The University is about to give final approval to its policy on Open Access, which includes the following: (Point 7)
All researchers should deposit the research papers they produce whilst employed at the University on Open Access in the institutional repository, Open Research Exeter (ORE), as soon as publisher restrictions will allow.
At the moment Open Access policies only apply to journal articles and published conference papers; book chapters and monographs are not affected. A full guide to open access can be found on the Library’s web pages.
Exeter’s repository, ORE, is the central location for archiving research outputs produced by members of the University. It is now linked to Symplectic, the University’s research publications management system. Your Subject Librarian can help you start depositing via Symplectic and will check any documents you submit to make sure that the right version is used and that any embargo required by the publisher is respected.
Unlike many similar repositories at other institutions Exeter’s is full text: full bibliographic details are provided for all documents, including links by DOI to the final published version. The author’s draft version is also included, so that users can still read the article even if they do not have the relevant subscription for the journal. ORE now holds 450 items produced by the Business School, 80 of which have been submitted to the REF (Research Excellence Framework). It has just been re-designed to allow for the deposit of a wider range of research outputs, including data collections, and is far more flexible as a way of preserving reports or similar material.
Academics in the Business School regularly use archives like SSRN (Social Science Research Network) or RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) to circulate their working papers, as both provide statistics on downloads and citations. Our repository can provide similar statistics and will ensure far wider exposure, as its content is harvested by international services like BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine).
Which version can be archived?
Publishers have different policies regarding self-archiving – you can check on the SHERPA/RoMEO website, which can be searched by journal title or publisher. A system of colour coding (Green/Blue/Yellow/ White) refers to their level of openness.
Normally publishers do not allow their published version to be used but, depending on their policies, you can use either the draft version before peer review (“pre-print”) or “post-print” (articles which have been refereed and accepted for publication).
“Green” archiving
This is the route preferred by the University. Green publishers in the Sherpa/Romeo list allow authors to archive either pre-print or post-print versions and, in a few cases, also allow the publisher’s version/PDF to be used.
“Gold” archiving
Some publishers have set up schemes which allow academics to pay for free access to articles or books which would normally require individual subscriptions. Although the University has limited funds for paid open access, these are available only to researchers funded by RCUK or Wellcome.
If you are funded by other bodies it is worth noting that a growing number of publishers will allow you to deposit a copy of your paper in a repository six months from publication and in some cases at the time of publication. If you are able to choose where to publish it may be worth selecting a journal that operates such a policy.
Funding information
Most funders require that the name of the funding body and grant number should be recorded. Although this information is not required by Symplectic, it is important that these details are available on ORE as part of the University’s obligations in monitoring open access.