Supplementary guidelines for OA policy at USN

1.  All research results from USN must be easily identifiable and accessible online.

All publications must be stored in USN's archive, and that archive is to be freely accessible online.

All employees at the University of South-Eastern Norway must self-archive their research results in USN's knowledge archive. With self-archiving, the researcher uploads the full text document at the same time he/she registers the research result in CRIStin. If the publisher does not allow institutional archiving then the person concerned is exempt from the requirement. If one or more co-authors do not agree, the same applies. By research results it is meant published journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, etc. All approved doctoral theses at the University of South-Eastern Norway must be made available in the knowledge archive. All master's theses that have been passed at the University of South-Eastern Norway must be made available in the knowledge archive. If the student does not want to make their master's thesis available in the knowledge archive, the person in question is exempted from the requirement. If the thesis is restricted, includes commercial matters etc., the same applies.

 

2.  All research results from USN must be made publicly accessible at the point of publication.

This means that anyone can use and redistribute the material for various purposes without having to pay or obtain consent. USN wants employees to only publish in journals with embargo periods if there are no decent alternatives.

All research results must be available as soon as they are published, without an embargo period. An embargo period is the period during which the publisher requires payment to access the publication.

USN wants all research work to be made available with an open license, such as Creative Commons. Such a license means that the research work can be used in all contexts without the need to pay for it or to obtain permission from the copyright holder(s). There is a requirement that the copyright holder(s) will be credited.

 

3.  Research data from USN must be accessible and open.

This means that anyone can use research data for various purposes without having to pay or obtain consent, unless special circumstances dictate otherwise (sensitive personal data, security considerations etc.).

The standard at USN is that research data must be available and open for further use, c.f. the Act relating to universities and university colleges § 1-5 (6). Exceptions to the general rules on open and accessible research data are limited to mandatory confidentiality. In some cases, publication may be temporarily delayed.

The data underlying the scientific papers must be made available as early as possible and never later than the publication date.  Other data that may be of interest to other research must be made available in a timely manner, and never later than three years after the end of the project.

Research data must be stored and archived in a secure manner. The data must be stored in secure archives, either at USN or in national/international archives. Research data must be made available with an open license, such as Creative Commons.

Research data must have standardised metadata that describes the data set and makes it searchable for others. The metadata must follow international standards.

 

4.  USN will pay fees for open publishing.

USN will cover expenses for OA publications and contribute funds for the establishment and operation of OA journals.

 

4.1. Cost of OA publications

The University of South-Eastern Norway covers the cost of the open access publishing of journal articles, books and book chapters.

To get support the following criteria must be met.

 

4.1.1. Journal articles

1) Support is given to cover the publication fees for peer-reviewed articles in pure Open Access journals, "Gold Open Access". The article must have a Creative Commons license. No support is given to articles in hybrid journals.

2) The applicant must be the corresponding author and be affiliated with the University of South-Eastern Norway through employment or as a student. The corresponding author means the author responsible for the submission and follow-up of the article through the publishing process. The author must credit USN in the article.

3) Support is only given to cover the publishing costs (APC - Article Processing Charges) for

articles that are accepted for publication. Normally, the entire publication fee is covered. Support is not given to cover the costs of colour printing, additional illustrations and the like.

4) Support is not usually given for articles based on external funding.

Publishing fees in connection with external research resources should be incorporated in the project application.

5) The journal must be approved at level 1 or 2 in the register of publication channels of the Database for statistics on higher education (DBH). The journal must also be registered in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

6) Applications for support are sent at the same time as the article is accepted for publication in a journal. The application for support is made on a separate form.

7) The author must apply for funds no later than 4 weeks after the date of publication.

8) The author must register and upload the article in the research documentation system

Cristin, so that the article is also available in USN's knowledge archive.

9) The applications are processed continuously.  Applications that meet the criteria are given support on an ongoing basis as long as there are funds.

10) In well-founded individual cases, USN may grant support even though all requirements are not met.

11) The guidelines and their implementation will be regularly evaluated by the library in cooperation with the vice-rector for research.

 

4.1.2. Books and book chapters:

1) Support is given to cover publication fees in pure Open Access publications, i.e. that the publications in their entirety will be made publicly available online and have a Creative Commons license.

2) The applicant may be the author of monographs, chapters in anthologies. Applicants must be the corresponding author and be affiliated with the University of South-Eastern Norway through employment or as a student. The corresponding author means the author responsible for the submission and follow-up of the monograph/chapter through the publishing process. The author must credit USN in the publication.

      3) The amount of support is assessed based on the total cost of       publication, number of USN writers and the size of the publication fund.

4) Support is not usually given for monographs and chapters in anthologies that are based on external funding. Publishing fees in connection with external research resources should be incorporated in the project application.

5) The publisher must be approved at level 1 or 2 in the register of publication channels of  the Database for Statistics on Higher Education (DBH).

6) A publication that has received support must be registered in the Directory of Open Access Books

(Doabooks.org) after publication.  This will be done by the publisher/imprint.

7) anthologies or monographs must be peer reviewed (scientific).

8) It is recommended that you apply for support as early as possible in the publishing process.  Then you will know the outcome of the application at an early stage.

9) You can not apply for retrospective funding if the book or chapter has already been published.

10) The author must register and upload the monograph or chapter in the research documentation system CRIStin, so that the publication is also available in USN's knowledge archive.

11) The applications are processed continuously.  Applications that meet the criteria are given support on an ongoing basis as long as there are funds.

12) In well-founded individual cases, USN may grant support even though all requirements are not met.

13) The guidelines and their implementation will be regularly evaluated by the library in cooperation with the vice-rector for research.

 

4.2. Establishment and operation of Open Access journals

The University of South-Eastern Norway may contribute resources to the establishment and operation of Open Access journals. In order to create a new journal, these criteria must be met:

1) The establishment of new journals will be based on a scientific justification. Comparable journals must be considered before a new one is created.

2) The journal must be related to USN, e.g., by the editor, editorial members or journal administrative staff being employees or students at the institution.

3) The journal must have procedures for peer reviewing and satisfy the requirements of a level 1- journal (c.f. national guidelines).

4) The editor(s) and editorial staff members must be named at the creation of the journal. No journal may be created without the editor having a master's degree or better.

5) The journal must use Creative Commons licensing to ensure that the work can be freely spread.

6) The journal must allow self-archiving in institutional archives and/or on the author's website.

7) The authors retain the copyright to their article, but give the journal the right to be

the primary publisher.

8) The journal must have a realistic publication policy and annually publish a minimum of five articles or peer contributions in different categories.

9) If the criteria are not met, USN reserves the right to stop the publication of the journal.

10) USN does not contribute to the development of websites, web design or tasks related to

publication of the magazine - such as  layout, proofing, editing or document management

11) USN must offer researchers and academics at USN help, advice and a platform for the publication of peer-reviewed journals with open access. Help can also be given help to convert an existing journal to Open Access.