Please note that there will be no further content added to this blog, as its function has now been taken over by other communication channels.
Existing blog posts will remain live and accessible until December 2022, after which the blog will be taken down.
In recent years, the main content of this blog has been the “OpenAIR Monthly Updates”, which provide regular information about the status and usage of RGU’s repository. All of these updates have also been published on the RGU Library Matters blog, which will continue be used for publishing future updates. If you have not done so already, we recommend following that blog to ensure that you receive alerts for any new OpenAIR updates.
Welcome to the latest update on RGU’s open access institutional repository, OpenAIR. As usual, please get in touch with the Publications Team if you have any questions about this update, or if you would like to speak to us about your research outputs.
New UKRI Open Access Policy
From the 1st April 2022, a new policy applies for all journal articles and published conference papers that acknowledge funding from UKRI, one of the research councils, or Innovate UK. If you are involved with any research grants from these funders, please ensure that you are aware of the new requirements for open access, which are summarised in our online guide.
Support for Gold Open Access
The library has deals with a variety of publishers, which help to offset the costs of publishing Gold Open Access. In many cases, these costs are completely waived, allowing RGU researchers to publish Gold Open Access in certain journals without payment. There is also a block grant available for authors whose research is funded by UKRI, one of the research councils, or Innovate UK. You can find out more about the available offset deals and the UKRI block grant in our online guide.
Training
We run monthly online training sessions for staff, where we demonstrate how new outputs are added to Worktribe and to OpenAIR. Our forthcoming sessions are as follows:
June – Wednesday 15th June, 15:00-16:00
July – Thursday 21st July, 09:00-10:00
August – Friday 19th August, 11:00-12:00
If you would like to register for any of these sessions, please contact the Publications Team.
Content
OpenAIR currently contains 5474 outputs. Some examples of recent additions to the repository include the following:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1674577 = SWINTON, P.A., SHIM, J., PAVLOVA, A.V., MOSS, R.A., MACLEAN, C., BRANDIE, D., MITCHELL, L., TZORTZIOU BROWN, V., GREIG, L., PARKINSON, E., MORRISSEY, D., ALEXANDER, L. and COOPER, K. 2022. Which treatment classes and combinations are more effective for the management of common tendinopathies? A systematic review and network meta-analysis. SportRxiv [online]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.51224/SRXIV.155
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1670122 = HUBBARD, G., GRIST, F., POPE, L.M., CUNNINGHAM, S., MAXWELL, M., BENNIE, M., GUTHRIE, B., MERCER, S.W. 2022. Survey to identify research priorities for primary care in Scotland during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. BMJ Open [online], 12(5), article number e056817. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056817
Each School is currently linked to the following number of outputs on OpenAIR:
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Aberdeen Business School – 703 Gray’s School of Art – 323 Law School – 221 School of Applied Social Studies – 227 School of Computing – 819 School of Creative and Cultural Business – 545 School of Engineering – 854 School of Health Sciences – 287 School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice – 402 School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences – 859 Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment – 361 National Subsea Centre – 94 Other departments – 81
Downloads
Last month, in April, there were a total of 6744 downloads from OpenAIR. The most-downloaded items were:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1474800 = PANT, S., SHARIF KHODAEI, Z. and DROUBI, M.G. 2021. Monitoring tasks in aerospace. In Sause, M.G.R. and Jasiūnienė, E. (eds.) Structural Health Monitoring Damage Detection Systems for Aerospace. Springer aerospace technology. Cham: Springer [online], chapter 2, pages 5-14. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72192-3_2
Welcome to the latest update on RGU’s open access institutional repository, OpenAIR. As usual, please get in touch with the Publications Team if you have any questions about this update, or if you would like to speak to us about your research outputs.
New UKRI Open Access Policy
From the 1st April 2022, a new policy applies for all journal articles and published conference papers that acknowledge funding from UKRI, one of the research councils, or Innovate UK. If you are involved with any research grants from these funders, please ensure that you are aware of the new requirements for open access, which are summarised in our online guide.
