Open science Universities and public research centres traditionally share their insights through publications. Rapid dissemination of research results supports the advancement of science very effectively. All researchers are free to use the research results published by other researchers, provided they cite their sources. This approach is frequently referred to as "open science", by analogy with "open source" software. All areas of research, including human and social sciences, can apply this model. Any potential exploitation of discoveries published in scientific journals by industry is usually indirect, without involvement of the organisations where these discoveries are made. In this model, industry derives no competitive advantages from the information, because published results automatically fall into the public domain and are therefore accessible to all. The weighted citation index of published results is a reliable indication of the quality and productivity of research activities. Impact evaluation of scientific journals is notably available from the SCIE (Science Citation Index Expanded) reports, or through the Journal Citation Reports published by Thomson Reuters, as well as in the index provided by SCOPUS. This text is based on a report by Dr Gilles Capart.
