OpenOrgs User Guide

What is OpenOrgs?

OpenOrgs is a service developed by OpenAIRE designed to address the complex issue of identifying and disambiguating research organisations across different OpenAIRE platforms.

It provides a comprehensive registry that integrates data from various sources, ensuring that organisations are consistently and accurately represented.

The Problem: Disambiguation of Research Organisations

In the world of research, organisations can appear under different names and identifiers across various databases. For example, a single institution might be listed with its full legal name, an acronym, a localized version of its name, or other variations. This inconsistency poses significant challenges for researchers and institutions trying to track affiliations, research outputs, and collaborations.

Persistent identifiers (PIDs) like those from the Research Organisation Registry (ROR), International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI), and European Commission Participant Identification Code (PIC) are supposed to help, but they often fall short because different databases might use different PIDs for the same organisation. This leads to fragmented and incomplete records, complicating the efforts to create a linked, open scholarly communication system

How OpenOrgs Addresses the Problem?

OpenOrgs collects, curates, and integrates data about research organisations from various registries, such as the Research Organisation Registry (ROR) and European Commission databases. It uses automated algorithms to group similar entities and then relies on human curators to verify and enrich the data. This dual approach ensures high accuracy and reliability of the information. OpenOrgs curators resolve duplicates, enriche metadata, and help in linking organisations to their research outputs and funding data, thus enhancing the discoverability and interoperability of research information.

OpenOrgs tackles these issues through a combination of automated processes and human curation:

Automated Grouping

An algorithm scans metadata from various sources to identify and group organisations with similar attributes. This initial step clusters potential duplicates based on factors like names, addresses, and PIDs.

Human Curation

Curators then review these clusters to confirm whether they represent the same entity. This step is crucial because it involves nuanced decisions that algorithms alone cannot reliably make. For instance, curators might need to discern if two branches with the same name are part of the same institution or completely independent entities.

Metadata Enrichment

Curators can also enrich the data by adding missing information, correcting inaccuracies, and suggesting new duplicates that the algorithm may have missed. This continuous improvement cycle enhances the overall quality and reliability of the registry.

Integration with Other Systems

OpenOrgs integrates with other OpenAIRE services, contributing to a unified research information ecosystem. It helps in linking research outputs, funding data, and organisational details across different platforms, thereby improving the discoverability and interoperability of research information.

By resolving these ambiguities and maintaining a high-quality, accurate registry, OpenOrgs plays a crucial role in supporting open science and enhancing scholarly communication. It ensures that researchers and institutions can reliably track and showcase their work, collaborations, and impact within the global research landscape.

How can we use it?

Researchers, institutions, and can use OpenOrgs to search for and identify research organisations globally. The platform helps in tracking affiliations, understanding institutional structures, and monitoring research activities. By using OpenOrgs, users can verify institutional details, ensure consistent organisation identifiers across different systems, and improve the quality of metadata for research outputs. Additionally, OpenOrgs supports the curation of organisation data to maintain its accuracy and relevance, which is crucial for effective scholarly communication and open science initiatives.

Here's a detailed guide on how to use the OpenOrgs platform:

Becoming an OpenOrgs curator

The first step to becoming a data curator with OpenOrgs is to express interest by completing our brief online form. This form provides an opportunity for applicants to introduce themselves, share their research background and motivations for contributing, and request guidance on effectively using the OpenOrgs service.
Upon submitting their expression of interest, the Curation Board will guide the applicant through the onboarding process. This includes a one-on-one 15–20 minute meeting with a member of the Curation Board. This meeting is the applicant's chance to discuss their role as a data curator in more detail and ask any questions they may have.
The applicant will also be provided with comprehensive training on using the OpenOrgs platform effectively. This training may encompass a variety of formats, including documents, videos, or a live session. Finally, to solidify their participation as a valued member of the OpenOrgs data curator community, the applicant will be asked to sign a Volunteer Statement outlining their rights and responsibilities.
Upon acceptance by both parties, the applicant is assigned the role of the metadata curator, with the proper access rights to OpenOrgs service. Frequent dedicated community calls of the OpenOrgs curators will be held to enhance the knowledge exchange and experiences, challenges faced by curators.
To start using OpenOrgs, visit the OpenOrgs website. You may need to create an account if you don't already have one. Once registered, you can log in to access the platform's features.

Understanding the Interface

The OpenOrgs interface consists of several key sections and a landing page where users can perform a simple search or browse organisations by country or type.
Under the 'Curation' menu, all users can access the 'Organisations with New Duplicates' tab to review and manage potential duplicate entries. National admins have additional access to the 'Suggested Organisations' and 'Potential Conflicts' tabs, where they can approve new organisations suggested by the system and resolve conflicting records, respectively.
The interface supports metadata enrichment, notes documentation, and provides tools for tracking modification history to ensure data accuracy and integrity.

Reviewing Potential Duplicates

OpenOrgs uses algorithms to detect potential duplicates among the organisations. Here's how to review and resolve these duplicates:
- Automatic Suggestions: The algorithm suggests organisations that might be duplicates based on similarities in metadata.
- Manual Review: As a curator, you review these suggestions. Check the metadata (such as names, acronyms, geographical locations, and identifiers) to determine if the entries refer to the same organisation.

Merging Duplicates

Once you've identified duplicates:
- Select the Entries: Choose the entries you believe are duplicates.
- Merge Records: Use the merge function to combine the metadata into a single, accurate record. This may involve selecting the most accurate information from each entry.
- Approve or Reject: Approve the merged record if it accurately represents the organisation. Reject the suggestion if the entries are not duplicates.

Enriching Metadata

To enhance the quality of the data, you can enrich the metadata for each organisation:
- Update Details: Add or correct information such as the official name, acronyms, geographical location, unique identifiers (e.g., ROR, ISNI), and URLs.
- Add New Information: Include additional metadata that improves the organisation's profile, such as aliases and commonly used names.

Adding New Organisations

If you identify an organisation that is not in the database, you can add it:
- Create New Entry: Use the 'Add Organisation' function to input the new organisation's details.
- Metadata Entry: Provide comprehensive metadata to ensure the organisation is easily identifiable and discoverable.
- Approval Process: Submit the new entry for approval by a national administrator (NOAD), who will review and finalize the addition.

Documentation and Notes

Maintaining clear documentation and notes is essential:
- Notes Section: Use the notes section for each organisation to document your decisions, observations, and any additional context that might be useful for other curators.
- History Tracking: Track the changes made to an organisation's page to maintain a transparent record of modifications and the rationale behind them.

Collaboration and Support

Leverage the collaborative nature of OpenOrgs:
- Engage with Community: Participate in community discussions, webinars, and training sessions to stay updated on best practices and new features.
- Support Resources: Utilize the tutorials, guides, and FAQs available on the OpenOrgs website to enhance your curation skills and resolve any issues you encounter.

Continuous Improvement

The curation process in OpenOrgs is ongoing:
- Regular Updates: Regularly check for new duplicates and metadata updates to ensure the database remains accurate and up-to-date.
- Feedback Loop: Provide feedback on the algorithm's performance to help improve its accuracy and efficiency over time.