Research talk: Octopus and the research culture landscape

Join our host, Emily Wild as she interviews this episode’s guest Dr Pen-Yuan Hsing, a senior research associate at the University of Bristol. Pen’s research is in open source, open research, and citizen science, with previous work in ecology and biodiversity conservation.

In this episode, Emily speaks with Pen about his work on open research, and the potential for change moving forwards. Pen shares insights from a recent research culture report commissioned by Octopus.ac, discussing motivations for open research and barriers preventing researchers from sharing more. They delve into findings from interviews and surveys, highlighting the challenges of time constraints and fear of "scooping" among researchers. Pen suggests possible solutions, such as evidence-based assessment procedures and expanding open peer review processes, emphasising the importance of making research assessment more transparent and inclusive across disciplines.