Category Archives: Library
Negotiating embargoes on research degree theses
This post covers information for staff who are negotiating contracts or submitting bids which will involve recruiting a research degree student.
Once passed, electronic versions of all research degree theses (Doctorates and MPhils) are uploaded to the university’s research repository, NECTAR. Normal practice is that these are made freely available (open access). Sometimes, however, the research degree graduate requests that their thesis is not made freely available until after a set period of time, normally 12 months. Usually this will be due to commercial sensitive work or plans to publish work contained within the thesis. Research Degrees Committee, on behalf of the university, is sympathetic to these requests and frequently grants embargoes of a reasonable length when requested. You’ll find information about this in the ‘Procedure for thesis submission’.
If you are negotiating contracts or submitting bids which will involve recruiting a research degree student and the external organisation requests that an embargo on the thesis is included in the contract or bid, it is important that you gain approval for that embargo from Research Degrees Committee before the grant or contract is signed off. If you are considering such a clause in a bid or contract, you should discuss this with David Watson or Ian Livingstone in the Graduate School. They will be able to advise further.
Goodbye and thanks
Rosalie at Foxton Locks
My apologies for using the Research Support Hub for a personal message, but as many of you will know, today is my last day at the University of Northampton. I am retiring.
I wanted to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all of my research colleagues for the support you have given me over the last few years. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with such a committed and hard-working group of people and I have greatly appreciated the tolerance and acceptance that I have experienced.
My daughter is getting married on Friday and my husband and I have a few holidays lined up before we set off on our big trip on Rosalie, our narrow boat. It is all really exciting but leaving Northampton is still a wrench.
I wish you all every success in your research endeavours. Hopefully my replacement will be appointed soon, but in the meantime I leave you in Nick‘s capable hands.
Goodbye and good luck.
Miggie
Paying for open access: how much will it cost?
FAQ: How do I find out whether a journal has an option for immediate open access and if so, how much it will cost?
Does your proposed funder require immediate open access to all research outputs?
Do you need to include the cost of APCs in your bid?
Do you need to make sure your work has the earliest possible visibility and impact?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes then you will need to know whether any journal you choose to publish in offers an immediate (‘gold’) open access option and if so, how much it will cost.
Open Access at the University of Northampton: state of play
Since 2007 Library and Learning Services have been offering services to researchers wishing to engage with the Open Access (OA) agenda. This post summarises the policy, services and support now available at the University of Northampton.
Open Access policy:
In December 2015 the University Research and Enterprise Committee approved an OA policy for the University. Aligned with, and supporting, HEFCE’s open access policy for the REF, the University policy states: “the University supports the principle of open access and expects researchers to share their research outputs freely, subject to legal, ethical, commercial or contractual constraints”. The policy requires researchers to ‘act on acceptance‘ in depositing their work in the University’s institutional repository, NECTAR.
University Open Access Fund
FAQ: Does the University have any funds available to pay publishers’ article processing charges (APCs) and if so, how can I apply for these?
As of August 1st 2016 the University of Northampton has set aside an Open Access (OA) fund to support the payment of article processing charges (APCs).
APCs are the charges levied by publishers to cover the cost of making an individual article OA at the point of publication (aka ‘gold’ OA). This may be in a fully OA journal or in a ‘hybrid’ journal which makes otherwise subscription only articles available OA on payment of an APC.
Accessing resources off campus: update
FAQ: Why can’t I access resources off campus?
With very few exceptions (listed here), you should be able to use your university login details to access the library’s resources, irrespective of whether you are located on or off campus.
If you find that you are not being given the opportunity to log in with your university details then there are several possible explanations.
Read the rest of this entry
Tools for scholarly communication – survey results
A few months ago I invited researchers to take part in a survey of the tools they used to support their own scholarly communication. Northampton’s answers were then combined with those from other universities to create a dataset of over 20,000 responses.
The number of responses from Northampton was relatively small (just 36) so these comments should be read with the appropriate health warnings but I promised to let you know our results.
Your online thesis: what you need to know
The PGR Thesis and Examination Policy states that it is mandatory for final, post-examination copies of research degree theses to be deposited in NECTAR. But what does this mean for PGR students (and their supervisors)?
This post will outline the policy and procedure for depositing your thesis in NECTAR and some the issues you need to consider when doing this.
Gather your strength and read on…
Resources: Orbis and MarketLine to replace Global Business Browser
Joanne Farmer, Academic Librarian for Northampton Business School, reports:
“Some of you will already know that I have been looking into alternatives to Global Business Browser. This resource has served us well for many years but, more recently, has not been meeting the needs of students quite as well as it used to.
Orbis
Following a trial of Bureau Van Dijk’s database Orbis, this has now been purchased as a (partial) replacement for Global Business Browser. This database provides in depth financial data in relation to very large global companies. To enhance the content on this database, I have also subscribed to the EIU Market Indicators and Forecasts component.
Workshop: Publishing and reviewing with Taylor & Francis
Library and Learning Services in conjunction with the Graduate School are delighted to announce a new workshop for research students and staff.
Elaine Devine from Taylor & Francis will be leading the workshop and will bring a publisher perspective to the two important scholarly activities of getting published and becoming a peer reviewer.
Programme:
| 10 – 11am | How to get published in an academic journal: tips to help you succeed |
| Questions / break | |
| 11.15am – 12pm | How to be an effective reviewer for an academic journal |
| 12 – 12.30pm | Breakout review exercise on effective reviews for journals Including feedback and questions |
| 12:30 – 1pm | Lunch |
| 1pm – 2pm | Taylor and Francis focus group: give your views on the journal article publishing process (optional) |
Where: Pytchley 101, Park Campus
When: Thursday 30th June from 10am to 1pm (includes lunch)
Who: Research students and staff
To book a place: Please register on our Eventbrite site
UON Graduate School Blog 