Training
We run monthly online training sessions for staff, where we demonstrate how new outputs are added to Worktribe and to OpenAIR. Our forthcoming sessions are as follows:
May – Tuesday 24th May, 11:00-12:00
June – Wednesday 15th June, 15:00-16:00
July – Thursday 21st July, 09:00-10:00
If you would like to register for any of these sessions, please contact the Publications Team.
Content
OpenAIR currently contains 5385 outputs. Some examples of recent additions to the repository include the following:
Each School is currently linked to the following number of outputs on OpenAIR:
(Click image to expand)
Aberdeen Business School – 699 Gray’s School of Art – 321 Law School – 221 School of Applied Social Studies – 224 School of Computing – 799 School of Creative and Cultural Business – 545 School of Engineering – 841 School of Health Sciences – 274 School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice – 398 School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences – 844 Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment – 358 National Subsea Centre – 73 Other departments – 74
Downloads
Last month, in March, there were a total of 8418 downloads from OpenAIR. The most-downloaded items were:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/638137 = HELLANDENDU, M.M.-A. 2019. Planning families in Zaria: an investigation into the information-behaviours and favoured advice-givers of parents in northern Nigeria. Robert Gordon University [online], MRes thesis.
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1474800 = PANT, S., SHARIF KHODAEI, Z. and DROUBI, M.G. 2021. Monitoring tasks in aerospace. In Sause, M.G.R. and Jasiūnienė, E. (eds.) Structural Health Monitoring Damage Detection Systems for Aerospace. Springer aerospace technology. Cham: Springer [online], chapter 2, pages 5-14. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72192-3_2
Welcome to the latest update on RGU’s open access institutional repository, OpenAIR. As usual, please get in touch with the Publications Team if you have any questions about this update, or if you would like to speak to us about your research outputs.
New UKRI Open Access Policy
From the 1st April 2022, a new policy applies for all journal articles and published conference papers that acknowledge funding from UKRI, one of the research councils, or Innovate UK. If you are involved with any research grants from these funders, please ensure that you are aware of the new requirements for open access, which are summarised in our online guide.
Training
We run monthly online training sessions for staff, where we demonstrate how new outputs are added to Worktribe and to OpenAIR. Our forthcoming sessions are as follows:
April – Tuesday 19th April, 09:00-10:00
May – Tuesday 24th May, 11:00-12:00
June – Wednesday 15th June, 15:00-16:00
If you would like to register for any of these sessions, please contact the Publications Team.
Content
OpenAIR currently contains 5330 outputs. Some examples of recent additions to the repository include the following:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1628987 = REYNOLDS, J., KENNEDY, R., ICHAPKA, M., AGARWAL, A., OKE, A., COX, E., EDWARDS, C. and NJUGUNA, J. [2022]. An evaluation of feedstocks for sustainable energy and circular economy practices in a small island community. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews [online], (accepted).
Each School is currently linked to the following number of outputs on OpenAIR:
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Aberdeen Business School – 695 Gray’s School of Art – 317 Law School – 220 School of Applied Social Studies – 222 School of Computing – 790 School of Creative and Cultural Business – 539 School of Engineering – 831 School of Health Sciences – 272 School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice – 390 School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences – 834 Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment – 353 National Subsea Centre – 66 Other departments – 73
Downloads
Last month, in February, there were a total of 5794 downloads from OpenAIR. The most-downloaded items were:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1474800 = PANT, S., SHARIF KHODAEI, Z. and DROUBI, M.G. 2021. Monitoring tasks in aerospace. In Sause, M.G.R. and Jasiūnienė, E. (eds.) Structural Health Monitoring Damage Detection Systems for Aerospace. Springer aerospace technology. Cham: Springer [online], chapter 2, pages 5-14. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72192-3_2
Welcome to the latest update on RGU’s open access institutional repository, OpenAIR. As usual, please get in touch with the Publications Team if you have any questions about this update, or if you would like to speak to us about your research outputs.
Training
We run monthly online training sessions for staff, where we demonstrate how new outputs are added to Worktribe and to OpenAIR. Our forthcoming sessions are as follows:
March – Friday 18th March, 15:00-16:00
April – Tuesday 19th April, 09:00-10:00
May – Tuesday 24th May, 11:00-12:00
If you would like to register for any of these sessions, please contact the Publications Team.
