Q & A

What are the types of resources, sources, and literature that should be used to contribute to research?

Members are recommended to use the following types of sources and literature when citing material in open research.

• Verified sources are critically acclaimed sources such as independent journalistic outlets, independent public representative bodies such as organs of governance, and literature from intergovernmental bodies or economic unions.

• Peer-reviewed Journals and publications from both academic and non-academic institutions.

• A blog article, press release or circular published by a publicly traded and listed company, inter-government agencies, government agencies, or local bodies.

• A mix of resources and literature, carrying diverse and multi-polar views, should be used to impart a non-biased or neutral characteristic to the research.

A source such as an Independent journalistic outlet or a public representation body may have a set of editorial principles and views. These are primarily identified in Trust and Transparency Reports issued by the source. Special care should be taken when citing the veracity of claims made in the literature from any one source.

E.g. verifying whether similar claims have been made in another source which hosts opposing editorial principles and views.

How should I check for plagiarism?

Firstly, always cite your source accurately in order to prevent plagiarism, and include a bibliography at the end of your work with all sources listed in it. There are different citation styles; choose any one and adhere to it throughout the research draft. Members may use different open-source tools to check plagiarism.

Run your research writing through a peer-reviewed community discussion in appropriate open research forums.

My research contribution includes data analysis. What principles should I follow in analyzing data and information sets?

Use open-source analytics tools relevant to the research data sets in your research contributions.

What type of research methodologies are to be used?

The Foundation recommends the following types of research methodologies:

Generally, the Foundation recommends using methods that fit the research topic and objectives.

Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies are preferred.

How do the research publications take place?

After quality assurance via the Foundation review mechanism, the research's outcomes and conclusions are published in the Foundation's Open Research journal, with an appropriate open source license governing the publication of the "CFP" on the portal.

Read more on Release Guidelines.​

How should the research surveys in impact and accessibility studies take place if they are conducted?

• The Foundation maintains an ecosystem of industry stakeholders, community members, scientists, and researchers and invites more participants.

• Research surveys can be conducted online, either on the Foundation's communication channels, internet forums, or through social media.

• Surveys can be designed using the network’s contributions delivery subnet, tools and resources.

• Research surveys should be embedded with a link to the Foundation's data privacy standards. Generally, the tools that you use for research are already covered by the network’s data residency policies.

• It should be clearly identified that the Research survey is being conducted by or affiliated with the Open Constitution AI network, a digital commons infrastructure.

Custodian: Steering Council