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Open Access Publishing

University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) FAQs

The Library supports Green Open Access publishing via University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN). The Green route involves no costs to researchers and enables you to deposit the final manuscript version of your papers in University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN), where they will be published on open access. 

University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) has attracted nearly twelve million hits (downloads and page views) to date (August 2023), leaving no doubt that adding your publications to it boosts your citations and increases the visibility of your research. It is the definitive showcase for research from the University of Galway. Don’t miss out on the benefits.

IMPORTANT NOTE about social network sites

  • Engaging with University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) does not preclude engagement with services like ResearchGate and Academia
  • But note….
    • University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) preserves your paper
    • University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) ensures publisher-compliant version and timing
    • Checking copyright and publisher's reuse policies is one of the services provided by University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN)
    • This is not provided by services such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate
    • SHERPA/RoMEO states that the majority of publishers only permit reuse in the author's personal or their employer's website.

NOTE: Recommend that you upload to University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) and link to it from the other services. We will have checked the publisher's policy before putting the paper online, so you can be sure that you will not be in breach of copyright.

  • Go to your list of outputs in IRIS and click on the red button  beside the publication you wish to upload and follow the prompts 

or

  • Email your publication to researchrepository@universityofgalway.ie and we'll upload it for you
  • Always claim your publications on IRIS on receipt of an email alert notifying you to do so

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The version required for University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) is the final draft post-refereeing without the publisher's type-setting, formatting, logos and pagination (also known as the post-print). We check and adhere to publisher's policies and explicitly promote and link to the published version.

What happens to your document after you upload it to University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN)?
On receipt of your file, the Library will:

  • Convert it to PDF to facilitate display and preservation
  • Check open access publication rights specified by the publisher
  • Each publication you submit to University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) will be checked by Library staff to ensure that your journal or publisher's policy has been met. The copyright and self-archiving policies of publishers are checked using SHERPA RoMEO, the publisher's website or if necessary by contacting the publisher
  • Verify that the final manuscript (also known as the post-print) has been deposited. if the incorrect version has been deposited the author will be contacted by ticket email for the correct version.
  • Apply appropriate embargoes, copyright and licence statements
  • Make metadata publicly available immediately
  • Publish the final manuscript version on open access at the earliest date possible, taking account of any restrictions placed by the publisher or authors
  • Promote citation of and link to the official, published version.  Access to the publisher’s version may be restricted by password or payment controls set by the publisher.
  • Enable link from your IRIS profile to the open access version in University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN)
  • Facilitate harvesting by other repositories 
  • Notify the author by email when their publication is on University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN)

What type of material can I publish on University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN)?

We accept the final accepted peer-reviewed drafts (or final drafts where not peer-reviewed) of the following forms of scholarly communication from academic staff and researchers:

  • Peer-reviewed articles
  • Working papers
  • Conference papers
  • Conference proceedings
  • Book chapters
  • Technical reports
  • Datasets
  • Books (monographs)
  • PhD/MD/Research Masters' Theses

Items that are not accepted include:

  • Learning objects (e.g. power point presentations for lectures)
  • Metadata (citations) without a full text item 

Where a paper has multiple authors some collaboration and agreement regarding adding articles (also known as self-archiving) to ARAN will be necessary e.g. who should supply the final manuscript version for University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN). Only one author needs to supply the publication to University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN).

Staff at the University of Galway can deposit in University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) co-authored papers where the lead author isn't a staff member at the University of Galway.

IMPORTANT NOTE about book chapters

  • Book chapters are difficult to discover.  Google and Google Scholar searches do not usually retrieve them. If they are in an open access institutional repository such as University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) they become more visible
  • Some publishers allow book chapters to be self-archived in an institutional repository such as University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN)
  • Library staff will always contact the publisher for permission to archive on University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) if they have not published a policy on their website

Which version of my article should I publish on University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN)?

  • The Library adheres to the publisher's policies relating to 'self-archiving' on institutional repositories such as University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN)
  • Most publishers will not permit authors to make the published pdf version of their articles available in repositories
  • The version required for University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) is the final draft after peer review and editing has occurred but before publication. It is the copy without  the publisher's type-setting, formatting, logos and pagination (also known as the post-print)
  • Authors should keep a suitable version of all articles for self-archiving in University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN). PDF is the preferred format for University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) to facilitate display and preservation
  • We check and adhere to publisher's policies and explicitly promote and link to the published version
  • Many articles have multiple authors. In order to avoid different versions of the same article being made available in different repositories we advise that you collaborate with co-authors on the version of the article to be used for this purpose

Benefits for the author

  • Increased exposure / impact
  • Potential readership is greater than that for publications where the full-text is restricted to subscribers only. University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) has attracted over twelve million hits (downloads and page views) to date (July 2023)
  • Long-term access and preservation
  • Compliance with funders requirements
  • Extra discoverability through global search engines such as Google and harvesting services like Rian
  • University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) is a showcase for author, College, School, University of Galway
  • Link from IRIS profile to fulltext in University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) and University of Galway website
  • Usage statistics
  • Explicit promotion of and link to your published article
  • Very little admin required on your part
  • Compliance with University Open Access Policy which requires that "authors  of peer-reviewed articles and peer-reviewed conference papers resulting from research carried out at University of Galway must deposit a copy in the University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN). The final manuscript version should be deposited upon acceptance for publication"

Deposit Agreement

Authors submitting material to University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) must do so under the terms of a Deposit Agreement which has been framed by the Technology Transfer Office. It outlines the responsibilities of the author and the library.

End User License

The End User License outlines conditions under which a user can use material deposited in University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN). The Creative Commons Share-a-like end-user license has been approved by the Technology Transfer Office. The default End User License for University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) is Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland (CC-BY-NC-ND).

Important Note:

Your funder may require a different End User License for your submission to University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN). In such cases the repository administrator will select the appropriate Creative Commons license. For example, if you are funded by Science Foundations Ireland or another Plan S funder, the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license will apply.  To view it go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Applicable End User License details are displayed in the metadata of the record on University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN).

A wealth of statistical information for publications that you’ve uploaded to University of Galway Research Repository (formerly ARAN) is available.  Find your most popular publications based on either item views or downloads or the most popular items and authors for your College, School or Research Centres.  If you want to know where readers of your publications come from consult the statistics by country.  Customised reports can be created and emailed to you at required intervals. For more information view the User Guide which is arranged as a series of questions and answers. If the statistical information you require is not covered by it or you require a customised report please email your query to researchrepository@universityofgalway.ie