Content
OpenAIR currently contains 5239 outputs. Some examples of recent additions to the repository include the following:
Each School is currently linked to the following number of outputs on OpenAIR:
(Click image to expand)
Aberdeen Business School – 693 Gray’s School of Art – 316 Law School – 213 School of Applied Social Studies – 212 School of Computing – 777 School of Creative and Cultural Business – 534 School of Engineering – 814 School of Health Sciences – 264 School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice – 388 School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences – 822 Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment – 344 National Subsea Centre – 53 Other departments – 71
Downloads
Last month, in January, there were a total of 5738 downloads from OpenAIR. The most-downloaded items were:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1474800 = PANT, S., SHARIF KHODAEI, Z. and DROUBI, M.G. 2021. Monitoring tasks in aerospace. In Sause, M.G.R. and Jasiūnienė, E. (eds.) Structural health monitoring damage detection systems for aerospace. Springer aerospace technology. Cham: Springer [online], chapter 2, pages 5-14. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72192-3_2
Welcome to the latest update on RGU’s open access institutional repository, OpenAIR. We hope that everyone has enjoyed a positive start to 2022 and is looking forward to a productive year ahead. As usual, please get in touch with the Publications Team if you have any questions about this update, or if you would like to speak to us about your research outputs.
Training
We run monthly online training sessions for staff, where we demonstrate how new outputs are added to Worktribe and to OpenAIR. Our forthcoming sessions are as follows:
February – Thursday 17th February, 11:00-12:00
March – Friday 18th March, 15:00-16:00
April – Tuesday 19th April, 09:00-10:00
If you would like to register for any of these sessions, please contact the Publications Team.
Content
OpenAIR currently contains 5170 outputs. Some examples of recent additions to the repository include the following:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1575515 = CEGLOWSKA, M., KWIECIEŃ, P., SZUBERT, K., BRZUZAN, P., FLORCZYK, M., EDWARDS, C., KOSAKOWSKA, A. and MAZUR-MARZEC, H. 2022. Biological activity and stability of aeruginosamides from cyanobacteria. Marine drugs [online], 20(2): pharmaceutical potential of marine microorganisms, article 93. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/md20020093
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1569470 = YUAN, B., SUN, P., FERNANDEZ, C., WANG, H., GUAN, P., XU, H. and NIU, Y. 2022. Molecular fluorinated cobalt phthalocyanine immobilized on ordered mesoporous carbon as an electrochemical sensing platform for sensitive detection of hydrogen peroxide and hydrazine in alkaline medium. Journal of electroanalytical chemistry [online], 906, article 116019. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2022.116019
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1529483 = KHALIL, H., MCINERNEY, P., POLLOCK, D., ALEXANDER, L., MUNN, Z., TRICCO, A.C., GODFREY, C.M. and PETERS, M.D.J. 2021. Practical guide to undertaking scoping reviews for pharmacy clinicians, researchers and policymakers. Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics [online], Early View. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpt.13558
Each School is currently linked to the following number of outputs on OpenAIR:
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Aberdeen Business School – 690 Gray’s School of Art – 315 Law School – 210 School of Applied Social Studies – 210 School of Computing – 770 School of Creative and Cultural Business – 530 School of Engineering – 793 School of Health Sciences – 256 School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice – 388 School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences – 815 Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment – 340 National Subsea Centre – 51 Other departments – 61
Downloads
Last month, in December, there were a total of 4804 downloads from OpenAIR. The most-downloaded items were:
Over the course of 2021, we added 852 outputs to OpenAIR. Of these, 436 were also new outputs, produced during that year. A further breakdown of these 436 new outputs by School is displayed below:
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Aberdeen Business School – 30 Gray’s School of Art – 14 Law School – 14 School of Applied Social Studies – 32 School of Computing – 72 School of Creative and Cultural Business – 38 School of Engineering – 70 School of Health Sciences – 38 School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice – 30 School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences – 95 Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment – 22 National Subsea Centre – 31 Other departments – 5
Additionally, OpenAIR saw a large amount of usage throughout last year. Our output webpages received 141,839 total views and our output files received 51,718 total downloads over the course of 2021.
