Sharing your research - Research repository
The Edinburgh Napier Research Repository is an online open access showcase for the published research output of the University, supported by the Library. It's the best place to store, archive and share your published papers, conference papers and more. All academic researchers are required to add the outcomes of their research to the repository. Doing so within three months of being accepted for publication ensures compliance with the rules for the next REF. It also helps to improve your citation rate and promote your research to the global community.
It is very important that you keep your outputs up to date and the information displayed on the website accurately demonstrates your research activity.
REF and open access
To ensure you are compliant with both Edinburgh Napier University and REF policy you should add your journal articles and conference papers (published with an ISSN) to the repository within 3 months of acceptance for publication.
This has been REF policy since the 1st of April 2018. Other forms of outcomes are also welcome but are not subject to the same REF rules.
Depositing in the Repository
The repository is part of the Worktribe Research Management System.
Use your normal University network details to login.
Add a new output using the DOI or a copy of the full text - both of these options will automatically fill the relevant fields for you.
Don't worry if you don't have either of these - use the 'Add Outputs Manually' option to enter the details.
Generally, publishers don't allow the deposit of the published version of your article. It is permissible to deposit the author accepted manuscript (also known as the post-print). Many publishers require an embargo period before this version can meet the open access element of REF rules. As long as the period is no longer than 12 months for REF Panels A and B, and 24 months for Panels C and D, you will still be REF compliant.
The Repository team checks the publisher copyright permissions before making the record 'Discoverable'.
Once you are finished don't forget to hit the green 'Send to Library' button.
Acceptance email
You should also forward a copy of the acceptance email to repository@napier.ac.uk. We record this as evidence of compliance should we be audited as part of the REF assessment.
Help and guidance
A manual to help with depositing outputs is included in the Worktribe: Research Profiles and Outputs Guide.
Drop-in sessions have also been arranged - details of locations and times of these sessions can be found on the RMS Training page.
You can also email repository@napier.ac.uk.
Copyright awareness
If your work was published in a journal, be aware that you may have transferred some of your rights to the publisher. Many publishers will allow you to share a version of the full-text online, but this depends on the particular publisher. See details on the Sherpa Romeo website.
Frequently asked questions
See Research Repository FAQs.
Other resources
Confused by Open Access? Take a look at the Open Access blog - not only do we post recent news items relating to research and open access but there is also a decision tree which demonstrates the timing of various steps to take on your research journey.
Searching other Open Access resources
There are a number of options for finding work in other institution's repositories and theses, including:
- CORE - The world's largest collection of open access research papers
- ROAR - Register of open access repositories with links to each
- EThOS - A collection of UK theses in digital format
- Google Scholar