Durham gets top five spot for proportion of research available in open access form

Durham has been ranked 4th in the UK and 5th globally for the indicator that looks at the proportion of research output that we have made open access - one of only six Russell Group institutions in the Top 20. With an impressive 92.4% of publications being available, this is a 1.3% increase in 2017-2020 compared to 2016-2019.  

The CWTS Leiden Rankings include over 1,300 major universities worldwide and offer an alternative to other well-known university rankings. It takes a responsible metrics approach, recognising that representing performance in a single number often hides a diversity of strengths. Instead, they allow a view of how different institutions perform across a range of research indicators. (For an evaluation of different Global University Rankings, see Gadd et al (2021) DOI: http://doi.org/10.29024/sar.31) 

Durham University Library and Collections work to support and enable authors to make their research open access, in line with the University's commitment to "sharing the findings of its world-class research as widely as possible to enhance its use and impact within the academic and research community and more widely within society." Building upon this success, the University is currently looking to establish an academic-led working group to lead on the development of a forward-thinking vision for Open Scholarship, under the auspices of the University's Research Culture Committee. Further information and details of how to get involved will be made available by Research Culture Committee shortly. 

Check out our Guides to see more information about how data is used in University rankings  and the University’s approach on Responsible Metrics.

Support for Open Access  

Make your research open access by depositing in Durham Research Online. Contact the DRO team at dro.admin@durham.ac.uk and view our Guide for information about how to deposit. 

For authors interested in publishing open access, the University holds a number of deals with publishers to support all Durham corresponding authors in publishing eligible research. Our Open Access team can support you to understand your chosen publisher’s deal and what you are entitled to prior to the point of submission. If your article has already been accepted, also get in touch – we can talk you through the process and highlight any criteria to fulfil to satisfy funder requirements (where appropriate). 

For submitting authors in receipt of UK Research Council or Wellcome Trust funding, we may be able to fund APC (Article Processing Charges), even where there is no existing publisher deal. For more information on how to comply with your funding requirements and access our support, please visit our Guide: ‘Paying for Open Access’ or email us via openaccess.publishing@durham.ac.uk. 

Research Data Management Services 

The University also provides a Research Data Management (RDM) Service offering support for all research-active staff and students. We offer support for writing a Data Management Plan (DMP) and publishing your research data. Visit our Guide for further information and guidance.