We look forward to continuing our support for RGU’s research community and helping to facilitate access to the university’s research through 2022!
Welcome to the latest update on RGU’s open access institutional repository, OpenAIR. If you have any suggestions for things that you would like to see in these monthly updates, or if you have any questions about the repository service, please get in touch with the Publications Team.
News
The Publications Team will not be working from 5pm on Tuesday 21st December until 8am on Wednesday 5th January. We apologise in advance for any delays this causes in terms of responding to emails, but please be assured that we will seek to respond to any emails as soon as possible in the New Year. In the interim, we wish all of the RGU community a restful and enjoyable break over the festive period.
Content
OpenAIR currently contains 5092 outputs. Some examples of recent additions to the repository include the following:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1499465 = GULARI, M.N. and FREMANTLE, C. 2021. Learning arts organisations: innovation through a poetics of relation. Arts [online], 10(4): eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest: what we will need is more time for what we will (?), article 83. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/arts10040083
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1550487 = DOUNAS, T., JABI, W. and LOMBARDI, D. 2021. Non-fungible building components: using smart contracts for a circular economy in the built environment. In Gomez Z., P. and Braida, F. (eds.) Proceedings of the 25th International conference of the Ibero-American Society of Digital Graphics (SIGraDi 20201): designing possibilities, 8-12 November 2021, [virtual conference]. Atlanta: Georgia Institute of Technology, pages 1189-1198. Hosted on CumInCAD [online]. To be made available from: http://cumincad.scix.net/
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1550507 = UCHEHARA, I., MOORE, D., JAFARIFAR, N. and OMATAYO, T. [2022]. Sustainability rating system for highway design: a key focus for developing sustainable cities and societies in Nigeria. Sustainable cities and society [online], (accepted).
Each School is currently linked to the following number of outputs on OpenAIR:
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Aberdeen Business School – 687 Gray’s School of Art – 314 Law School – 207 School of Applied Social Studies – 208 School of Computing – 759 School of Creative and Cultural Business – 527 School of Engineering – 771 School of Health Sciences – 253 School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice – 382 School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences – 801 Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment – 337 National Subsea Centre – 41 Other departments – 51
Downloads
Last month, in November, there were a total of 5743 downloads from OpenAIR. The most-downloaded items were:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1005563 = HAGEN, S., BUGGE, C., DEAN, S.G. et al. 2020. Basic versus biofeedback-mediated intensive pelvic floor muscle training for women with urinary incontinence: the OPAL RCT. Health technology assessment [online], 24(70), pages 1-144. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3310/hta24700
Welcome to the latest update on RGU’s open access institutional repository, OpenAIR. If you have any suggestions for things that you would like to see in these monthly updates, or if you have any questions about the repository service, please get in touch with the Publications Team.
Content
OpenAIR currently contains 4967 outputs. Some examples of recent additions to the repository include the following:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1534771 = FABIYI, S.D., MURRAY, P., ZABALZA, J. and REN, J. [2021]. Folded LDA: extending the linear discriminant analysis algorithm for feature extraction and data reduction in hyperspectral remote sensing. IEEE Journal of selected topics in applied earth observations and remote sensing [online], Early Access. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3129818
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1534750 = JEYAPANDIARAJAN, P., XAVIOR, M.A. and ANBALAGAN, A. 2021. Performance evaluation of (AlCrN) PVD-coated cBN inserts on machining of Inconel 718. MM science journal [online], 2021(November): proceedings of the 16th International conference on high speed machining (HSM 2021), 26-27 October 2021, Damstadt, Germany, pages 5219-5227. Available from: http://doi.org./10.17973/MMSJ.2021_11_2021178
Each School is currently linked to the following number of outputs on OpenAIR:
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Aberdeen Business School – 684 Gray’s School of Art – 311 Law School – 203 School of Applied Social Studies – 207 School of Computing – 665 School of Creative and Cultural Business – 526 School of Engineering – 767 School of Health Sciences – 252 School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice – 380 School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences – 798 Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment – 335 National Subsea Centre – 39 Other departments – 47
Downloads
Last month, in October, there were a total of 5695 downloads from OpenAIR. The most-downloaded items were:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1005563 = HAGEN, S., BUGGE, C., DEAN, S.G. et al. 2020. Basic versus biofeedback-mediated intensive pelvic floor muscle training for women with urinary incontinence: the OPAL RCT. Health technology assessment [online], 24(70), pages 1-144. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3310/hta24700
Welcome to our final special blog post celebrating International Open Access Week 2021! Today’s post includes a shorter version of our regular monthly update and an overview of the new UKRI Open Access policy. You can also find a link to today’s minigame at the bottom of the post. If you have any questions or want to get in touch, contact us by email at publications@rgu.ac.uk.
