Direct comparison
Open Access Vs Open Science: Key Differences & Comparison | CASRAI
Open access and open science are related but distinct concepts. Open access refers specifically to free, unrestricted access to research publications and sometimes data. Open science is a much broader movement that encompasses open access alongside open data, open methods, open software, citizen science, open peer review, and the FAIR principles.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | Open access | Open science |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Free, unrestricted online access to scholarly publications; sometimes extended to include research data | Open publications, open data, open methods, open software, open educational resources, citizen science, open peer review, and open infrastructures |
| Key outputs | Journal articles, monographs, conference papers, and preprints made freely available to read and reuse | All research outputs across the full research lifecycle: data, code, protocols, notebooks, preregistrations, and publications |
| Founding documents / frameworks | Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), Bethesda Statement (2003), Berlin Declaration (2003) — the "BBB definition" | UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science (2021); European Commission Open Science Policy; FAIR Data Principles (2016) |
| International governance | No single governing body; funder mandates (cOAlition S/Plan S, UKRI, NIH) are the primary policy levers | UNESCO Recommendation adopted by 194 member states November 2021; EC Open Science Policy under Horizon Europe |
| Funder requirements | Most major funders (UKRI, Wellcome, ERC, NIH) require OA publication of funded research outputs | Horizon Europe requires open access, research data management plans, and open data by default; broader OS requirements vary by funder |
| Scope of transparency | Transparency at the point of publication: the final output is made openly available | Transparency throughout the research process: from preregistration and open lab notebooks to open peer review and post-publication data sharing |
| Link to FAIR | OA policies increasingly require that data is also FAIR, but OA itself does not mandate FAIR compliance | FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) for data and software are a core component of open science frameworks |
| Disciplinary fit | Well-established across all disciplines; routes and timelines differ (STEM vs humanities) | Adoption is uneven; most advanced in biomedical and life sciences; humanities and social sciences are earlier in the transition |
Common questions
FAQ
Is open access a subset of open science?+
Yes — open access to publications is one pillar of open science, but open science is considerably broader. A researcher can comply with open access requirements by publishing in a Gold OA journal while keeping their data, code, and methods entirely private. Open science would require also sharing the underlying data under a FAIR-compliant licence, making methods reproducible, and potentially involving the public in the research design.
What does open science require beyond open access?+
Open science frameworks — including the UNESCO 2021 Recommendation and the EC Open Science Policy — call for open research data with FAIR compliance, open source software and code, open educational resources, open peer review, preregistration of study designs, and open engagement with non-specialist communities through citizen science and public consultation.
What is the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science?+
The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science was adopted unanimously by UNESCO's 194 member states in November 2021 at the 41st General Conference. It is the first international normative instrument on open science and provides a common definition, shared values, guiding principles, and areas for action covering open scientific knowledge, open science infrastructures, open engagement with society, and open dialogue with other knowledge systems.
Going deeper
