Oxford LibGuides: Oxford LibGuides: For researchers

Open Access

Making your publications 'Open Access' is increasingly important, as it both improves the visibility of your work and helps ensure your eligibility for the next REF. In addition, many funding bodies require grant holders to make their publications open access. Find out more and deposit your work...

Act on Acceptance (Deposit into ORA)
Journal articles and conference papers (in publications with an ISSN) accepted for publication from 1 April 2016 onwards must be made available on an open access basis to be eligible for the next REF. Use our Act on Acceptance service to fulfil these requirements by uploading your paper to the Oxford Research Archive (ORA), our institutional repository, within 3 months of acceptance.
Open Access information and help
The Open Access Oxford website provides information, advice, tools and contacts to help you with REF and other funder policies. Includes the gold and green routes, tools to check funder and journal policies, Article Processing Charges (APCs) and how to pay them, and help depositing with 'Act on Acceptance' in order to be eligible for the next REF.

Open Access help and contacts

email: openaccess@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Research Data Management: organising, protecting and preserving your data

Managing your research data effectively is important so that you can:

create, collect and use data effectively
ensure your data is safely backed up and preserved for the future
make sure your data is available to others (which in some cases may be required by your funder)

Find out more...

Research Data Management
Information, advice, tools and contacts to help you with research data management including an explanation of how RDM may benefit your research and guidance on managing your data. You will also find an introduction to data management on the Bodleian Data Library web site.
Depositing your data in ORA Data
Oxford Researchers may deposit their research data in ORA-Data, the University of Oxford's digital repository for research data. ORA Data will archive and preserve the data and where appropriate make it available for re-use by other researchers.

Research Data Management help and contacts

email: researchdata@ox.ac.uk

Identifying your publications with ORCID and measuring impact

Ensuring that all of your publications and other research outputs are associated with you correctly online is important not only because it helps other researchers find your work but also because it will affect your citation count (for example when calculating your h-index). Using an ORCID ID will ensure that all of your publications are associated with you and is also required by some funding bodies. Find out more about 'ORCID at Oxford" or measuring research impact...

ORCID at Oxford - Researcher Identifier System
An ORCID iD is a unique researcher identifier, used worldwide, that you keep throughout your life and retain even if you move institution. ORCID iDs are useful in ensuring that all your articles and other research outputs are credited to you and are therefore important in measuring impact. They are also required by some funders.
Measuring research impact
Guidance on measuring impact using citation counts and impact factors including finding highly cited journals; calculating your h-index and measuring the impact of departments and institutions.

Depositing your thesis in the Oxford Research Archive (ORA) (for research students)

Depositing your thesis in the Oxford Research Archive
Students following D.Phil., M.Litt. and M.Sc. (by research) programmes are required to deposit a hardcopy of their thesis in the Bodleian Libraries and a digital copy in the Oxford Research Archive (ORA). Follow the link above for guidance on how to prepare your thesis for upload to ORA.

Oxford Research Archive help and contacts

Email: ora@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Workshops for researchers

The Bodleian Libraries run regular workshops on Open Access, Research Data Management and Measuring Research Impact. If the workshop you wish to attend has passed, please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk to request a one-to-one or bespoke session for your department.

Open Access workshops

Open Access: Authors, copyright and open access - making it work for you (Next session TBA)
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Researchers are often unsure about open access copyright permissions for their journal article, preprint or thesis. What open access rights do you retain when signing the publisher agreement for a journal article? Are you permitted to self-archive in your institutional repository? Which Creative Commons licence to select for your preprint? Your choices affect what you and others can do with your work. This introduction deciphers the jargon and explains the pitfalls so you can understand your options and make informed decisions.
Who is this session for? Current Oxford postgraduate research students, researchers and academics, research support staff and librarians.
Open Access Oxford: what's happening? (Multiple dates - click here for full list)
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A briefing on open access publishing and Oxford's position: Green vs. Gold; funder mandates and publisher policies; Oxford Research Archive (ORA) and Symplectic; Act on Acceptance and OA policy for REF 2021; Open Access block grants including RCUK/UKRI and Wellcome Trust; OA website/ helpline; what's new.
Who is this session for? Current Oxford researchers and academics, research support staff and librarians.
Open Access: Your thesis, copyright and ORA (Next date TBA)
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Oxford DPhil students are required to deposit a copy of their thesis in ORA (Oxford University Research Archive). This online session will focus on copyright and other issues that DPhil students need to take into account when preparing their thesis for upload to ORA.
Who is this session for? Doctoral research students

