Research Data Management and Repository Systems as Enablers of Open Science: a Conceptual Review

The global movement towards Open Science is a radical overhaul of scientific practice, which focuses on the four main principles of the reform, i.e., transparency, collaboration, access, and reproducibility. In the emerging environment, Research Data Management (RDM) and repository platforms play a pivotal role in the organization, recording, and sharing of research data as the Open Science movement’s pillars. This conceptual review synthesizes ideas from the literature published between 2010 and 2025, which explore the way RDM frameworks and open repository platforms facilitate Open Science practices. The following discussion traces the conceptual evolution of RDM, describes the alignment of RDM with the FAIR data principles, and characterizes open repositories like Zenodo, Figshare, and Dryad. The review reveals an awareness of the growing intersection between technological infrastructures and institutional governance changes aimed at facilitating data sharing and long-term preservation. The final part implies that the mingling of RDM and repository platforms not only supports the Open Science ecosystem but also makes a contribution to RDM by generating possibilities for data reuse, accountability, and collaborative working across borders.