Open Access (OA) belongs in the context of Open Science or Open Research, relating to how research is performed and how knowledge is shared based on the principle that research should be as open as possible.
Open Access publishing is increasingly mandated by funders and can be achieved through various publishing routes. The most common ones are known as the GREEN or the GOLD routes.
As a researcher, it is your responsibility to create and deposit a record of your research output in the Middlesex University Research Repository independent of the publishing route - at the point of acceptance.
The Middlesex University Research Repository is Middlesex University's research support infrastructure to meet funders' Open Access requirements for the GREEN and GOLD publishing routes.
The REF 2029 Open Access policy is published (11 Dec 2024). More updates here soon.
The REF 2021 Open Access policy continues to apply for outputs accepted for publication from 1 January 2021. Early decisions confirmed the implementation date for the revised policy to be no earlier than 1 January 2026. While the new REF 2029 Open Access policy is on its way, the REF 2021 Open Access policy and guidance should be followed until the new Open Access Policy for REF 2029 will be published in autumn/winter 2024.
Types: Peer reviewed research articles or conference papers, accepted for final publication in either a journal or conference proceedings with an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN).
In-scope: Journal or conference articles accepted on or after 1 January 2021
Routes to OA Compliance: In-scope research outputs will need to be made open access.
Consult our Manuscript Versions section in this guide if you are unsure of the version to upload.
Related information:
The new UKRI Open Access policy for long-form publications applies from 1 January 2024 for publications published on or after 1 January 2024.
Types: Monographs, Book chapters, Edited collections
In-scope: Long-form outputs published on or after 1 January 2024
Funding: From 31 October 2023, it is no longer permitted to include publication costs for long-form publications (in scope of the Open Access policy) in funding applications.
UKRI introduced a two stage process to apply for long-form publication funding instead. Applications will have to be submitted by Middlesex University staff responsible for open access funding - on behalf of researchers.
If you are planning to publish a publication in scope of UKRI’s open access policy and expect to pay for Open Access, contact the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office (research@mdx.ac.uk) and the Research Support Team (repository@mdx.ac.uk) as early as possible. They will give you advice on Open Access funding options, explain the process to access funding, and manage applications on behalf of Middlesex University researchers.
Routes to OA Compliance: In-scope UKRI funded long-form publications (Monographs, Book chapters or Edited collections) published on or after 1 January 2024 will need to be made open access.
Useful links:
The new UKRI Open Access policy for short-form publications applies from 1 April 2022. It replaced the Research Councils' (RCUK) Policy on Open Access for publications submitted before 1 April 2022.
Types: Peer reviewed research articles, including reviews and conference papers, accepted for final publication in either a journal or conference proceedings with an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), or publishing platform
In-scope: Research articles submitted for publication on or after 1 April 2022
Funding: UKRI provides an open access block grant to eligible research organisations to support compliance with the Open Access policy for research articles. The use of UKRI open access funds is permitted for a wide range of costs, however the use of UKRI funds for publishing in a ‘hybrid’ journal that is not part of a transitional arrangement that meets the research sector’s requirements as set out by Jisc is not permitted.
Routes to OA Compliance: In-scope research articles submitted for publication on or after 1 April 2022 will need to be made open access.
Related information:
Useful links:
Horizon Europe is the European Union's research and innovation funding programme until 2027. Open Access requirements are outlined in the General Model Grant Agreement Contract.
Types: Peer-reviewed scientific publications, Monographs and other long-text formats as well as Research data and additional practices, funded in whole or in parts by Horizon Europe.
In-scope: In alignment with the Plan S Principles with effect from 2021.
Funding: Only publication fees in full Open Access venues (not Hybrid venues), are eligible for reimbursement.
Routes to OA Compliance:
Related information:
Useful links:
Visit the Repository Policies & Information LibGuide for the Middlesex University Research Repository's position statement, submission policy, copyright and re-use, take-down policy, content policy, preservation policy, deposit licence, withdrawal policy, disclaimer, definitions and terms.
Visit the Research Data Management LibGuide to learn more about Research Data and Research Data Management support.
The following diagram highlights the difference between manuscript versions and shows that the final accepted manuscript version is the version before copy-editing or type-setting by the publisher.
Article version diagram courtesy of University of Cambridge CC-BY
Another manuscript version diagram is available via the National Web Archive of the HEFCE domain, originating from earlier HEFCE guidance.
Middlesex University's Research Publications Policy empowers authors to retain the rights to their own work. It recognises that it is not necessary for an author to sign over their copyright to the publisher or grant an exclusive license to the publisher in order for their scholarly work to be published or disseminated. The policy supports and sets out the steps authors should take to retain control over their published research and to enable increased visibility of research outputs and immediate Open Access via the Middlesex University Research Repository.
