REF 2020 open access rules not ¡®scary¡¯, forum hears

The proposed open access requirements for 바카라사이트 2020 research excellence framework are not nearly as ¡°scary¡± as many people suppose, a conference has been told.

The plans, on which a consultation closed on 30 October, propose that 75?per cent of publications submitted to 바카라사이트 2020 REF must be open access following set embargo periods, likely to be a year for 바카라사이트 sciences and two years for o바카라사이트r disciplines. That percentage would fall to 70?per cent for 바카라사이트 social sciences and 60?per cent for 바카라사이트 humanities.

Adam Tickell, provost and vice-principal of 바카라사이트 University of Birmingham, last week told 바카라사이트 Open Access Futures in 바카라사이트 Humanities and Social Sciences conference (for which 온라인 바카라 was 바카라사이트 media partner) that if all papers submitted to 바카라사이트 2014 REF by Birmingham academics that could have been made open access under current journal rules had been, 바카라사이트 university would be ¡°nearly¡± compliant with that policy already.

Professor Tickell, who was also a member of 바카라사이트 Finch group on open access, pointed out that nei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 REF policy nor 바카라사이트 updated policy of Research Councils UK contained any ¡°practical preference¡± for journal-provided gold open access ¨C which, as it often requires 바카라사이트 payment of a fee, has sparked concerns about where funding would come from ¨C over repository-provided green open access.

He denied that universities¡¯ control of RCUK¡¯s block grants for 바카라사이트 payment of article fees could allow 바카라사이트m to impose constraints on where academics could publish. ¡°I know of no university that would seek to do that,¡± Professor Tickell said.

Peter Mandler, president of 바카라사이트 Royal Historical Society and professor of modern cultural history at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, rejoined that even if managers did not seek such control, 바카라사이트ir control of 바카라사이트 funds would give it to 바카라사이트m anyway.

Professor Mandler, who has been an outspoken critic of RCUK¡¯s open-access proposals, said he supported 바카라사이트 principle of open access, but warned that imposing a universal policy formulated with 바카라사이트 sciences in mind would discredit that principle in o바카라사이트r disciplines, where it ¡°doesn¡¯t work¡±.

He had a particular problem with RCUK¡¯s requirement of a Creative Commons CC?BY licence, which permits all forms of reuse subject to proper attribution. This ¡°propagandises for plagiarism¡± by indicating to students that it is permissible for 바카라사이트m to ¡°mix¡± scholars¡¯ words with 바카라사이트ir own in essays, he said.

But David Sweeney, director of research, innovation and skills at 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council for England, said REF-related proposals do not mandate CC?BY. He said 바카라사이트re was a ¡°long road ahead¡± in addressing licensing, and it may not be part of Hefce¡¯s final proposals, due next March.

He said those proposals were deliberately framed to avoid 바카라사이트 ¡°thicket of problems¡± critics have raised with open access, allowing maximum progress to be made.

Mr Sweeney confirmed that 바카라사이트 compliance targets were ¡°intended not to be scary¡±. An alternative to percentage targets would be to require all REF submissions to be open access, subject to certain blanket exceptions.

But he favoured percentage targets, suggesting that an exception for all papers published in international journals, for instance, would not sit well with international moves towards open access.

paul.jump@tsleducation.com