Open Research 

What is open research? 

“Open Research aims to open access to research outputs (e.g. to protocols, results, publications, data, software and tools) to increase inclusivity and collaboration, unlock access to knowledge, improve transparency and reproducibility of research and underpin research integrity.” – from the University’s Open Research Position Statement. 

In July 2019 the University signed up to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), a set of recommendations agreed in 2012 that seek to ensure the quality and impact of research outputs are ‘measured accurately and evaluated wisely’. 

The full statement can be found on the University’s Research news webpages. On 7 September 2021 the School of Biological Sciences and School of Clinical Medicine published their response to the DORA recommendations on evaluation of research. 

What is open access publishing?

The simple definition of open access is making a work freely available to anyone with an internet connection. Funders and institutions are increasingly expecting researchers to make their work open access so it can be read by a wider audience. For further detail, see the Cambridge Open Access Publications Policy Framework. 

The best place to go for information about open access in Cambridge is the Office of Scholarly Communication’s dedicated Open Access website.

**

External sources of information on open access

Think. Check. Submit. – choose a suitable and trusted journal for your research 

Sherpa Romeo – regularly updated database of publisher copyright and self-archiving policies on a journal-by-journal basis 

Sherpa Juliet – searchable database with up-to-date information on funders' policies and their requirements on open access, publication, and data archiving  

Plan S – an initiative supported by an international consortium of research funders to make publications resulting from publicly funded research available open access without embargo

Journal Checker Tool – tool to determine which publishing options are supported by your funder’s OA policy 

What are open data? 
Most research generates data in one form or another. There is an increasing need to share this data with a wider audience to satisfy funder requirements, contribute to the advancement of knowledge and for career enhancement.

The University’s dedicated research data website is the best place for information on managing your data. 

Managing your data – quick links

Data Management Guide https://www.data.cam.ac.uk/data-management-guide 

Data Repositories https://www.data.cam.ac.uk/repository 

Research Data Policies https://www.data.cam.ac.uk/research-data-policies 

Plant Sciences Research Data Management Training https://github.com/plantsci-cam/RDM 

External sources of information on open data
DMP Online with examples of data management plans that meet institutional funder requirements. The University has access to this resource via Raven https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk/ 

Digital Curation Centre website with guidance and examples of data management plans
https://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/data-management-plans/guidance-examples 

Jisc Research Data Management Toolkit with links to resources and organisations, sorted by topic and audience https://rdmtoolkit.jisc.ac.uk/ 

Where can I get more help? 

Biological Sciences Research Support – collection of resources and information that underpin the series of live sessions that run in term time

Research Support FAQs – Questions that the Biological Sciences Libraries team often get asked

Researcher Development: Courses and Resources 

Research Resolutions: refreshing your research landscape – online self-guided course provided by Cambridge University Libraries

Cambridge University Library Training 

Contact the Plant Sciences Librarian: plant@lib.cam.ac.uk 

Contact the OSC

FM January 2024