The Library launched a new in-house publishing service this year to support and encourage the sharing of our research in an open and sustainable way. The service includes a number of publishing platforms and provides advice on dissemination strategy help with setting up new open access journals.

The new in-house publishing service gives the University a cost-effective way of increasing the visibility of work produced by our researcher community, extending the reach of our research to a global audience. 

The contributions in this blog are from academics who have used the new publishing service for a variety of open research initiatives including: 

  • setting up new open access journals 
  • making existing publications more sustainable and discoverable 
  • giving students their first experience of academic publishing 
  • pushing the boundaries of what research materials are traditionally published 

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Launching a new publication: The Living Lab Journal 

Co-founding The Living Lab Journal has been both a challenging and deeply rewarding journey. It would not have been possible without the support and guidance from Library Research Services and the graphic design of the creative services. Their support has been essential to help enable the high-quality publication to be designed and published. The challenge lay in navigating the logistical complexities of launching a new publication, from building an editorial team to curating content that aligns with our mission of sustainability and interdisciplinary research. Balancing the diverse voices and perspectives of contributors while ensuring rigorous academic standards was no small feat. While gaining DOI’s and an ISSN has meant learning about publishing in a manner I had never previously imagined I would require in my career. However, the rewards have been immense – seeing the journal come to life as a platform for collaboration, innovation, and impact, and knowing that it will inspire future generations of researchers, educators, and practitioners to engage with the pressing environmental issues of our time. The sense of community and shared purpose that has emerged through this initiative has been truly gratifying. 

Kevin Frediani
Curator, University of Dundee Botanic Gardens
Editor of The Living Lab Journal

Sustaining an international journal

The International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions (IJELT) is an international peer reviewed journal which publishes articles and multimedia outputs of interest to researchers, practitioners and policy makers in the field of educational and life transitions across the world. IJELT is a diamond Open Access journal making it free to readers and there are no publication fees for authors (article processing charges, APCs) are funded by the University of Dundee). Making options for publications open to non-academic transitions experts and to a diverse range of readers was a crucial motivator for us when setting up the journal. 

The journal, set up in September 2021, is a testimony to the University of Dundee’s commitment to open access. The process of development was a very collaborative and supportive experience where we benefitted from the expertise of colleagues in Library Research Services. 

The journal has benefitted from the support of the Transformative Change: Education and Life Transitions (TCELT) research centre and its International Network of Transitions Researchers. The international and interdisciplinary editorial team currently comprises an Editor-in-Chief, two Deputy Editors and an Editorial Board with 37 members from 16 countries. The international reach of the editorial team has been beneficial in promoting the journal. To date, the journal has published 38 articles with representation (authors and/or location of studies) from 11 countries (UK, Cameroon, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Ireland, Chile, Argentina, Germany, Canada, United Arab Emirates). Its readership has extended beyond these countries across multiple continents. 

Beth Hannah and Divya Jindal Snape
Reader and Professor in Education and Society
School of Humanities, Social Sciences & Law

Supporting student publishing 
 
There are times, when working as module leaders and tutors in higher education, that we see excellent student work that is of publishable quality. For the students, who haven’t yet become familiar with the academic world, this can be quite a challenging process. Even for experienced researchers, academic publishing can be mystifying and frustrating. This led us to think that there was an opportunity for a journal that solely focussed on student research aimed at the social sciences. 
 
As a result, we decided to establish our own open access journal, hosted by the University of Dundee. We were well supported by Library Research Services in setting up JoSSSR. The objective was to provide an opportunity for students who have completed research at Undergraduate, Masters, or PhD level to publish from this. 

We were keen to make the process supportive and give guidance to students on becoming published authors. Any student is welcome to submit. They are asked to get support from a sponsor, usually a supervisor or tutor, who can make the process less arduous.  

Underpinning this is the chance for student research to reach a wider audience, and so the open-research principle was key to what we have developed with JoSSSR. 
 
Over the past year we have already facilitated several students to publish longer research articles, or shorter more accessible blog-style pieces. Submissions and article topics have ranged from politics and economics to various forms of education in a variety of international settings. 
 
So, if you, or a student you are supporting is interested in publishing or helping with the editorial process, please get in touch! 

To submit, please send a cover message and the paper to the following email address: josssr@dundee.ac.uk. 

Richard Holmes and Anna Robb
Reader and Senior Lecturer in Education and Society
School of Humanities, Social Sciences & Law

Publishing beyond the traditional 

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art Design have been the first School to introduce open access dissertation publishing, through a pilot programme in BA (Hons) Fine Art, and BA (Hons) Art & Philosophy. We initially published a printed book of dissertation excerpts titled Rising Stars 2024: a showcase of dissertation fine art research. This was then published as an open access book, available through the Library at the following link: DJCAD Rising Stars 2024 by University of Dundee Research – Issuu 

Each dissertation excerpt contains a QR code linking to the full dissertation, published on ISSUU. These QR codes were used to allow the public to access the dissertations during the end of year Degree Show exhibition, adding a new dimension to the student’s research exhibits. 

Making research available this way opens possibilities for other types of research that are not journal articles such as non-traditional outputs from practice research, copies of keynotes, presentations slides and other material. 

Helen Gorril
Reader and Open Research Lead
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design

To find out more about the University’s in-house publishing service visit the Library publishing webpage or contact the Library Research Services team by emailing discovery@dundee.ac.uk 

Launched during International Open Access Week 2024, the Open Research Blog Series is a collection of testimonies, views, and opinions on Open Research from the University of Dundee research community. These have been collected by the Library and published to highlight the variety of Open Research practices employed by researchers across the University.