The world of open access publishing can sometimes feel overwhelming, with so many hoops to jump through and options to pick from. Luckily, the library’s Scholarly Publications and Research Data team are here to help! In this post, we’ll have a quick look at the ways we help Strathclyde researchers get their work seen by as many people as possible.
What is open access?
Open access research is freely available online to everyone, without restriction. Many funders have open access requirements, including the UKRI. At a minimum, all Strathclyde publications must meet the requirements of the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF). But open access isn’t just about published articles. We aim for all forms of research, including raw datasets and unpublished reports, to be as open as possible. Below is a quick guide to the ways we can help you join the global movement for open research.
Funding for gold open access
Lots of journals offer a ‘gold’ open access model, where a fee is required to make the final published version open access. However, Strathclyde has agreements with most major publishers that allow Strathclyde-affiliated corresponding authors to publish gold open access in many journals at no cost to them.
Use our new SciFree tool to find eligible journals. Please be advised not all article types (e.g. review articles) are included in all the agreements. Email openaccess@strath.ac.uk if you wish to double check that a journal is covered or for any other questions you may have on gold open access.
Other routes to open access
Open access shouldn’t have to cost money, and there are plenty alternatives to the gold model. We ask all Strathclyde authors to add their publications to Pure, our information system where academics can record all their research activity and output. Simply create a research output record and attach a copy of the author’s accepted manuscript (AAM) within 3 months of acceptance. The AAM is the version after any peer review comments have been implemented, but before the publisher has added their formatting and copyright. This process takes 10 minutes and will immediately ensure compliance with open access requirements. We then process the record and deposit the AAM in Strathprints, our institutional repository.
Another option is to publish in a ‘diamond’ open access journal. These journals publish all their research open access without any cost to the author or institution. You can use the Directory of Open Access Journals to search for diamond journals.
Depositing your data
For all publications, any related research data must be deposited according to the University’s Research Data Management and Sharing Policy. Simply create a dataset record in Pure and upload the files (again, it takes 10 minutes!). We’ll then get in touch and issue you with a DOI so that other people can cite your data. You can then include the DOI in a Data Access Statement in the final publication.
A home for your reports and working papers
Some research, such as reports and policy papers, may not be ‘published’ in the traditional sense. We call this ‘grey literature’. However, you can still give your grey literature a home through Strathprints. Simply create a record in Pure and attach a copy of the paper, and we’ll handle the rest. We can also provide DOIs for your grey literature, making it easier to share and cite. Visit our webpage on DOI Creation Service for more information. If you decide you would like us to register a DOI for you, fill out the Strathclyde DOI service web form.
Whether you’re publishing an article, depositing data, or sharing reports, the Scholarly Publications and Research Data team is here to help. Visit our open access webpages or email Scholarly Publications and Research Data at openaccess@strath.ac.uk to start making your research more visible.
