Open in Action conversations
As described in our last post, the theme of this year’s Open Access Week ‘Open in Action’ was all about taking concrete steps to open up research and scholarship and encouraging others to do the same.
With this in mind, the Library invited all researchers to join their OA experts at a range of drop-in sessions. To share the outcomes of these conversations even further, we have listed the most commonly asked questions here along with the support available from the Open Access team and colleagues.
The main themes discussed so far have been:
Focus on ‘acceptance’
The key message is to ‘act on acceptance’ and deposit all articles and proceedings in Pure (the University’s research system) along with the full date of acceptance. Most authors find this easiest to do in the active period following acceptance, and most publishers allow accepted versions (not published pdfs) to be made open access by this route. See our web page for a 2 minute ‘deposit demo’.
Not just for REF
Making your work Open is not just about compliance with REF policies. The University expects staff to deposit ALL articles in Pure, not just those you expect to submit to REF. This is not only because we don’t yet know the shape of the next REF, but that we want to give visibility to all research outputs. Researchers can add all kinds of research publications and activities in Pure, and make links with their projects and underlying data. The Library provides integrated support on using Pure – contact the Pure Helpdesk for advice or training.
The cost of Open Access
Most publishers offer a paid route to Open Access, known as the ‘gold’ route. Except for a few cases where research funders prefer this route, the good news is you don’t have to pay extra for making your work open in traditional journals. Use the ‘green’ route, and all it costs is a few minutes of your time to deposit in Pure.
‘Open in Action’ conversations: Questions and answers
Q: does my publisher allow open access after I deposit in Pure?
Almost always the answer is “Yes”, though there may be conditions. You are normally permitted to deposit your author-created accepted version following peer-review, but not proofs or published versions. There might also be an embargo period before the deposited version can be made Open. Don’t worry, the Library will take care of this provided you deposit on acceptance!
Q: do I have to do this for everything?
As mentioned above – you should deposit ALL articles in Pure, not just those you expect to submit to REF. Open Access is not just for Christmas (or REF)!
You can choose to make other outputs such as book chapters Open Access, provided we can get permission from publishers – contact us for advice.
Q: what information do I need to add in Pure?
Fill in the mandatory fields when creating a record, and make sure to add the full date of acceptance for articles and proceedings. When you upload a file, set the document version as ‘accepted author manuscript’ and choose access as ‘Open’. You can also link any projects or underlying data under ‘Relations’. The Library will enhance the records and take care of the rest.
Q: can you explain more about the date of acceptance?
Yes we can! In short: once peer review stages are complete, ‘date of acceptance’ is when you are made aware that all academically necessary changes have been made in response to reviewer comments. Hefce has published official advice. There are many queries around this, and a call to the OA team might be the best way to resolve them. The key thing is to decide on the most appropriate date and add it in Pure.
Q: do I have to pay for Open Access?
There is no charge for depositing in Pure – the ‘green’ route to OA. You are not expected to pay for OA to be compliant with the REF OA Policy. There will only be a charge if you have chosen a fully open access journal that charges APCs rather than subscriptions, or if your funder has stricter requirements that means you need to choose the ‘gold’ route.
Q: I chose ‘Gold’ OA, do I still need to deposit in Pure?
Yes – you need to deposit your article in Pure in all cases, so please deposit the accepted version as soon as possible. This makes sure we can report effectively and provide advice as early as possible. In the case of articles with Creative Commons licences, we will be able to make the final version Open Access.
Q: Will deposit in Pure meet my funder’s requirements?
Not always. Certain funders such as MRC, EU (Horizon2020) and Wellcome Trust have strict limits on embargo periods and a preference for immediate Open Access. In some cases we can provide help with funding to pay APCs, or you may be able to use your grant – see more on research funder’s policies.
Q: Can you tell me more about the content I can put in Pure, and how this makes research outputs more visible?
The best way to find out more about Pure is to check the Pure web pages or contact the Pure Helpdesk for advice or training. Pure provides web services to make content available from School web pages as well as the main Research Portal.
If you have additional questions – or want to arrange a drop-in specially for your School or department, get in touch with us at [email protected]
Meanwhile, get into the OA habit so you can benefit from the wide audience your work deserves!