[Editcien] International Council for Science endorses open access to scientific record; cautions against misuse of metrics

[Alicia Aparicio (CAICYT)]

[*Reporte completo en: 
http://www.icsu.org/general-assembly/news/ICSU%20Report%20on%20Open%20Access.pdf*] 



  International Council for Science endorses open access to scientific
  record; cautions against misuse of metrics

The General Assembly of the International Council for Science today 
endorsed open access principles and provided key recommendations 
guarding against the misuse of metrics in the evaluation of research 
performance.

Auckland, 2 September -- In a strong show of support for open access to 
the scientific record, the Assembly, which unites representatives of 120 
national scientific academies and 31 international scientific unions, 
today voted for the statement which stakes out 5 key goals for open 
access, and offers 12 recommendations that pave the road for attaining them.

"Open Access is a key mechanism to support the development of science 
and of vital importance to all scientists both young and old," said 
Prof. John Ball, who led the ICSU working group that developed the 
statement. "It is a powerful tool for creating and validating knowledge, 
and for supporting science as a public good, and not as something 
carried out behind closed doors," he added.

The *five goals* in the statement assert that access to the scientific 
record should be free of financial barriers for any researcher to 
contribute to; free of financial barriers for any user to access 
immediately on publication; made available without restriction on reuse 
for any purpose, subject to proper attribution; quality-assured and 
published in a timely manner; and archived and made available in perpetuity.

The statement also makes *twelve recommendations* for achieving these 
goals, including recommendations on metrics, stating that these, when 
used as an aid to the evaluation of research and researchers, should 
help promote open access and open science. It also cautions that metrics 
should be regarded as an aid, and not a substitute, for good 
decision-making. They should not normally be used in isolation to assess 
the performance of researchers, to determine appointments, or to 
distribute funds to individuals or research groups, for which it says 
expert review is indispensable.

The Council's position takes account of the specific situation related 
to *research data*, asserting that publishers should require authors to 
provide explicit references to the datasets underlying published 
research. They also should require clear assurances that these datasets 
are deposited and available in trusted and sustainable digital 
repositories. Citing datasets in reference lists using an accepted 
standard format should be considered the norm.

The statement also suggests that *terms of contracts* governing the 
purchase of scientific periodicals and databases by libraries serving 
universities and research establishments should be publicly accessible.

http://www.icsu.org/news-centre/news/top-news/international-council-for-science-endorses-open-access-to-scientific-record-cautions-against-misuse-of-metrics




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