Open Science Awards of the RUB Faculty of Psychology
Objective
The Open Science Initiative of the Faculty of Psychology aims to promote and recognize Open Science practice by granting two Open Science Awards. The awards are intended to recognize the work of students and early career researchers (doctoral students and postdocs at all levels) at the Faculty of Psychology who actively implement principles and practices of Open Science. Thus, the awards aim to recognize and raise awareness of open science activities and practices. By celebrating exceptional student and early career researcher projects, we hope to inspire the next generation of researchers to adopt Open Science principles and contribute to the ongoing transformation of scientific practices.
We will grant awards for projects at the student and postdoc levels (see Eligibility). The evaluation will consider the stage of the respective career level.
Eligibility
Authors who have completed a thesis or article (including submitted and in press manuscripts) and who are either enrolled as students in the Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD programs or currently work as a Postdoc in the Faculty of Psychology. The project must have been completed within the last academic year, and each project can only be submitted once. The topics of the projects are not pre-specified, e.g., empirical work and meta-science are welcome!
Criteria for the Awards
The submissions will be evaluated by an Open Science committee representing the faculty as well as members from the Open Science Initiative of the Faculty of Psychology.
Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Transparency: The extent to which published pre-registration or open protocols to document hypotheses and research plans were implemented. In case there are deviations from the preregistrations, these should be explained.
- Open Data and Materials: Availability of published datasets and research materials, such as code, in a recognized Open Science repository (e.g., OSF) or via a Research Data Centre. Appropriate use of open licenses. The responsible handling of personal data. Special efforts to anonymize data (e.g., binning) can also be rewarded.
- Open Access: For submitted or published papers, open-access publications or preprints are publicly available to access the results.
- Reproducibility: Efforts to ensure that the research can be independently and easily reproduced by others. Clear and comprehensive documentation of methods and analysis workflows. Clear documentation in case there were deviations from the preregistration. Clear annotation of the code/codebook.
Please note that it is not necessary to meet every single criterion to be considered for the award, as the final decision will depend on the overall pool of submissions.
How to Apply
To apply, submit the following materials by 30.09.2025:
- Please provide a copy of your final project (e.g., a manuscript, article, or thesis). You can submit your document at the corresponding place in this Moodle course.
- Please answer the questions at the corresponding place in this Moodle course, explaining how your project fulfills the criteria listed above. You can also provide links to supplementary Open Science materials in this form (e.g. data, code, pre-registrations).
Award
The recipients will receive award certificates and a prize.
For Bachelor's/Master's students, the prize is awarded either as
- A tablet or similar device useful for studying (worth approximately 200 Euro), or
- 200 Euro worth of travel support for a conference visit, workshop, or participation in a summer school, etc., or
- 200 Euro-voucher for the Unistore.
For PhD and postdoc faculty employees, the prize money of 500 euros can be used for any research-related purposes (e.g., conference travel, workshop participation, participant reimbursement, etc.) and will be paid out via the associated chair.
Questions?
Please direct any inquiries to the Open Science Initiative via psy-open-science@rub.de. Subject: Open Science Award.