OpenAIR@RGU – monthly update (no.58 – October 2021)
Since we are combining this month’s update with another special post for Open Access Week, the update will be shorter than usual, though we will still highlight repository growth and recent usage. This information is based on data gathered on 27.10.2021.
Last month, in September, there were a total of 5617 downloads from OpenAIR. The repository currently contains 4913 outputs. Some examples of recent additions include the following:
https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1472414 = VAN EGDOM, D., SPITZMUELLER, C., WEN, X., KAZMI, M.A., BARANSKI, E., FLIN, R. and KRISHNAMOORTI, R. [2021]. Job insecurity during an economic crisis: the psychological consequences of widespread corporate cost-cutting announcements. Occupational health science [online], Online First. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-021-00102-8
Each School is currently linked to the following number of outputs on OpenAIR:
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Aberdeen Business School – 678 Gray’s School of Art – 305 Law School – 203 School of Applied Social Studies – 205 School of Computing – 657 School of Creative and Cultural Business – 521 School of Engineering – 761 School of Health Sciences – 252 School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice – 372 School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences – 787 Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment – 333 National Subsea Centre – 37 Other departments – 47
New Open Access Policy from UKRI
Since 2013, journal articles that acknowledge funding from one of the Research Councils UK (RCUK) have been in scope of the RCUK policy on Open Access. From 1st April 2022, this will be replaced by a new policy from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). This new policy affects outputs that acknowledge funding from UKRI, one of the research councils, Innovate UK or Research England. It covers two broad types of outputs.
Articles
The first type is referred to as “peer-reviewed research articles” – i.e. research articles, review articles (excluding book reviews) and conference papers. Outputs of this type are in scope of the policy if they have been published in either a journal, a set of proceedings with an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), or on a publishing platform. The policy applies to all such outputs that are submitted for publication on or after the 1st April 2022. There are two routes to compliance for this type of output, as well as a couple of general requirements that apply regardless.
Route 1 relies on Gold Open Access. The version of record (VOR) must be openly available from the journal website or publishing platform immediately from the point of publication. It must be distributed under a Creative Commons BY (CC BY) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), and the journal or platform must meet certain technical requirements.
Route 2 relies instead on Green Open Access. The author accepted manuscript (AAM) must be openly available from a repository no later than the point of publication. It must be distributed under a CC BY licence and the repository must meet certain technical requirements.
NOTE: To facilitate the sharing of the AAM under a CC BY licence, authors are required to include the following set statement when submitting the article to a publisher – this should appear in the funder acknowledgement section as well as in any covering letters: “For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising.“
The two general requirements are that: 1) the article must include a data access statement (even if no data exist or if they are inaccessible); and 2) articles that acknowledge funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) or the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) must also be archived on Europe PMC within six months of publication, using either the VOR (where possible) or the AAM.
Books
The second type of output affected by the UKRI policy is referred to as “monographs, book chapters and edited collections” – i.e. book-based outputs. These outputs are in scope of the policy if they have been published on or after the 1st January 2024.
Again, these outputs can comply with the policy through either Gold or Green Open Access. The VOR (where possible) or the AAM must be openly available – either from the publisher’s website or publishing platform, or from a repository – within twelve months of publication. It must also be distributed under a CC BY licence.
Support
The Publications Team will do everything that we can to support researchers seeking to comply with the new UKRI policy. When available, we can pay for some outputs to be published through Gold Open Access using either our offset deals or the UKRI Open Access block grant (see our online guide for details – https://library.rgu.ac.uk/paying-for-gold). We can also provide advice to researchers on whether it is compliant to publish in specific journals. Finally, we are also aiming to ensure that OpenAIR meets the technical requirements for repositories, so that researchers can compliantly self-archive their UKRI outputs on OpenAIR.
