Open Source Solutions in Experimental Design: An Introduction to the Symposium

Abstract

The Open Science movement has increased dramatically in popularity with deserved calls to action around transparency, access to resources, and inclusion in our field. However, its practical applications within experimental design have been slow to uptake, with researchers unsure where to even start with the dizzying array of open source hardware and software solutions available. The perceived time investment and unknown cost, especially in implementing open source hardware, has stagnated the implementation of inexpensive experimental solutions, but we sought to increase awareness to lower the barrier to participation in this space. While there are countless technical and financial advantages to integrating open source solutions into every biologist's experimental design, we put an emphasis on the “people” part of the equation in our symposium. This symposium championed innovative experimental designs by early career SICB researchers across all fields of biology, from plants to animals, in the lab or in the field, or even virtually engaging with the public and students. The open science movement operates within community norms that champion transparency, continuous development, and collaboration. These values are congruent with the priorities of reducing barriers to participation in science, and we hope our symposium's collection of open source solutions encourages readers to adopt these or other innovative designs into their own experimentation.