Publishers have been notified (see letter sent to publishers) of the University's Research Publications Policy (2024), to provide them with the full knowledge, that a prior licence to an Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) already exists with Middlesex University.
Therefore, when a publisher accepts an article for publication, a prior licence takes precedence over any subsequent publishing contract such as a Copyright Transfer Agreement or Exclusive Licence to Publish. This allows Middlesex University authors to deposit their AAM in the Middlesex University Research Repository under a Creative Commonse (CC BY) licence from the first day of publication without breaking copyright law.
To comply with this policy, in-scope work submitted for publication can include the following text in the acknowledgement section of the manuscript and/or letter accompanying the initial submission:
"For the purpose of open access, the author(s) has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission."
Alternative wording with the same intended outcome can be used instead, if required by the relevant funder.
In exceptional circumstances staff can opt out of the requirement for immediate open access upon publication, or the assignment of a CC BY licence. Where a researcher wishes to opt out, they should complete the Rights Retention Waiver Form prior to submission of the work for publication, providing a clear rational for the reasons.
The Research Publications Policy confirms that authors are free to chose where to publish. Upon acceptance for publication, each author grants the University a non-exclusive irrevocable, worldwide and royalty-free licence - this includes the right to make the AAM of their scholarly work openly available in the institutional repository, under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence, without embargo.
Further support and guidance are available from the Library Support team via open-access@mdx.ac.uk.
This policy applies to all academic staff, all research staff and all students whose research outputs derive from their employment by the University, from research grants or otherwise from the use of University resources and facilities. This policy requires researchers at Middlesex University to:
The Repository team will check all files that are uploaded to ensure they comply with copyright law and will apply any embargoes required by the publisher. More information can be found in the full Middlesex University Open Access Publications Policy.
Middlesex University encourages the GREEN Open Access route in cases where no funds are available to pay for GOLD Open Access, or where publishing costs cannot be covered by one of our Read & Publish deals.
Middlesex University signed agreements with the following publishers below; allowing eligible authors to publish GOLD open access in selected journals without paying a fee.
How do I know if my journal is covered by one of Middlesex University's agreements?
What are the eligibility criteria?
Useful links:
Please note:
In October 2011 the University mandated the deposit of all research items in the repository on acceptance for publication. "Following the decision of the Research and Research Degrees Committee in October 2011 Middlesex University has mandated that academic and research staff deposit all outputs resulting from their research undertaken while employed at Middlesex University in the Research Repository."
The Middlesex University Research Repository is an online, open access archive of published research and other scholarly content produced by Middlesex University staff and researchers ('Who is eligible to add work?'). Access to bibliographic information is open to anyone on the internet without the need to log in. In rare cases where full-text is associated, access may not be immediate.
In addition to full-texts of many articles, book chapters and conference papers, the repository is an index of Middlesex's practice related research, as it holds records of performances, exhibitions, compositions, artefacts, videos, portfolios, etc. The repository also holds a copy of all doctoral theses awarded by the University.
The Middlesex University Research Repository (https://repository.mdx.ac.uk) is managed by the Research Support Team, based in Library and Student Support. Library and Student Support encourages self-deposits of research and practice research in the repository.
Useful links:
When naming Middlesex University, you should declare your institution to be 'Middlesex University'. If you need to highlight the campus location, the naming should be 'Middlesex University London', 'Middlesex University Dubai', 'Middlesex University Mauritius'.
The particular research centre, school or department may also be named separately and additionally, but not instead of Middlesex University, which should be the primary institutional affiliation of the author.
This will help to identify and retrieve all the University’s research publications in research aggregation services such as Web of Science and PubMed, and it will also help others to recognise you and your work.
In order to assist others to identify your work, you are also advised to create and use an ORCiD identifier when publishing. Obtaining an ORCiD will help you manage your outputs across multiple research platforms.
All doctoral theses accredited by Middlesex University are uploaded to the Middlesex University Research Repository and will be openly accessible unless the author has requested otherwise. Via the deposit agreement form that you will have to sign, you can restrict access to the full-text of your thesis for a fixed time (usually around five years, although this is renewable) if you e.g. intend to publish your thesis, or register a trademark from your research, or to respect confidentiality and/or commercial obligations.
On completion of your degree, you will need to send a copy of your final thesis and the signed deposit agreement form to the Research Degrees Administration Team.
Take into account:
In case you have further questions or need additional information about Open Access, embargoes, transformative agreements, rights retention, data access statements, or how to meet your funder's open access compliance requirements, request a one-to-one or group training session, or contact the Research Support Team for help repository@mdx.ac.uk.