Specifically, the psychology community has pioneered this new age of collaboration by encouraging original authors to offer propositions on how to reproduce their studies which are then compiled and published in a registered replication report.
However, this trend to maximize transparency and reproducibility in science involves the collective effort of researchers, stakeholders, universities, journals, companies as well as the general public. Novel guidelines need to be created that explain how experiments were performed and standards need to be established for data collection and the methods used for analysis, for science isn’t just about the findings, but is about the methods as well. As more studies are replicated, we can more easily come to terms with published results and develop relationships among scientists who strive for the same goal of scientific transparency.
Interdisciplinary collaboration will push our understanding of scientific transparency and allow our work to be corroborated by techniques across a variety of fields. As science knows no boundaries, why should we confine our research to one field? Instead, we should feel free to pull concepts and methods from across scientific disciplines as doing so will only bolster our transparency and increase the integrity of our results.
However, while doing so may increase transparency across the spectrum of established scientists, a more looming problem pertains to the mere accessibility of these discoveries. For years now, students have been continuously losing access to core academic research. It is not a mystery that academic journals are extremely crucial to our understanding of the fields we study and for driving research forward. However, students and non-institution based scientists are constantly presented with hurdles when trying to contribute to the scientific field given their limited access to research, forcing them to accept what they can get access to, rather than what they need most.
[Slide 8] Over the past two decades, the price of academic journal subscriptions has skyrocketed. Prices are now at a point that is out of reach for students, even for the world’s most renowned institutions as some journals now cost over 25 thousand dollars per year. MIT has had to increase its budget for such journals by 360% over 20 years while the University of California-Berkeley has increased such expenditures by 1,300% over the same period. Moreover, in 2010 alone, the University of Georgia cancelled subscriptions to nearly 600 journals.
[Slide 9] If we are to establish a sense of scientific openness, we must first provide access to the very science we hope to make transparent. Restricting access may be preventing the impassioned scientist in Rawanda looking to create a better water filtration system or the do it your own scientist in China looking for ways to reduce pollution in the air from discovering the breakthroughs that just might save the world. Who knows, the person sitting next to you may harness the capabilities to cure our many diseases, develop breakthrough technological innovations and push the boundaries of our thinking. However, without the right resources, he or she may never realize their talents. The question of what else might be possible without these barriers in place lingers in our mind yet is neglected by the publishing industry, a group focused more on profit margins than knowledge curation.
In conjunction with emerging technologies, it is our right as citizens, the primary funding source of such research, to support organizations which seek to dispel science in transparent, inclusive and understandable ways. There is no more time to waste, for every day that research is locked away behind price and non-transparent barriers, discoveries and cures continue to be a work of fantasy. Therefore, it is up to us to harness the power of scientific transparency and create a more transparent, open and inclusive world.
Thank you