Open Research

At The Open University (OU) we believe research should be shared openly and widely to maximise its impact. With our distinctive, open mission, we aim to foster an open research culture that maximises the use of existing research knowledge and minimises the need for duplication.

Open Research is one of the five priority areas of the OU Research Plan 2022-2027 and focusses on embedding the values of openness across the University, as well as promoting equitable publishing models that make research methods and results available quickly.

Our Statement on Open and Engaging Research outlines how we embed open mechanisms into the OU Open Research Journey from research project conception through to producing outputs. We are also committed to creating a research culture that promotes, enables and rewards open and engaging research practices for our staff and students. We are a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and committed to the values of openness and equity in research assessment and career advancement in higher education.

Open research resources

OU Library Research Support

Information on how the OU currently supports open access to our research data and outputs.

Open Research Online (ORO)

Discover research at The Open University with our publicly accessible, searchable and free repository of research outputs from our research community.

Open Research Data Online (ORDO)

Discover research data from our dedicated research centres, institutes, schools and faculties, all publicly accessible, and free.

Open Access Publications Policy

Our open access policy means that our research is freely accessible to practitioners, charities, NGOs and the commercial sector across the globe.

Research Data Management

In keeping with OU principles of openness, our research data is open and accessible to other researchers, as soon as appropriate and verifiable, and subject to appropriate safeguards and legal and commercial requirements.

Citizen science at The Open University

Black Hole Hunters: Making the invisible visible

Are you interested in helping us find some of the Milky Way galaxy's millions of missing black holes? Using data from the TESS satellite, we’re asking citizens to look at some simple graphs of how the brightness of stars changes over time and to help reveal the hidden black holes in our galaxy.

Treezilla

The information that we have about trees in the UK is limited, particularly in urban areas, and very little of it is available to the public to view in an easy-to-understand way. This interactive mapping project encourages individuals, local authorities, businesses and local groups to map, measure and monitor trees across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

nQuire

The Open University’s platform that brings a democratic, inclusive and equitable approach to research by enabling you to build, take part and learn about scientific research.

iSpot

A free community helping to identify wildlife and share nature.