Open Science? Conceptualizing Openness as an Emerging Moral Economy of Science

In this paper we aim to address a few of the complexities that revolve around “openness” of science as an emerging moral economy of science. First, we briefly assess the current state of discussion when it comes to Open Science in the academic literature. We show that these discussions have begun a more analytical look at Open Science, yet the term remains tied to opinions and emotional response. Accordingly, we pose that a more distant perspective is needed. We establish that, since openness is the goal of Open Science, it provides a useful term for the coalescing of discussion. Indeed, this term can be used to identify an emerging moral economy within science. Then, we discuss why this is the case - the changing context, as well as the dynamics inherent in science as an enterprise. We finish this article with an initial discussion of how the use of this mode of thinking will impact science and the study of science. This positions us to consider the needs for the study of openness in science as a moral economy, the potential models which could be to assess different interpretations of openness, and finally the questions which this mode of thinking may help us ask.