v2026.1CASRAI Dictionary 1,610 entries across 24 domains · CC-BY 4.01,610 entries · CC-BY 4.0

Dictionary termTrack DStablev2026.2

Open vs closed research

The distinction between research conducted with the intent to disseminate findings broadly through publication and other open channels, and research subject to restrictions on dissemination, foreign-national access, or publication imposed by sponsor, classification, or contractual terms.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 21 May 2026

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Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
An institution maintains separate laboratory facilities for closed defence research to preserve open research status across its remaining portfolio.
Is an instance
A grant application explicitly classifies the proposed work as open research under the fundamental research exemption.

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
A study under embargoed publication awaiting journal release remains open research; embargo is not the same as closed research.
Not an instance
Commercial confidentiality of preliminary results does not necessarily make a project closed research in the policy sense.

Editorial commentary

The open-versus-closed distinction is a foundational concept in research security and export control policy. Open research, typically aligned with the fundamental research exemption, supports broad scientific exchange and is the dominant academic norm. Closed research includes classified work, work under contractual publication restrictions, work involving CUI, and work subject to export controls. Many institutions establish separate operational structures and physical environments for closed research to avoid contaminating open research with restrictions.

References

NSDD-189 (1985); JASON Report on Fundamental Research Security (2019).

Also known as

open research vs restricted research · open/closed research distinction

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

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Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

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Referenced across the research world

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