Open Science Handbook for the Latin American Region

Abstract

As explained in this manual, the search is for an approach that promotes transparency, accessibility and collaboration at all stages of the scientific process from a vision of knowledge as a common good; to democratize knowledge, making data, results and methodologies reusable and verifiable by anyone; thus, in the Latin American reality, the taxonomies and ideals of OS have been mixed with a natural tendency to share knowledge widely,having the budgets of universities and research centers as the main source of support. This handbook is composed of documents that explore different pillars of OS, with chapters organized in an accessible and understandable manner; each text breaks down key elements, such as the history of OS and its taxonomies, open access to publications, data management, reproducible research and the technological infrastructures essential to sustain this ecosystem. These elements are especially important for the Latin American region, or take on another connotation, as it is a geographical space where access to knowledge is often limited by economic and technological barriers. Adopting these principles and having examples of action nearby not only has an impact on increasing the visibility of local research, but also promotes equity and regional collaboration.