Open science
Open science means research that anyone can read, check and build on. That covers the publications, the data behind them, and the methods used to get there.
This page covers all disciplines, not just the natural sciences. You might see the term “open scholarship” used when people want to be explicit about including humanities.
Research data collections
Collections that hold research data you can use.
Atlas of Living Australia #
Open digital infrastructure that brings Australian biodiversity data together from many sources into one accessible, reusable collection.
AURIN data catalogue #
The Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network. Holds health, transport, housing, economic, land use and demographic data for urban, regional and social science research.
Most of the catalogue is openly licensed. A small number of datasets are restricted, and AURIN negotiates access to those on behalf of researchers. Each dataset lists its own access group and licence.
Australian Ocean Data Network portal #
Australian marine and climate science data, and the main access point for data and metadata from the Integrated Marine Observing System.
A rebuilt version of the portal is in beta at portal-beta.aodn.org.au.
CSIRO Data Access Portal #
Research data, software and other digital assets from Australia’s national science agency, across a range of disciplines.
Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia #
Consistent, nation-wide soil and landscape attribute data in a downloadable format.
TERN Data Discovery Portal #
Environmental monitoring data from TERN, Australia’s ecosystem observatory. The data supports terrestrial and coastal ecosystem science and environmental management.
Catalogues and search
These catalogues index data that’s held elsewhere, so you can search across many institutions at once.
Australian Research Data Commons #
National digital research infrastructure that helps Australian researchers find, manage, analyse and share research data across all disciplines.
Research Data Australia #
A search portal covering data, projects, researchers and data services from more than a hundred Australian research organisations, government agencies
Research Infrastructure Connected #
A searchable index of the national research infrastructure supported by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, connecting researchers to the facilities and services they need.
Open access publishing
Open access means published research that anyone can read without paying for it. Jack McKenna gives a summary of Open Access in Australia on the MDPI blog, and you can read the history of how open access developed here on Wikipedia.
Open Access Australasia #
Publishes a list of open repositories across the region, including the open access repository of every major Australian university.
Open methods
Open methods means sharing how the research was done, not just what it found. That covers the step-by-step protocols, the analysis code, and the software the work depends on.
Open Research Toolkit #
Guidance for making research open across the whole research cycle, covering policy, governance, pathways and processes.
FAIR Principles for Research Software #
Run by Australia Research Data Commons (ARDC)
Principles for making research software findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable, adapted from the FAIR principles for data. Developed internationally, with the ARDC playing an active role. The ARDC publishes guidance on adopting the principles in Australia.