New University Publications Policy

The University has a new publications policy that will help authors raise their research profile and improve the citation and impact of University of Leeds research.

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As well as ensuring research can reach a wider audience, the publications policy will also help ensure that authors are able to comply with funders’ open access policies and future REF requirements.

The policy promotes green open access: ie, making research output freely available via the University's institutional repository White Rose Research Online (WRRO). The key points are:

  • Authors are required to add bibliographic details of all research outputs to the University’s Publications Database (Symplectic Elements)
  • Authors should add full text copies of research outputs to the institutional repository, WRRO, by uploading them via the Publications Database
  • Copyright permitting, research output will be made open access in WRRO
  • Authors should use a standardised institutional affiliation “University of Leeds” in all research outputs
  • In addition to adhering to University policy, authors should comply with the funders’ policies relating to open access and research data management

The policy takes effect from:

1 April 2013 for RCUK and Wellcome funded research output
1 August 2013 for all other research

Authors who wish to add earlier publications to WRRO are encouraged to do so, but this is not a requirement of the policy.

Read the University Publications Policy
See the guidance on how to use the publications database

Most of the items added to WRRO will be journals or conference proceedings, but the policy applies, where possible, to all forms of research output.

It is recognised that where monographs or book chapters are concerned, it may not be possible for contractual reasons to make the full text open access. Where this is the case, authors who have an electronic version of their work are encouraged to upload it to WRRO for preservation purposes and so that it can be made available for future REF panels. If necessary, an indefinite embargo period can be applied.

Many publishers are revising their contracts to take account of the growth of open access. Authors are encouraged in future to negotiate publishing contracts that permit their work to be made available via the institutional repository (with an appropriate embargo period if required). This is already a requirement for some research funders and authors should check the terms of their grant before signing contracts with publishers.

You can find out more about the publications policy, and open access generally, by checking the open access pages on the library.leeds.ac.uk/researcher website or email openaccess@leeds.ac.uk

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