Table 3.

Thematic analysis of best ways to promote open science

Theme	Code	N (137)	%	Example
Finances	Provide funding	30	21.9	‘Provide funding at the institutional level to support it’
	Make it affordable	11	8.0	‘make it much less expensive’
	Do not charge fees to researchers	7	5.1	‘Don't charge scientists to do it’
Incentives and rewards	Incentivise open science practices	4	2.9	‘The incentive has to be correct, but one can not expect to give data away (as some initiatives almost look like).’
	Use novel metrics	4	2.9	‘Use novel metrics (Altmetrics) instead of impact factors.’
	Support broader types of publication models	3	2.2	‘Creation of open repository for scientific publications, and promotion of the repository through media.’
	Show value to researchers	6	4.4	‘Have research funders and universities promote it more, explain what it entails, and the benefits to the researcher and science.’
	Provide recognition for open science activities	3	2.2	‘Ensure that those who have spent years dedicated to generating the data continue to receive primary academic/ institutional credit for the work.’
Policy and process changes	Create mandates	11	8.0	‘Embed it as a requirement in nationally funded research’
	Improve peer review	2	1.5	‘Make it peer-reviewed.’
	Disseminate guidelines	2	1.5	‘Emphasize the importance of open science in society guidelines.’
Support	Facilitate the process	7	5.1	‘Institutional arrangements with publishers to ensure free Open Access publication in hybrid form’
	Provide training	12	8.8	‘undergraduate training’
	Knowledge sharing of practices	2	1.5	‘give example on how this will give access to data and protocols develop elsewhere.’
Culture change	Change journal culture	8	5.8	‘Change the journal culture.’
	Consider geographic realities	2	1.5	‘researchers from LMICS would simply publish under a subscription model.’
	Research culture change	4	2.9	‘Making data available would be the single step. However, the converse is that data is a scientists 'currency' for advancing their own research and exposes one to having ideas stolen.’
Perceived concerns	Address low quality journals	4	2.9	‘Open science is hampered by all the really bad journals promoting open-access paid articles.’
	Alleviate concern of misinformation	3	2.2	‘Alleviate concerns that data will not be misinterpreted, and reports will not have incorrect conclusions’
	Ensure open science is rigorous	3	2.2	‘I am not an unconditional fan of opens science as it is being promoted presently and therefore do not think it is appropriate to promote it without further consideration as it is currently done’
Other	Other	9	6.6	‘The biggest barrier, by far, is the risk associated with open data from institutional review boards and the privacy act.’