South SFV Today

Over a decade ago, the field of psychology faced a replication crisis, where many studies were questioned for their reproducibility. In response, Stanford University embraced "open science," a practice that promotes sharing and access to scientific research products such as data, code, and publications. Russell Poldrack, the Albert Ray Lang Professor in Psychology at Stanford, has been a leading advocate for this approach.

Poldrack serves as the faculty director of the Stanford Data Science Center for Open and Reproducible Science (SDS-CORES), working alongside Maya Mathur and Joshua Buckholtz. Together with Zach Chandler and Francesca Vera from OpenSource@Stanford, they emphasize open science's potential to transform academia by making it more transparent and reproducible.

"Making science more transparent and reproducible was our goal because, broadly, I believe it makes science better," said Poldrack. He noted that open science gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic when scientists shared data to expedite vaccine development.

Open science is now being integrated into national initiatives like the Higher Education Leadership Initiative for Open Science (HELIOS) and through government organizations such as NASA. Chandler highlighted impending mandates: “There are mandates and regulations that are going to be taking full effect by the end of 2025 – not just at institutions like Stanford but for all recipients of federal research funding."

While open science facilitates data sharing, it also requires adherence to privacy standards like HIPAA. Chandler mentioned principles such as FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and CARE (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics) that guide these practices.

The CORES Open Science Awards recognize contributions across various fields beyond traditional sciences. Vera pointed out that awards go not only to department heads but also students involved in projects: “There are a lot of cool projects that can fly under the radar that we get to recognize through our awards.”

Poldrack remarked on Stanford's collaborative spirit: “What’s really different here at Stanford is that our work is driven by researchers... The spirit of collaboration is really prominent at Stanford.” This collaboration extends across campus groups like SPORR within the School of Medicine.

Despite its benefits, open science poses challenges regarding ownership or attribution in shared environments. Poldrack acknowledged these issues: “Open science can unintentionally exacerbate inequity in the field." To address credit concerns, CORES links awards to researchers' ORCID profiles.

Vera observed enthusiasm among researchers joining OpenSource@Stanford: "People are happy to have found us... connections are extremely important." Chandler added about community investment: "We find that investing in community through OpenSource@Stanford is our winning strategy."

OpenSource@Stanford operates with support from an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant.