Open Science GSI/FAIR

For questions, comments, and support please contact open-science(at)gsi.de
What is Open Science?
Open Science is the practice of making scientific research output openly available in the form of data, software, publications, hardware and infrastructure. This promotes transparency, collaboration, and reproducibility in research, as well as wider access to knowledge for the public and to researchers.
GSI and FAIR are committed to Open Science practices and provide tools, support, and information to internal and external researchers involved in GSI/FAIR projects. Organisations such as UNESCO, the DFG, the BMBF and Helmholtz among many others have recognized the benefits of Open Science, and have issued recommendations to support the movement.
Adopting Open Science principles aligns with good scientific practice, and more information on this can be found on the GSI/FAIR Ethics and Rules webpage
Open Access of publications
What is Open Access?
GSI/FAIR is committed to providing comprehensive access to scientific knowledge, which is why the scientific management of GSI/FAIR strongly supports the expansion of Open Access of research articles and other academic outputs. Open access categories can be explain using a colour naming system.
- Diamond OA: The journal publishes the article and makes it available to all with no fees involved for either author or reader.
- Gold OA: The publisher makes articles immediately free and available for access for all. Licensing typically is given under creative commons (CC-BY 4.0). There is an article processing charge for this method of publication and the whole journal is open access.
- Hybrid-Gold OA: The publisher makes articles immediately free and available for access for all. Licensing is typically given under creative commons (CC-BY). There is an article processing charge for this method of publication and the journal is not fully open access.
- Green OA: The article is published in a journal but in addition the author may publish the article on a website(s) controlled by the author or institution that funded the work. This may be done after peer review, but before copyediting and typesetting.
For GSI internal persons: to receive publication funding from the GSI Research Division please see (internal only).
For further information on this subject, please contact the Library Department gsilibrary(at)gsi.de .
or in case of third party funding e.g. EU/DFG contact the GSI Grant Office.
Open Data

What is Open Data?
Open Data refers to the practice of publishing research data in a way that makes it available for anyone to access, use and share. This can be in compliance with theFindable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable principles.
By adhering to the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) principles, data is made discoverable, accessible and interoperable, promoting transparency, collaboration and reproducibility in research.
This not only benefits researchers but also the general public by enabling their participation in citizen science through the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, ultimately leading to more diverse perspectives, more data and more discoveries.
This requires good scientific practice and management and thus falls under the category of Research Data Management (RDM).
RDM involves a life-cycle approach to managing data, including planning, collection, analysis, preservation, sharing, and reuse. By following this cycle, data can be made openly available and reusable.
Data Management Planning
A Data Management Plan (DMP) outlines how data are to be handled both during a research project and after the project is completed. This includes how research data will be collected, processed, stored, and shared during and after a research project. It is strongly advised to prepare a DMP before the start of a research project.
Please use the following links and documentation for data management plan templates and examples:
Data Publication
GSI/FAIR actively promotes the publishing of research data whenever possible within the bounds of legal, ethical, and technology transfer mandates. The data may also be subject to appropriate embargo periods. Data should be published with a persistent identifier, such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Normally, these are assigned directly when data is uploaded to a suitable repository. For licencing, CC-BY-4.0 is advised.
The Helmholtz Program Oriented Funding IV (POF IV) now requires published research data, as well software and journal articles to be counted for each Helmholtz centre as quality indicators. Thus, GSI/FAIR has recently implemented a strategy and is taking necessary actions to ensure compliance with this requirement.
For instructions on the publication of research data (and research software) at GSI/FAIR please refer to this link.
The Research Data Management Team can be contacted for questions, comments, support and advice: open-science(at)gsi.de
The GSI/FAIR Policy on Research Data Management can be found here.
Open Software
What is Open Software?
Open software, also known as Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), refers to software that can be used, modified, and distributed without any legal or technical restrictions. It is made available on trusted platforms, allowing anyone to access, reuse, and modify it for any purpose.
GSI/FAIR commits to open source software principles that ensure that the software produced in our laboratory is made available in a way that respects the freedoms of users, and takes into account any potential commercial or third-party use. Software published should be assigned a persistent identifier such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
GSI/FAIR open software licences are documented here .
For a guide on how to publish software at GSI, please refer to this link.
Links to Open Science Projects GSI/FAIR Involvement
Contact persons for each project can be provided upon request. Please contact open-science(at)gsi.de
GSI membership in Open Science Associations
Open Science oriented projects
- ESCAPE (EOSC)
- PUNCH4NFDI (NFDI)
- Helmholtz Matter & Technology, Data Management and Analysis (MT-DMA)
- Helmholtz MetaData Collaboration
- JOIN2
Other projects with OpenScience aspects/applications
Additional Material and Training
Online training materials:
- PhD Passport for Open Science
- FOSTER - Open Science Training Courses
- Open Science MOOC
- Open science trainer’s corner
- Forschungsdatenmanagement - Eine Online-Einführung (in German only)