FAQs

General questions about Open Access

What is Open Access?

The term Open Access refers to the online availability of scholarly work free of charge to individuals who wish to access and read it.

Does Open Access affect me?

Yes. This applies to both authors and readers of academic research. Open Access gives readers greater access to research literature. Open Access gives authors increased visibility of their work.

If your research is funding by UKRl or the Wellcome Institute you need to be aware of their Open Access policies

If you want your research to be eligible for the next Research Excellence Framework (REF), you will find a summary of the requirements on the Open Access Policies page

What are the benefits of Open Access?

As a researcher making your work open access can help:

Aid compliance with the UKRI requirements for the next REF and funding body mandates
Increase your citations/downloads contributing to evidence of impact.
Enhance your research profile both internally and externally.
Enable you to reach a wider audience which may facilitate future collaborations.
Enhance the profile of the institution by showcasing the institutional research profile internationally.

How do I make research papers Open Access?

Please visit the Open Access Publishing page to find out how to make your research papers open access

All Open Access routes will be supported in principle by the University, although funding to support Gold is limited and only available to UKRI funded authors. The University provides an institutional repository, LJMU Research Online, to enable Green Open Access deposit.

What is meant by an embargo period?

An embargo in academic publishing is a period during which access to a research publication is restricted by some means. The purpose of this is usually to protect the revenue of publishers who rely on subscription payments to cover the costs of publication.

You need to be aware of the use of embargo periods by publishers as this forms an important part of ensuring compliance with REF eligibility and funding bodies.

Do all research outputs need to be made Open Access?

In principle Open Access can be applied to any research output. In practice Open Access has largely related to journal articles and conference proceedings.

In terms of meeting UKRI requirements for the next REF this refers to journal articles and conference proceedings published with an ISSN.

What is an Article Processing charge and how is it paid?

An Article Processing Charge or APC is a publisher’s fee for making a research paper available via Gold Open Access.

Please see our Institutional Open Access Agreements page for more information.

Questions about Open Access at Liverpool John Moores University

What is the University’s position on Open Access and how does it support it?

The University supports the principle that the outcomes of research should be made available as widely as possible via the Open Access publishing model. LJMU requires all researchers to deposit the full text of peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings with an ISSN, subject to copyright provisions into the institutional repository, LJMU Research Online.

Does this affect where I publish?

The University affirms that its staff and postgraduate research students retain the freedom of choice to decide the content, form and outlet for publishing their research findings. Most publishers now allow for Open Access publishing either by the Gold and/or Green routes. Both routes are supported by the University.

However from April 2016 your final/accepted manuscript (for journal articles and some conference proceedings) will need to be made available in a repository in order to be eligible for the next REF.

What is LJMU Research Online?

LJMU Research Online is the university’s institutional repository where researchers can deposit open access publications. Material stored in LJMU Research online will be freely available to anyone online and can be located by users of web search engines.

How can I upload papers to LJMU Research Online?

For help with uploading papers to LJMU Research Online see Deposit your publication

Questions about research funders’ Open Access policies

How does Open Access affect me if I am funded by UK Research and Innovation?

You are advised to check your funding body's Open Access policy which will be available from their website.

Does this apply to me if I am a PhD student funded by UK Research and Innovation?

Yes.

The Open Access Policy applies to all research funded as a whole or in part by UKRI.

The University recognises the significant contribution PhD students make to its research activities and affirms that they, as with research staff, retain the freedom of choice to decide the content, form and outlet for publishing of their research findings.

What are the implications for the next REF?

From April 2016 your final/accepted manuscript (for journal articles and some conference proceedings) will need to be made available in a repository in order to be eligible for the next REF. The University provides an institutional repository, LJMU Research Online to facilitate this.

What is a CC-BY licence?

Creative Commons state that a CC-BY licence allows a user to:

Share (copy, distribute and transmit the work)
Remix (to adapt the work)
Use the work for commercial purposes

These uses come with the condition that the user must “attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor”. CC-BY compliance is an important part of the research funder’s requirements.

Research England do not specify outputs be made available under any particular licence, but the output must be presented in a form that allows anyone to search within the text, read it and download it without charge.

Search LJMU Research Online

FAQs