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Ulster Institutional Repository

Repository Policies

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UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER

ULSTER INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY (UIR)

OPEN ACCESS INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY POLICY

The UIR is a digital repository of research material created by researchers of the University of Ulster and showcases the research and scholarly output of the University across all subjects and disciplines. The primary aim of the Ulster Institutional Repository (UIR) is to increase the impact of the University's research, share knowledge, provide open access and to give feedback to Ulster's researchers, the University and other stakeholders.

The University:
  • supports the principle that the outcomes of publicly-funded research should be made available as widely as possible;
  • welcomes moves by Research Councils and other external funding bodies to promote unrestricted access to the published output from the research they fund;
  • aims to enhance the visibility, usage and impact of the University's research output by maximising online access to it for all would-be users and researchers worldwide;
  • aims to minimise the effort that individual members of the University must expend in order to provide open online access to their research output.
It is the University's policy:
1. That all academic/research staff are:
  • required to submit, at the minimum, metadata on their research outputs since January 1998; and
  • encouraged to submit copies of their research output (where these are publicly available) since January 1998 to be archived in the UIR.
Content Policy (for types of document & dataset held)
2. Any research output with valid metadata created by a member of staff of Ulster in any format including multimedia will be accepted.
3. The University encourages the deposit of the full text of books or research monographs. Where it is not possible to deposit the full text, details of the contents and a link to the document should be provided.
4. In the case of items in a foreign language an abstract in English may be included.
5. The University will try to ensure continuous readability and availability:
  5.1 items may be migrated to new file formats where necessary;
  5.2 where possible, software modifications will be provided to access un-migrated formats.
Submission Policy (concerning creators/depositors, publisher/funder policies, versioning & quality control)
Creators/Depositors
6. Items may only be deposited by accredited members of the University.
7. Creators may only submit their own items. Where research is generated as a result of collaboration between multiple creators, the depositing creator is acting on behalf of all creators.
8. Creators are strongly encouraged to deposit an item as soon as sufficient metadata are available for it to be correctly cited, subject to limitations imposed by the publisher.
Publisher Policies
9. In all cases items should comply with the policies of the publishers. The Sherpa-Romeo list summarises the policies on self-archiving of many journal publishers (http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo.php). Ensuring compliance with publishers' policies is the responsibility of the creator.
Research Funder Policies
10. In all cases items should comply with the policies of the research funders. The Sherpa-Juliet list summarises the policies given by various research funders as part of their grant awards (http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/juliet/index.php). Ensuring compliance with funders' policies is the responsibility of the creator.
Versioning
11. The final accepted version of an item should be submitted as soon as sufficient metadata are available. The final formatted version may also be deposited.
12. If necessary, an updated version of an item may be deposited. Errata and corrigenda lists may be included with the original record if required.
Quality Control
13. The validity and authenticity of the content of items is the responsibility of the creator(s) who is/are accredited Ulster staff.
14. All items will be reviewed and approved by Research Institute Directors (or their nominees) for valid and complete metadata before being released for public access.
Copyright and Licence
15. Copies of items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided:
  15.1 the creators, title and full bibliographic details are given;
  15.2 the content is not changed in any way and, where specific rights, permission or conditions apply, these will be included in the metadata.
16. Items (in any format) where the copyright resides with the creator or the University of Ulster are available free of charge.
  If copyright agreements do not permit deposit, access to the full text of the item will be embargoed and only the metadata associated with the item will be made available in the UIR (see the Copyright section on the UIR website for additional information).
Retention and Preservation Policy
17. Items will be retained in the UIR indefinitely even if the creators are no longer employed by the University.
18. If items are withdrawn they are not deleted per se, but are removed from public view.
19. UIR files will be regularly backed up according to current best practice.
20. The University will make all reasonable endeavours to restore the repository to another appropriate location in the event of a physical disaster.
Notice and Takedown Policy
21. The Research Office will investigate removing any item on receipt of a complaint. The UIR Steering Group will review any take-down requests in the event that the complaint is found to be valid.
22. Complaints may include contact from:
  22.1 the owner or representative of the owner with Intellectual Property Rights in all or part of the item, including third party material;
  22.2 the creator of all or part of the item who has moral rights or;
  22.3 any individual or organisation who believes that any of the material held on the UIR does not comply with the University's Code of Conduct for Professional Integrity in the Conduct of Research (http://research.ulster.ac.uk/policy/docs/cop.pdf).
23. The University shall retain the right to withdraw any items for professional or administrative reasons, if there are legal or University Intellectual Property Rights problems or other exceptional circumstances.
24. Acceptable reasons for withdrawal may include:
  • Violation of publishers' policies;
  • Legal requirements and proven violations;
  • National Security;
  • Research not consistent with the University's Code of Conduct for Professional Integrity in the Conduct of Research (http://research.ulster.ac.uk/policy/docs/cop.pdf);
  • A virus or other technical problem.
25. Items will not be physically deleted unless there is a legal requirement to do so. Since any item that has existed at some time may have been cited, a metadata record indicating the item was in the UIR will remain in perpetuity. A "tombstone" marker will be supplied when the item is requested. URLs will continue to point to "tombstone" citations, to avoid broken links and to retain item histories. This will include the original metadata (for verification).
See Appendix II for Notice and Take-down Procedures (to be read alongside the UIR Open Access Institutional Repository Policy).

Appendix I

UIR Steering Committee

UIR STEERING COMMITTEE

Membership 2012/13
Composition Membership
Nominated Chair Professor BW Scotney
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) Professor HP McKenna
Director of the Research Office Dr AM Patton
Representative from Library Mr J Kennedy
Representative from ISD Mr G McAleese
Faculty Representatives:

  • Art, Design and the Built Environment
  • Arts
  • Computing and Engineering
  • Life and Health Sciences
  • Social Sciences
  • Ulster Business School

Professor K Fleming
Prof F Lyons
Professor JAD McLaughlin
Professor S Steacy
Dr R Folli
Mr AJ McKittrick
Co-opted Members -
IN ATTENDANCE

Head of Research Policy
Application Support Manager

Mrs NC Dallat
Mrs A Campbell

UIR STEERING COMMITTEE

Terms of Reference 2012/13
Objective
To provide a coordinating role for the UIR and ensure communication across all the UIR activities.
Terms of Reference
1. To advise on the strategic development of the UIR and the REF Management Tool and feed into the University's IT Strategy
2. To identify priorities and lead bids for further resources
3. To raise awareness about, and promote, the UIR
4. To make recommendations to RIC re. UIR policies and procedures
5. To review any complaints and make decisions on any take-down requests

Appendix II

UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER

ULSTER INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY (UIR)

NOTICE AND TAKE DOWN PROCEDURE

UIR Steering Group
1. To make a complaint, an individual should contact the UIR Administrator specifying the item of concern and the grounds for the complaint. On receipt, the UIR Administrator will make an initial assessment of the validity of the complaint.
2. Where the complaint is found to be valid, the relevant item will be temporarily removed from the repository pending an agreed solution.
3. The UIR Administrator will then inform the creator of the material that the item is subject to complaint and the nature of the complaint. The complaint will be reviewed by the UIR Steering Group. If the Steering Group is unable to provide the necessary expertise it may be necessary to engage other professional opinion. All attempts will be made to resolve the issue swiftly and amicably to the satisfaction of both the complainant and the creator(s).
4. If a resolution is found through mediating between the parties, this will be enacted/initiated. Likely outcomes include:
  • the item need not be changed (the item is restored in UIR);
  • the item is replaced in UIR with a revised version;
  • the item is retained in UIR but access is restricted;
  • the item is permanently withdrawn from UIR.