We will be in touch with URKI-funded researchers again nearer the policy start date, but if anyone has any questions about the new policy, they are very welcome to contact us (publications@rgu.ac.uk).
Minigame
Today’s game is an online “scavenger hunt” themed around Open Access. Each question is linked to a different webpage that should help you find the answer. See how quickly you can answer all the questions! You can access the game here: https://puzzel.org/scavenger-hunt/play?p=-MkrUxe9uBL8NpwTnptJ – if you get stuck, just send us an email (publications@rgu.ac.uk)!
Welcome to this fourth special blog post celebrating International Open Access Week 2021. Today’s post will highlight an additional service available from the RGU Library, which can help members of the university to run their own journal. You can also find a link to today’s minigame at the bottom of the post. If you have any general questions or want to get in touch, contact us by email at publications@rgu.ac.uk. If you’d instead like to talk to us about hosting your own journal, then please contact the Journals@RGU service (journalhosting@rgu.ac.uk).
Journal Hosting
The Journals@RGU website (https://journals.rgu.ac.uk/) is based on a platform called “Open Journal Systems” (OJS). OJS is used by many organisations across the world to publish online journals, particularly open access journals. The platform includes functionality for receiving article submissions, allocating peer reviewers, recording discussions during copyediting, assigning articles to issues and then publishing issues online. We have also configured our OJS platform to create digital object identifiers (DOIs) for published articles, making it easier to cite content from our journals.
RGU’s first journal, Communicare (https://journals.rgu.ac.uk/communicare), produced a couple of issues in 2014-2015, but is not currently active. However, we have recently helped Dr. Konstantina Martzoukou and Professor Peter Reid from the School of Creative and Cultural Business (CCB) to set up a new journal, Reflective Professional (https://journals.rgu.ac.uk/REF-PRO). This is intended to be an annual publication, the first issue of which was published in June 2021.
Reflective Professional is primarily a venue for the publication of high-quality work by RGU’s students of information management. The inaugural issue centres around several recent and noteworthy dissertations, accompanied by shorter articles from some alumni and an editorial from the joint editors. The journal is also intended to be a project opportunity for current students, so each year one or two information management students will be working as assistant editors on the forthcoming issue for that year.
See below for a statement from the editors on their experience of working with Journals@RGU to set up Reflective Professional:
We were delighted to be able to collaborate with the library on the creation of our student-led open access journal. The experience students gain as part of a master’s research project forms a core aspect of their learning journey. It helps them to develop diverse skills, including: academic writing, data collection and analysis, interpersonal skills, critical evaluation, communication, data management, knowledge organisation, presentation and ethics. However, taught-course master’s research does not form part of the research outputs of an academic institution, except for those works that are selectively published in academic journals or presented at conferences. Reflective Professional therefore provides our students with the opportunity to publish their own work in a fully open access journal.
A number of students were involved in the editorial team and found the experience “invaluable, as it provided an opportunity to work in editorial and proofreading work, which contributed to the development of skills that can be used in the future, as well as when pursuing the master thesis”. Another student noted that “this project was a great opportunity to assist with the starting of a new journal. As a student soon to start their dissertation, it was fascinating to read what others have written about. Also, from a skills perspective, it was also good to see other, less traditional applications of library and information science skills.”
Setting up the journal on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform has been a great way for us to reach out to a global academic audience. The platform also offers an intuitive way of supporting the whole editorial process. We were delighted with invaluable support offered by the library’s Journals@RGU team (led by George Bray and Colin MacLean), who provided first-rate technical assistance, student training, guidance on copyright, and expertise on the look and design of the journal website. We look forward to continuing our close working relationship with the library team.
Dr. Konstantina Martzoukou and Prof. Peter Reid (CCB)
If you would like to know more about the Journals@RGU service, or if you have an idea for a journal and would like to discuss it with us, get in touch by contacting journalhosting@rgu.ac.uk.
Research Matters 