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Open research has been widely embraced by the scientific community, including autism researchers, for more than ten years. But only a few experts in the subject consistently use open scientific techniques.
To address this issue, a group of autistic experts from the United Kingdom offered some practical advice on Autism this month. Those suggestions arose from an online workshop in 2021, which arose from a 2020 petition to increase openness in the publishing process, which was started by editorial co-author Hannah Hobson, a lecturer in psychology at the University of York. The organization also maintains a website, Open Autism Research, that has materials for lab discussions as well as a link to an ongoing database of open science autism researchers.
While Hobson is on leave, Spectrum spoke with two of the editorial’s co-authors on the current drive for accessible autism science. Daniel Poole, a psychology research fellow at the University of Sheffield, and Amy Pearson, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Sunderland, discussed the difficulties in adopting open science in the area and how to overcome them.
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To address this issue, a group of autistic experts from the United Kingdom offered some practical advice on Autism this month. Those suggestions arose from an online workshop in 2021, which arose from a 2020 petition to increase openness in the publishing process, which was started by editorial co-author Hannah Hobson, a lecturer in psychology at the University of York. The organization also maintains a website, Open Autism Research, that has materials for lab discussions as well as a link to an ongoing database of open science autism researchers.
While Hobson is on leave, Spectrum spoke with two of the editorial’s co-authors on the current drive for accessible autism science. Daniel Poole, a psychology research fellow at the University of Sheffield, and Amy Pearson, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Sunderland, discussed the difficulties in adopting open science in the area and how to overcome them.
The length and clarity of this interview have been altered as below.
Spectrum News – What exactly is open research?
Daniel Poole: Open research refers to a collection of methodologies and procedures aimed at increasing dependability and openness, making it obvious how we arrived at the results we reached so that others may verify them.
Spectrum News – What is the motivation behind the movement for open science?
Amy Pearson says Over the years, there have been instances where generally accepted research has been discovered to repeat poorly, notably in psychology. There has been a push to establish more rigorous techniques for research, theory development, and theory testing.
Spectrum News – What are some examples of open research methodologies that may be used in the field of autism?
Daniel Poole: There are many types of what is known as “pre-registration”: Before conducting a study, a researcher states their intentions. Ideally, this would include a checklist of the planning methods and analyses that would be used. The gold standard is now referred to as a registered report.’ Before conducting the study, the pre-registration paperwork is peer-reviewed and accepted for publishing.
Another instance is the usage of open materials and the sharing of research resources. The researchers can examine whether they can perform the same analysis as the study’s authors. There are further advantages to exchanging data: You can collect a great quantity of data on autistic people, and another researcher may be able to use that data without forcing autistic people to return for a slew of further investigations.
Spectrum News – What are some of the barriers to the broad adoption of open science in autism research?
Amy Pearson: One is training; most open science practice is based on learning how to utilize and apply methodologies, such as learning different types of data analysis or how to structure code so that it is available to others. Many scholars struggle to find the time to do so.
It’s also a difficulty in terms of publication. There are just a few journals set up to accept the registered papers. Most autism publications do not now have the capability to do so.
Spectrum News – Your editorial mentions some of the challenges of incorporating qualitative research within an open science framework. How do you see qualitative research fitting in, which frequently employs methodologies such as semi-structured interviews or focus groups?
Amy Pearson: Replication has received a lot of attention in open research. That isn’t always the purpose of qualitative research. However, I believe there is room in the open science debate to address what we can do to share best practices in research policy, even if we cannot expect to find the same set of outcomes every time we conduct qualitative research. We may be more open about our reasoning, such as how we structured, coded, and analyzed the data.
Another factor to examine is how participants feel about open research and how comfortable they are with having their data public. Many people have been hurt by previous studies, and they do not necessarily trust researchers. They may be less likely to engage in research that makes their data public.
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Spectrum News – How do you intend to handle people’s fears about data sharing?
Amy Pearson: My study focuses on autistic masking and interpersonal victimization and stigma. I am open and honest about our approach, informing participants about the kind of data that will be available and that any identifiable information would be erased.
With the type of our research and the topics we’re looking into, I wouldn’t be comfortable with anyone simply having access to the data. We’ve also discussed the various degrees of access to a dataset with the folks who manage the data in the U.K. data-sharing service. We are constructing ours such that anyone wishing to obtain the info must contact us.
Spectrum News – What are the next steps in advancing open science in autism research?
Daniel Poole: Progress is currently stalled due to the absence of Hannah Hobson and Cathy Manning, another project leader and autism researcher. One of the aims is that the open autism research website would become a go-to place for information and resources. I am also considering the use of registered reports in autism publications.
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