Open Science is a Research Accelerator

Open source has been responsible for many important software products used worldwide (including, for example, the Linux operating system, the Firefox web browser) and internet resources such as Wikipedia. The process of creating open-source products involves the iterative cycle of (1) a problem or need being identified, (2) a preliminary solution being posted to this problem, (3) an open appeal to the wider community being made, (4) inputs received from an unrestricted community and (5) the cycle beginning over again. Such a cycle can operate quickly because of the advent of online tools that strengthen the relevant networks.

In software development, traditional versus open-source methods of working are described by the analogy of the 'cathedral and the bazaar'1. Many academic and industrial groups operate along a cathedral model in that significant objects are built by a closed team of skilled artisans — the training of whom has consumed considerable resources. Cathedral projects operate in a hierarchical scheme — one person is in charge of a closed group. In a bazaar-type project, there is a low barrier to entry, and the operation is seemingly chaotic or self-organizing. Leadership is fluid, if it exists at all. The system is effective at what it does, yet requires little investment to start up and relies on the traffic of inherently interested strangers. We decided to apply this latter approach to a research problem — applying the principles of open-source software development to experimental science...