This week UCL hosted a series of events to coincide with International Open Access Week (22^nd -28^th October). The Research Data Management team were on hand to deliver a session on data sharing and the role it currently plays in the Open Science agenda. The session was divided into two parts. The first half introduced researchers to the importance and practical considerations of sharing data in keeping with the FAIR data principles. This was followed by a talk from Dr. Ben Thomas from the Institute of Nuclear Medicine who spoke of his experiences of using the EU-funded Zenodo repository to add a working example of data sharing to the session.

Many thanks to all those that attended and hopefully the session provided some useful information for researchers to further explore the merits of sharing research data.

The slides from the FAIR Data session can also be found on UCL Discovery, UCL’s open access repository and in SlideShare here.

At UCL, candidates for research degrees are required to deposit an electronic copy of their final thesis in UCL’s Research Publications Service (RPS), to be made open access in UCL’s institutional repository, UCL Discovery. Students can choose to restric public access to their thesis, for a variety of reasons like future publication, copyright restriction or sensitive data, but most are made open access immediately, or after a delay period no longer than 12 months.

The requirement to submit an electronic copy of your thesis as a condition of award has been in place at UCL since 2009. In addition to that, we have retrospectively digitised theses from earlier years, as a part of a collaborative project with ProQuest. So far, about 3,500 theses have been made available in UCL Discovery as a part of this collaboration. Theses are also digitised through the British Library’s e-Theses Online Service (EThOS), upon request.

In total, there are over 10,500 theses available in UCL’s institutional repository, dating as far back as 1933. UCL theses are amongst our most-downloaded items! The most popular is a 1990 thesis, Marketing theories and concepts for the international construction industry, available here. Amongst the theses available there are some completed by notable UCL alumni:

Julian Baggini, philosopher and author of popular books on philosophy, including A Short History of Truth, The Pig that Wants to be Eaten and 99 other thought experiments, and most recently How the World Thinks. Baggini completed his PhD in 1996, and his thesis on philopsphy of idnetity was recently made available here: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10057733/

Adam Rutherford, geneticist and author, has produced several science documentaries, and hosts the BBC 4 radio programme Inside Science. He completed his PhD at UCL in 2002, and his thesis on the role of a specific gene (CHX10) on eye development was recently made available in UCL Discovery: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10057801/

Chris Van Tulleken, together with his twin brother and fellow doctor Xand, makes programmes on various aspects of health, most recently Operation Ouch for CBBC. He is also an infectious diseases doctor and MRC Clinical Research Fellow at University College London Hospital, and completed his PhD in 2017. Chris’ thesis is available here: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1567969/

It was great to see so many people, both academics and research support staff, at our REF and Open Access Lunch today. Thanks to Adam Cresswell, UCL’s REF Manager, for an in-depth look at how the REF submission is managed at UCL.

We hope that everyone enjoyed the event, and that you were inspired to think beyond REF compliance, and to make open access a priority for all your research.

The slides from this session are now available:

REF2021 overview for beginners

Open access – REF and beyond

 

This academic year, UCL Open Access Team introduced a programme of regular training sessions on RPS and the REF open access policy. October dates proved very popular, and now we’ve added more sessions in November and early December.

All UCL authors are required to maintain a list of their publications in UCL’s Research Publication Service (RPS). To comply with the REF open access policy, they must also upload the final accepted manuscript version of their research articles and conference proceedings to RPS. This needs to be done no later than three months after first online publication. The Open Access Team review the manuscript and make it open access through UCL Discovery, UCL’s open access repository.

Our training sessions will explain the REF open access policy and what to do to comply with its requirements. They will also show you how to, in RPS:

• set up name-based search settings
• use all the advantages of RPS’s automated claiming tool (including linking RPS to your ORCID ID)
• record a publication
• upload a file

The sessions will be a good opportunity to ask questions about RPS and the REF open access policy, and they are open to all UCL staff and interested research students. New members of staff, and anyone who is unsure about any of the features mentioned above, are strongly encouraged to attend. Regular reports on compliance with the REF open access policy, and on academics’ use of RPS, are sent to Faculty Deans and Heads of Department. 