Measuring impact

Bodleian iSkills: Research metrics and citation analysis tools (Next date TBA)
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During this introduction to citation tracking and bibliometrics we will examine a range of tools for finding journal metrics, article metrics and author metrics, in the context of moves towards responsible metrics in measuring the impact of publications and researchers. We will cover Journal Citation Reports, CiteScore Journal Metrics, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Essential Science Indicators, ORCID and more and explain how to use each tool and its strengths and weaknesses.
Who is this session for? Researchers, Academics, Research Support Staff and Research Postgraduates in Sciences and Social Sciences.
Bodleian iSkills: Getting to grips with Research Impact for MPLS researchers (Next date TBA)
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There are many ways currently being used to measure research impact. In this session you will explore some of the traditional metrics used to assess impact and also newer measures such as altmetrics.
Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to research impact (Next date TBA)
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During this introduction to citation tracking and bibliometrics we will use a range of 'impact factor' tools to find top journals and conferences, count citations and measure the impact of publications and researchers. We will cover Journal Citation Reports, CiteScore Journal Metrics, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Essential Science Indicators, ORCID and more and explain how to use each tool and its strengths and weaknesses.
Who is this session for? Researchers, Academics, Research Support Staff and Research Postgraduates in Medical Sciences.

Research Data Management

Bodleian iSkills: Managing research data and Data Management Planning (DMPs) (Thu 10 Dec 11.00-13.00)
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Good research data management is a vital component of academic practice. Part of this is the principle that the data used to develop the arguments and outcomes of your research should be effectively stored and managed during a project, preserved for the future and - where possible - shared with other academics. This session introduces the University’s research data policy and outlines the practical impact this will have on your work. The services available at Oxford to assist you will be outlined. This session is not only essential during your current studies but will be invaluable if you plan to continue in research as a career.
Who is this session for? All DPhil students and research staff.
Bodleian iSkills: Data sources for research - discovery, access & use (Mon 7 Dec 11.00-13.00)
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This workshop will provide a grounding in the different ways quantitative and qualitative data is being made available to benefit researchers. By the end of the session you will also have some insight into how your own future work could add to the process and become part of the research discourse.
The course aims to provide an overview of macro and micro data sources available at the University of Oxford, including national data archives, subscription services, business data, and offers some pointers for further searching.
Who is this session for? DPhil students and research staff (particularly in Social Sciences). This workshop will be most beneficial to those researchers planning to use secondary data sources (quantitative, qualitative and mixed) as part of their research or who wish to learn more about the potential of open data platforms and data archives.
Bodleian iSkills: Introducing MANTRA for Research Data Management (Next date TBA)
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MANTRA is an acclaimed online independent learning course which provides guidelines for good practice in research data management. This workshop will discuss research data management as an integral part of the research process; give an introduction to MANTRA; and then give an actual opportunity to begin the online course with the assistance of library staff.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates and researchers. This will be particularly useful for DPhil students and early career researchers who are starting a research project.
Bodleian iSkills: Working with sensitive research data in the Social Sciences and Humanities (Next date TBA)
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A workshop outlining some of the key principles to bear in mind when working with sensitive or restricted research; whether collected yourself or obtained from a third party source such as a data archive. Issues of confidentiality, informed consent, cybersecurity and data management will be covered. Examples of scenarios or concerns drawn from the research of participants are particularly welcome. The role of support services at Oxford will also be outlined and in particular the role of the Bodleian Data Librarian who will lead the session. Follow up consultations with the Data librarian or other subject consultants are also offered.
Who is this session for? All DPhil students and research staff in the Social Sciences.
Bodleian iSkills: Working with sensitive research data in the Sciences and Medical Sciences (Next date TBA)
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A workshop outlining some of the key principles to bear in mind when working with sensitive or restricted research; whether collected yourself or obtained from a third party source such as an NHS trust or Biobank data. Issues of confidentiality, informed consent, cybersecurity and data management will be covered. Examples of scenarios or concerns drawn from the research of participants are particularly welcome. The role of support services at Oxford will also be outlined and in particular the role of the Bodleian Data Librarian who will lead the session. Follow up consultations with the Data librarian or other subject consultants are also offered.
Who is this session for? All Dphils and research staff in the Sciences and Medical Sciences.
Bodleian iSkills for the Medical Sciences Division and OUH staff: Introduction to Research Data Management (Next date TBA)
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Good research data management is a vital component of academic practice. Part of this is the principle that the data used to develop the arguments and outcomes of your research should be effectively stored and managed during a project, preserved for the future and - where possible - shared with other academics. This session introduces the University’s research data policy and outlines the practical impact this will have on your work. The services available at Oxford to assist you will be outlined. This session is not only essential during your current studies but will be invaluable if you plan to continue in research as a career.

More workshops (including literature review, reference management, copyright and more).

Workshops and Classes
Bodleian libraries run a range of workshops in information discovery and scholarly communications covering literature searching, reference management, current awareness, research impact, copyright and intellectual property, open access and research data management.