Open Science in Linguistic Research

Abstract

Discussions about open science, which draws attention to conducting more open, transparent, replicable, and reproducible studies, have been making an appearance in the global literature in recent years. These discussions have also found their place in linguistics, though there is no well-established literature on open science in this field in Turkey yet. Accordingly, by presenting an up-to-date summary of developments that pave the way for open science, such as the replication crisis, scientific fraud, and publication bias, this article examines how related principles such as transparency, replicability, and reproducibility can manifest themselves in linguistic research. In the article, the problems of hidden flexibility and questionable research practices are discussed within the scope of linguistic research with the aim of raising awareness about the seriousness of these problems. Four basic solutions suggested in the literature to avoid these problems (pre-registration, reproducible workflow, preprint, and data/material sharing) are presented together with their pros and cons and are brought to the language researchers' attention. It is possible to increase transparency, replicability, and reproducibility in linguistic research when researchers evaluate these proposed solutions in the literature by considering their own fields and conditions and apply them to the extent possible.

Keywords

• open science
• transparency
• hidden-flexibility
• pre-registration