All Office of Scholarly Communication courses

The Publishing Trap is a board game designed to introduce researchers to scholarly publishing. Looking at the world of scholarly communication, this interactive game aims to offer researchers a better understanding of the implications of copyright on the publication process. Players will be guided through the different stages of a researcher career from PhD submission to Professorship, making decisions on a range of scenarios. The aim of the game is to develop an understanding of how money, copyright and publishing models will impact an academic career.

Learn more about the game here: https://copyrightliteracy.org/resources/the-publishing-trap/

The Publishing Trap was designed by Dr Jane Secker and Chris Morrison (UK Copyright Literacy) and is used under a CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Join the OSC as we bring the popular Superhero Librarian Roadshow back to Cambridge! Library and information professionals are often involved in innovative projects and initiatives but unless we shout about it this work often goes unnoticed by both the outside world and the institutions we work in. This interactive workshop, led by Leo Appleton from Goldsmiths, University of London and Wendy Morris from Kingston University, aims to change that!

Offering a range of practical activities and exercises this workshop enables participants to consider their day to day work, how this has led to professional achievements and build the confidence to share these outcomes beyond the library echo chamber. Participants will be invited to think about how they might celebrate such successes by sharing their best practice through various activities including conferences, publication and social media. By the end of the workshop participants will be aware of some of the platforms available to them and how professional pride and success can potentially be celebrated.

What is Open Research, and what does it mean for you?

• Would you like to share your research findings with the international academic community, without paywall restrictions?
• Would you like to boost citations of your work?
• Did you know that funders recognise the benefits of Open Access and most now require it as a condition of their grants?

These are questions for academics at all stages of their research.

Join us to explore:

• everything you need to know about Open Access and data sharing in the humanities, arts and social sciences
• how to use the University's Repository, Apollo, to publish your research and gain citations
• the training and advisory services offered by the OSC to facilitate your research and career development

What is Open Research, and what does it mean for you?

• Would you like to share your research findings with the international academic community, without paywall restrictions?
• Would you like to boost citations of your work?
• Did you know that funders recognise the benefits of Open Access and most now require it as a condition of their grants?

These are questions for academics at all stages of their research.

Join us to explore:

• everything you need to know about Open Access and data sharing in STEM disciplines
• how to use the University's Repository, Apollo, to publish your research and gain citations
• the training and advisory services offered by the OSC to facilitate your research and career development

Understanding the peer review process gives you an invaluable insight into a key aspect of the research life cycle. This is an unmissable chance to explore tips and best practices with PLOS, publishers of the world's largest multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal.

The Office of Scholarly Communication invites you to join PLOS for an essential introduction to peer review. This session will allow you to develop an understanding of what peer review is and how it can impact the experience of researchers. Learn how you can use your existing skills to provide support and advice.

The session will also be useful for library staff who are interested in undertaking peer review themselves but are unsure of exactly what is involved.

You'll learn...

• how to support researchers who are conducting peer review
• the 3 questions researchers should always ask when they're asked to do a review
• how to get ready to review and be recognized for the work
• how to read a manuscript with peer review in mind
• how to write ideal feedback.

Stay on after the workshop to chat to PLOS staff and editors and enjoy light refreshments.

The contract between academic publisher Elsevier and UK Universities is due for renewal in December 2021. The UK Universities sector is entering negotiations with Elsevier with two core objectives: to reduce costs to levels UK universities can sustain, and to provide full and immediate open access to UK research.

The outcome of negotiations may affect how you read and publish research. If we have to step away from a deal, the way you access some publications may change. Many funders have open access requirements, and a deal could mean that you can publish in open access journals ‘for free’ as the cost are incorporated in the deal, as is already the case with many other publishers. If a deal cannot be reached, some Elsevier journals may no longer fulfil funder policies.

Come along to this virtual town hall meeting to hear more about the aims of the negotiations and their potential impacts, and to contribute your own views to the debate.

The event will include:

• Summary of negotiation process and Cambridge approach
• Perspectives on the negotiations from two academics
• Audience Q&A

You can find out more about the negotiations on this webpage: https://www.openaccess.cam.ac.uk/publishing-open-access/university-cambridge-and-elsevier-draft-landing-page

You can submit questions in advance of the meeting through this form: https://forms.office.com/r/TL1Meq91E1

Please note that these talks may be recorded and shared within the University of Cambridge, although audience questions will not be.

Do metrics really add up?

Metrics have long been used as an indicator of academic success and as a way to make key decisions. As the measurement of impact becomes increasingly important within academia there has been something of a backlash against trusting purely quantitative methods of assessment. The Responsible Metrics movement aims to ensure that metrics are used fairly alongside other measures to gather a true assessment of impact.

This webinar will discuss what the Responsible Metrics movement is, why it was developed, its importance and how library staff can best educate their research staff.

Getting published is just the first step…

Getting academic output published is a great accomplishment for any researcher but it’s not the end of the story. Promoting and sharing their work in a variety of ways can help to increase the impact of the original publication and can also be a useful tool for the library to show how their help is contributing.

This Librarian Toolkit session on helping researchers publish looks at the benefits of promoting research, the tools both researchers and librarians can use and how to link this with general advocacy for open research.