This module is designed to give postgraduate and early career researchers a practical overview of the principles of Open Access and Open Access publishing of research output.  The aim is to encourage researchers to embed best practice within their work from the earliest opportunity.  On completion of the module, you will:

  • Gain knowledge on the principles of Open Access and their application to scholarly publishing;
  • Have a better understanding of funder Open Access mandates when publishing funded research output;
  • Expand your knowledge of copyright and licences in relation to publishing agreements;
  • Have awareness of the Open Access publication process and compliant publications;
  • Be able to identify QM tools that support Open Access publishing.

The module is divided into sections, which you can complete at your own pace.  Quizzes at the end of each section are accessible to QM members after they enrol themselves on the course.  Postgraduate research students are expected to complete quizzes to receive skills points.  The optional supplementary reading list accessed from the front page contains articles on subjects covered in the module as well as links to useful resources.  The blog on the front page belongs to the QM Research Librarian and it contains links of interest. 

There are no pre-requisites for taking this course but you will need earphones/headphones for audiovisual files.  You can provide us with your feedback on completion of the module.  This module is accessible to anyone from anywhere in the world; however, guests cannot access quizzes.  Below are some thinking points before you start:

  • Have you ever used open access resources (a resource that is freely accessible without restrictions) in the course of your research, such as an open access article, book, any official paper, open archive resources, resources from open repositories, audio/visual files, etc.?
  • If you used open access resources, what kind of impact did these resources have on your research, the fact that they were available freely without any restrictions?
  • If these resources had not been accessible, would you have paid to use them; would you have had the means to pay for all of them?
  • Was there an occasion when you wanted to use a resource and believed that it would make a difference to your research work, but could not use it due to its not being freely accessible?

Continue to the next section 'Open Access in Context'

Last modified: Thursday, 2 May 2013, 2:13 PM