Sheffield Hallam University recognises the value of Open Research as part of our ambition to be the world’s leading applied university.
We support our research community in adopting Open Research practices. These practices aim
• to make the research process transparent to ensure the integrity of our research, for example by ensuring that the underpinning data of our research publications are accessible for scrutiny
• to enable collaborative research, so that more people participate in our research,
• and to make the results of our research available to as wide an audience as possible, and not hide them behind a publisher’s paywall.
These practices are underpinned by the following University policies, guidance, support and infrastructure.
1. Our research publications policy supports the principles of open access. This means that the published results of our research, such as books and journal articles, are available through unrestricted, free online access wherever possible, so that everyone can access the results of our research.
2. Our research data management policy promotes open access to the research data on which our research publications are based. The SHU research data archive, SHURDA, enables research data to be shared.
3. Our guidelines for the responsible use of research metrics ensure that we assess our research in a fair and transparent way, by using methods that assess the quality of the research rather than something else. For this reason, we mostly rely on expert judgment and not on quantitative indicators, such as citation counts or grant income. We also do not rely on the reputation of the journal in which a paper is published to determine the quality of that individual paper.
The University has a forum that leads its efforts to adopt open research practices. The Open Research Operations Group brings experts and stakeholders together to review our Open Research policies and guidelines, monitor developments in the sector and develop appropriate policies, systems, services and support for the SHU research community.
A version of this position statement aimed at SHU academics and other staff can be found here.
