DWLresearch

Tools and tips that help shave precious minutes off a laborious workflow appeal to most humans who spend much of their working day at a computer. Thanks to open-source software and code sharing platforms, such as Github  and Snipplr , innovative tools can be developed quickly, built upon and often made available completely for free. This post highlights four useful tools that can help researchers quickly find and evaluate open access (OA) literature. All are freely available extensions for your internet browser, however, it's worth noting that I have only tested them in Chrome-based browsers. If you're a user of other browsers such as Safari, Internet Explorer or Firefox there might be other equivalent services available. For a more in-depth analysis and demonstration of these and other browser extensions, I recommend reading Aaron Tay's blog post from June and July of this year. Let's get started... Google Scholar Button It might sound an obvious ch...

By Grant Denkinson, open access lead in Library Research Services.  Here are some trends I’ve spotted that might suggest some Open Access futures: Traditional formats still exist While innovation moves on, current and traditional forms of knowledge exchange continue to be useful and preferred by some and so are likely to continue. Plan S Various policy initiatives are happening, such as Plan S , which involves some national research funding organisations supported by the European Commission and the European Research Council (ERC) as cOAlition S. It aims to move us to full and immediate Open Access to research. On 5 November last year, two large funders - Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - endorsed Plan S. Preprints and Post publication peer review Some fields such as mathematics and high-energy physics (arXiv from 1991) have, for a while, embraced a thriving preprint culture where results are made available for debate bef...

By Grant Denkinson, open access lead in Library Research Services.   1. If my work is freely readable why should I also have it in a repository? For discoverability: Leicester Research Archive (LRA) is indexed by major search engines and has an open interface that allows us to connect to aggregators and the like. This makes your work easier to find. For preservation: if you work is on a website or a commercial sharing service will it be kept for the long term? Companies change policies, or get bought, or close down. People change jobs or retire and so don’t have access to the same services. Websites get redesigned, or merged, or shut down. We provide a long-term home for your work. We also aim to use formats that will be readable in the future when software changes. So we know about it at our university: if you have a bibliography of your work in one place, we can report to the bodies we need to that fund us and look at metrics, such as citations or downlo...

By Grant Denkinson, open access lead in Library Research Services.   I have heard a number of times from authors, particularly in the humanities, that they are less enthusiastic about Green route Open Access. They say the final author version they make available is not as useful or aesthetically pleasing. Since the looks of an author version are up to the author(s), I think there is a trade-off between time taken on look and feel vs time spent on other things, and perhaps diminishing returns on usability and enjoyment. A few issues to consider: Location: If you were given this paper without further context, as might happen if someone shared with a colleague via email or a collaborative workspace, would you know exactly what it is? Consider putting the citation at the front. Often the version of record will have a persistent identifier, a DOI, and we produce an identifier in our repository: a handle.net address. These should continue to work if websites ...

By Grant Denkinson, open access lead in Library Research Services.  Here, we are looking at research publications in journals and published conference proceedings. First: Open Access changes nothing about the usual processes of editing and peer review. You will be choosing the best journal for your work as usual and need to comply with Open Access requirements for HEFCE REF and the requirements of any funders. Our university policy fits with the REF policy. There are two main routes to publishing OA: Green and Gold . Some journals offer the Green route only. Some are Gold only. Some are hybrid and you may have a choice whether to choose Open Access via either the Green or the Gold route. We use SHERPA/RoMEO https://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/search.php to see what the options are for most journals. Green is the traditional publishing model and has no costs to you. All that you need to do additionally is to go to IRIS , create a simple manual record if...

This post is by Grant Denkinson, open access lead in Library Research Services.  A simple definition is that someone wanting to use research can do so without running into a closed door or have to hurdle barriers. There has been a worldwide movement towards Open Access, particularly in the sciences. Some reasons that spring to mind are: To help research become more useable and useful for everyone in the world. So the public can see research we have paid for and so can our interpreters and commentators on it. So we don’t need to rely on specific gatekeepers and interpreters of knowledge, but can choose others and follow trails of provenance back to sources. So policymakers, regulators, businesses, medics, charities, voluntary groups and others can use, dispute and add to evidence and analysis. So everyone can check data and analysis and find and correct errors, offer other opinions and hold researchers to account. So research can be exploited in new ways, ...

It's that time of year again when researchers and information professionals celebrate  International  Open Access Week.  Here's a round up of events, resources and publications that caught our eye.  The British Library - Open and Engaged 2019 Tom Moore from the Research Services team will be attending this event   which will explore how higher education and heritage institutions can work together to improve open scholarship. Hopefully, there will be ideas  we can use with our collections at the David  Wilson Library. OpenAire Webinars OpenAire, the European organisation for open science, are running a webinar series on the theme of  Open for Whom? Equity in Open Knowledge . Topics include:   OpenAPC - cost transparency of Open Access publishing   Research Data Management   Horizon 2020 Open Science Policies and beyond   Plan S compliance for Open Access Journals    From Open Scien...

Volunteer to become a Library Champion As a library champion you will: Collect feedback about the Library services and resources Promote the Library within your department Have an opportunity to participate in a library project that will help improve the library We're keen to include PGR students and give them a voice within the Library. Time commitment: 10 hours per academic year.  You will be given full training for the role and supported throughout the scheme by the Academic Librarian and/or a Library Research Services Consultant. Click here to  apply