Improving research reproducibility with open method sharing

Author: Saskia Hoving

Editor-in-Chief

Open science is all about making research more transparent and accessible, but one key piece is often missing: the methods behind the work. While open access (OA) and data sharing are now widely embraced, detailed protocols still tend to stay behind closed doors. In the webinar, Transforming Research: The Benefits of Methods Sharing in Open Science, speakers from across the research community shared how platforms like protocols.io are helping change that. This blog pulls together the main takeaways, showing how open method sharing can boost reproducibility, spark collaboration and make research more impactful.

OA is now standard in many regions and open data continues to gain momentum. But for research to be truly open, sharing detailed methods is essential. As Beth Montague-Hellen, Head of Library and Information Services at The Francis Crick Institute, put it: "If you share your data but nobody can really see how you created that data, is that really open? Is that really usable by people?" Her question gets to the heart of reproducibility and trust in science. When methods are condensed into brief sections in publications, important details can be lost, slowing down progress and making it harder for others to replicate the work.

Digital tools that drive reproducibility and collaboration

Beth Montague-Hellen’s call for transparency highlights a growing need across the research community: making methods openly available and usable. Jacob Corn, Professor of Genome Biology at ETH Zürich, offered a compelling example of how digital tools are helping meet that need. In the fast-moving field of CRISPR-Cas genome editing, his lab has published protocols that have been accessed tens of thousands of times, one over 33,000 times, another close to 30,000. This level of engagement highlights a key challenge: how to share complex, reproducible methods efficiently with a global research community.

Traditional papers often outline methods in broad strokes, which can make replication difficult, especially when interest scales. Answering individual requests becomes unsustainable. That’s where protocols.io offers a solution. By uploading detailed, step-by-step protocols, Corn’s team shares their methods transparently and at scale. Some protocols have gone through up to 17 versions, reflecting ongoing improvements. With features like versioning and forking, researchers can trace changes, adopt updates, and tailor protocols to their own systems, supporting reproducibility, innovation and collaboration across labs.

Corn also shared a compelling comparison: while one of his protocols was cited around 200 times in academic literature, the same protocol on protocols.io had been accessed over 30,000 times. This contrast reveals a broader kind of impact, one that goes beyond citations and reflects real-world use. And that visibility has practical value. 

For researchers applying for grants or fellowships, linking to a well-documented, widely used protocol with a DOI can strengthen their case. As Corn explained, “Scientists like to know and like to understand how people are interfacing with their work. And ideally, when what they’re doing has impact…” protocols.io makes that impact visible, helping researchers see how their work is being picked up, adapted and applied. Corn emphasized the dual benefit of the platform: it streamlines communication for protocol authors and empowers users. His team regularly draws on public protocols and uses the platform to manage private ones internally. The ability to track, adapt and stay current makes protocols.io an essential tool in modern research.

Open method sharing builds trust and impact

This kind of visibility and usability, where methods are actively shared, used and adapted, signals a broader evolution in research practice. It reflects a growing commitment to openness, where transparency becomes a catalyst for collaboration and impact. The webinar speakers expanded on this idea, emphasizing that open method sharing is not just a technical enhancement, it’s a foundation for building trust, credibility and meaningful scientific progress.

Montague-Hellen observed: “If we want people to trust us, if we want people to trust our science, if we want people to build on our science... sharing your methods is the same as all these other bits of open research, in that it opens it all up. It makes it transparent; it makes it reusable.” Her point reinforces the idea that open methods are central to reproducibility and trust.

Emma Ganley, Director Strategic Initiatives at protocols.io, added: “The purpose of research is to find knowledge and advance knowledge, and that knowledge will only be believed if you can actually support it with evidence.” This highlights how detailed protocols strengthen the credibility and usability of research outputs.

What protocols.io brings to open science

As the webinar highlighted, platforms like protocols.io are transforming how research methods are shared, credited and reused. Protocols.io offers a dual-purpose solution:

1. A collaborative workspace for teams to privately develop and refine protocols, and
2. An open repository of over 23,000 public protocols available under CC-BY licensing

This approach to “modular publishing” recognizes that research outputs go beyond traditional papers. By assigning DOIs to protocols, protocols.io enables proper citation and visibility for method development, often giving well-deserved credit to technicians and junior researchers whose contributions are essential but frequently overlooked.

Importantly, the platform also supports broader efforts to recognize the full spectrum of research contributors. As Montague-Hellen noted, protocols.io aligns closely with the UK’s Technician Commitment, which advocates for:

• Attribution of technical expertise
• Visibility for often-hidden methodological work
• Career development for technical staff
• Knowledge sustainability when experts move on

By making protocols traceable, reusable and citable, protocols.io helps ensure that vital expertise doesn’t disappear and that those behind the methods receive the recognition they deserve. It addresses a long-standing challenge in research culture: giving due credit to all contributors, not just principal investigators or first authors.

To dive deeper into the benefits of open method sharing, watch the full webinar. As one attendee put it: “I got a very clear explanation on what transparency in science is and on the basis of sharing protocols.”

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