University of Aberdeen Open Research Policies

University of Aberdeen adopted a Research Publications and Copyright Policy in November 2022 with all UoA authors expected to follow its requirements from 1 May 2023.

Through Rights Retention the policy supports authors to share University research as widely as possible. This ensures compliance with funder policies and enables publication in the author's output of choice.

The current policy applies to journal articles but an amendment to include longform publications, where a funder mandate is in place, will be implemented later in 2024. 

To ensure open access for your publication follow the steps for:

• Journal Articles and Conference Papers
• Books, Chapters and Edited Collections

This policy, from April 2020, highlights how managing and sharing research data is central to the University’s commitment to Research Excellence.

Although the PI is ultimately responsible for compliance, all researchers share responsibility for good practice and researchers are encouraged to take advantage of the support provided by the University for research data activities.

This policy covers what, where and when research data should be made available. The policy also covers GDPR,  managing personal data, retention and preservation, and selecting appropriate licenses.

Lastly, the policy emphasises that it’s important to let us know where your data is stored so that we can record this in the University’s Institutional Repository.

• View the Policy Guidance Note

This policy, in effect since February 2023, reflects the University's commitment to fair and transparent evaluation of research performance. 

Building upon the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) of 2012, to which the University became a signatory in 2020, it outlines a set of principles for the responsible use of research metrics in assessment processes.

Within disciplinary contexts, the policy emphasises the importance of expert judgement and peer review as primary methods for evaluating research quality, while acknowledging the supplementary role of quantitative metrics. 

Metrics such as Journal Impact Factors (JIF) and H-index are recognised as inadequate as sole indicators of research quality, underlining the necessity of a holistic evaluation approach.