SCO-SOC 2025

Practical tips for Open Science in Ornithology

steffilazerte
@steffilazerte@fosstodon.org
steffilazerte.ca
Logo stating 'Dr. Steffi LaZerte Analysis and Data Tools for Science' with two gears in the upper right corner with 'SL' in one

Resources
English slides
Diapositive françaises

Created with Quarto
Compiled 2025-08-08

What is Open Science?

Transparent and accessible

Data
Methodology
Code
Peer Review
Paper Access

A circle of hexagons each featuring a different aspect of open science: 'open educational resources, open data, open source, open methodology, open peer review, open access'

Implementing this can be hard…

Takes time
Takes skill
Takes $$$ (sometimes)
Takes courage

Whoa! That’s a lot

Why do Open Science?

Why do Open Science?

Good for Science (and Ornithology)

Support science and research everywhere
- Small non-profits, labs/groups with less funding

Science is more robust and reliable
- Complex analyses and best practices (e.g., genetics, eBird)

Improves collegiality and collaboration
- Avian Conservation & international collaborations

An owl with big orange eyes looking to the left

Why do Open Science?

Good for You

Visibility, show your skills
Get credit for all your work (SOPs, complex analyses)
Portfolio pieces

You might have to

Required by granting agencies and government

A gull with it's beak wide open positioned around the hex sticker. A red hexlogo the the label 'weathercan' showing a can with a pull tab labelled with a maple leaf and a storm cloud with lightning and rain

How do we do Open Science?

Open Data, Methodology & Code

1. Get it online!

Post in a repository: data, code, or catch-all

2. Aim for long-term storage

3. Consider how you work

Data and catch-all: Dryad, figshare, Zenodo, etc.
Project-based: Open Science Framework (OSF); Quarto Manuscripts on GitHub
Code-based: GitHub (when paired with Zenodo)

For example…

GitHub with Zenodo

Open Publication

Open Peer Review

Consider open reviews

Open Access (without $$$)

Your library
- Repository for preprints
- Open-access agreements
- Grants/funds for open access
Preprint servers

Open Access (with some $$$)

Write funds into your grant
Look for non-profit journals

Now for some tips…

Tip 1

Don’t try to do everything

Tip 1: Don’t try to do everything

“Perfect is the enemy of good” – Voltaire

Be kind to yourself, don’t expect perfection
You’re allowed to start small

A fluffy white piping plover chick (shore bird) with an arrow leading to a white and grey adult piping plover. The words 'and grow!' are on the arrow

Tip 2

Do one new thing

Tip 2: Do one new thing

On every project, expand your skill set, just a little bit

A code example…

1^st time - keep a script of your analysis
2^nd time - share the script in a data repository
3^rd time - share on GitHub (with the browser upload)
4^th time - share on GitHub (with git!)

Next thing you know, you’re sharing code and learning new tools

cartoon with a chickadee. First panel chickadee says 'I better start building that nest', second panel says 'later', chickadee says 'shooot I have to get started', third panel says 'even later' chickadee says 'shoot!'