Opening Up Research

Publishing your research open access means making it free for anybody, anywhere in the world to access and read. It often also means giving others the freedom to reuse or adapt research while still ensuring that you are credited as the original author. That could, for example, allow somebody to create a translation of research into a different language so that it can be read by a wider audience. Open access can have advantages for both authors and readers. Authors can benefit from increased dissemination and citations of their work. Readers get free, equitable access to high-quality research (for more background on open access see https://openaccess.ox.ac.uk/start-here).

The reasons for choosing open access publication can vary. You might be committed to open science and sharing your research. Perhaps your funder requires you to publish research open access. Maybe you work with other scientists whose institution’s policy mandates open access publishing. Once you decide to publish open access, the path to actually doing so can be rocky!

Some journals will charge a publication fee called an Article Processing Charge. Depending on your funding status you may be able to claim this money from your funder. Alternatively, you could choose to deposit a version of your article with no charge into an institutional repository like the Oxford University Research Archive. The University of Oxford currently has a range of publisher deals which allow even unfunded researchers to publish open access papers in certain scientific journals with no charge. Deciding between all these different options can be confusing. To help researchers, we have the Open Access Oxford (OAO) website.

The OAO website has all the information you need, from the background to open access publishing and methods to deposit your research through to advice on how to pay open access costs. If your question isn’t covered on the site, you’ll find details for contacting the open access team for further help.

You can use the OAO site to keep up to date with new developments in open access such as changes in open access polices and the University’s approach to open access.

Finally, if you want to get a sound grasp on open access, it’s a great idea to attend one of our regular free training sessions. For beginners we would highly recommend our Fundamentals of Open Access session.

A row of open doors in different primary and secondary colours, each containing a narrow vertical glass panel.

Open Science Framework

The Open Science Framework (OSF) is a tool for simplifying the management of research projects and related activities, regardless of discipline. It is a service provided by the Centre for Open Science, a not-for-profit organisation based in Virginia in the USA.

Despite its name, OSF is not discipline specific and integrates with many existing scholarly tools such as Zotero, DataCite and GitHUb rather than duplicating services. The Medical Sciences Division is funding these activities to develop case studies exploring how researchers can be supported in the areas of open science and open publishing, in a sustainable way and that encourages high quality and collaborative research practices. OSF facilities will be available to all members of the University, via Oxford SSO provided that they have an ORCID linked to their account.

Direct link to Oxford Integration

New look training for Open Scholarship

In response to attendee feedback, the Bodleian libraries will soon offer an improved series of sessions covering open access. Sessions will be targeted to different levels of knowledge and interest in open access publishing. If you’re feeling a little confused about what ‘open access’ means, are stumped by how to go about getting your research published in an open access format, or if you want to discuss new developments in open scholarship, we have the right session for you!

Fundamentals of Open Access – This will cover the basic principles of open access, such as what it means and who it applies to. Recommended for new starters or those new to open access publishing. This session will run every other month.

Logistics of Open Scholarship – This will cover the practical ‘how to’ of open scholarship such as how to deposit your publications and data and how to apply for funding to cover open access publication costs. This session will run every other month.

Forum of Open Scholarship – This session is intended for advocates and administrators involved in open scholarship. These termly forums will discus forthcoming (and current) challenges and opportunities in open scholarship. It will be a space where people can ask questions and address ‘what’s happening’ for researchers and research support staff.

Each session will be recorded for the benefit of those who are unable to attend in person. All sessions will be advertised and can be booked through the iSkills Information Skills programme website – https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/workshops#/