Fig. 1: Closed research environments are defined by strong gatekeeping within individual labs, research units or scientific areas.

Research questions are chosen by individuals, research is undertaken by specialists, and results are published in journals inaccessible to the general public. In an idealized open-research environment, the unrestricted flow of information and exchange of ideas, resources and data is both facilitated and encouraged. Consequently, this efficient pooling of resources supports further scientific progress.