Upcoming sessions

Thursday, 1^st November, 11:00 – 12:00
IOE, 20 Bedford Way, room W3.07

Tuesday, 6^th November, 11:00 – 12:00
Foster Court, room 243

Tuesday, 20^th November, 14:00 – 15:00
1-19 Torrington Place, room B09

Thursday, 6^th December 11:00 – 12:00
1-19 Torrington Place, room B09

To book, and if you have any questions, please email: open-access@ucl.ac.uk
Also let us know if you would like to organise group training or drop-in sessions in your department.

The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) established International Open Access Week ten years ago, in 2008, to help open access advocates promote openness to scholarly publications. This year’s Open Access Week runs from 22nd to 28th October under the theme Designing Equitable Foundations for Open Knowledge. In preparation for open becoming the default for scholarly research, it’s important to make sure that open systems are inclusive, equitable, and meet the needs of diverse communities.

We are running a series of events for UCL staff during International Open Access Week. They will explore not only open access, and the REF open access policy that plays a huge role in shaping the open access landscape in the UK and at UCL, but they will also discuss other movements that aim to make research open, like open education and research data management.

RPS and the REF open access policy training session

Start: Oct 23, 2018 14:00 
End: Oct 23, 2018 15:00

Fully booked – contact UCL’s Open Access Team for November dates.

Location: Engineering Front Building, room 104

This training session will explain the REF open access policy and what to do to comply with its requirements. Using RPS, we will show you how to:

• set up name-based search settings
• use all the advantages of RPS’s automated claiming tool (including linking RPS to your ORCID ID)
• record a publication
• upload a file

This session will be a good opportunity to ask questions about RPS and the REF open access policy.

UCL REF and Open Access Lunch

Start: Oct 24, 2018 12:00 
End: Oct 24, 2018 13:30

Location: Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) Common  Room

12:00 – Buffet lunch

12:15-12:45
REF for Absolute Beginners – Adam Cresswell, UCL REF Manager
Adam will explain what the REF is, how it works and what we do to make it happen at UCL.
This session will be particularly useful for administrators and members of staff who haven’t been involved in the REF before, but experienced staff will have the opportunity to ask questions about the RPS REF assessment module and the new REF submission guidance.

12:45-13:15
Open Access: REF and beyond – Catherine Sharp, Head of Open Access Services, UCL
Catherine will explain what academics need to do to comply with the REF open access policy, why it’s important and how to tell whether your papers meet the requirements. Academics and administrative staff will be able to ask questions about RPS and open access at UCL.
Catherine will also discuss the development of open access nationally and internationally beyond the REF, and how funders’ open access policies (including the UK Research Councils’) and the European Commission’s Plan S will affect academics in the future.

13:15-13:30 – Q&A

Booking via Eventbrite here.

The Work of the Open Access Team – training session for library staff

Start: Oct 25, 2018 10:00 
End: Oct 25, 2018 11:30

Location: IoE Library, Training room

This training session is for UCL Library staff who would like to find out more about work of the Open Access Team, open access in general, the REF open access policy, and the newest developments in scholarly communication. The session will explain research funders’ open access policies, the REF open access policy and how the Open Access Team helps UCL authors to comply with funders’ and REF requirements. The session will describe the work of the team and will take you through the team’s daily and weekly tasks.

If you would like to book contact the Library HR Team.

Screening of Paywall: the Business of Scholarship

Start: Oct 25, 2018 12:45 
End: Oct 25, 2018 13:50

Location: DMS Watson Science Library training room, 417 (fourth floor)

Paywall: The Business of Scholarship is a documentary which focuses on the need for open access to research and science, questions the rationale behind the $25.2 billion a year that flows into for-profit academic publishers, examines the 35-40% profit margin associated with the top academic publisher Elsevier and looks at how that profit margin is often greater than some of the most profitable tech companies like Apple, Facebook and Google.

Bring your lunch!

Booking via Eventbrite.

FAIR Data Sharing

Start: Oct 25, 2018 13:00 
End: Oct 25, 2018 14:00

Location: Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) Common  Room

UCL’s Research Data Support team is running this lunchtime session on the most effective ways to share your research data.
The first half of the session will give researchers an introduction to the principles and practicalities involved in data sharing. It will also seek to outline the principles of FAIR data and how they relate to the production and use of data over the research lifecycle.
During the second half of the session the Research Data Management team will host a drop-in to help answer any questions about sharing research data.

Booking via Eventbrite.