Information Science Students’ Attitudes Toward Open Science

Aim: The aim of this paper is to examine the attitudes of information science students toward open science. Methodology: This research was conducted in May 2025 using a qualitative method as the primary approach, a focus group, involving five students who study Information science in combination with another study program (Literature or Language) at the University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Philosophy. With the prior consent of all participants, the discussion was recorded using the open-source tool Audacity. The transcription of the discussion was carried out partially with the assistance of the open-source software Whisper AI, followed by additional verification through listening and manual annotation due to language-specific considerations. After transcription, responses were analysed and subsequently grouped into categories based on their frequency of occurrence. Coding was performed without predefined coding schemes; codes were generated inductively from the students’ responses so that each code reflects the core meaning of the expressed attitude. The data were processed in Excel and results were presented in tabular form. Results: Findings indicate that Information science students hold a positive attitude toward open science. They primarily recognize the advantages of open science in ensuring open access to content, which enables equal opportunities for education and learning, and contributes to the transformation and advancement of science and education, as well as the overall development of science and society. The obstacles to implementing open science are identified in technological barriers and the lack of education on open science, which simultaneously serves as the key solution for successful implementation within higher education institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the students’ views, academic librarians have an indisputable and initial role in this educational process. While the results of our study cannot be generalized to students of other study programs, these findings provide a solid basis for developing a scale for measuring attitudes toward open science. Originality: To the best of our knowledge, the focus group conducted with the aim of identifying the attitudes of Information science students toward open science in the context of higher education represents the first study on this topic within the field of Information science carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Active listening · Axial coding · Information science · Open Education · Open Science · Open source software · Science education · Academic Publishing and Open Access · Open Education and E-Learning · Research Data Management Practices