Sharing your research across different platforms has a number of benefits for researchers, including:

• Opening up new connections and collaboration. People can find your work and they might want to work with you.
• Reaching new audiences – outside of academia as well as within it.
• Building a reputation outside your institution. People become familiar with your work and this attracts their attention.
• Promoting your skills and knowledge. Let people know what you can do, for potential collaborators and employers
• Disseminating your research and ideas so you can share your research effectively.

Sharing your research is becoming an increasingly important area of academic practice and scholarly communications. How you share, where you share, and how you are seen online are all important factors to consider. An increasing number of funders are now requiring that your research outputs and any underlying datasets are made openly available. 

You can watch a short video introducing the key principles of Sharing your Research below. 

[Transcript]

Publishing

Publishing is a key part of any researcher's career: it is the main way researchers share their research findings with colleagues and the world at large, so that knowledge develops over time and helps to change policy and practice. 

Through publishing, you will receive feedback on your work and develop your ideas further. In addition, a strong publication record is also important in developing your research career.

Choosing Where to Publish

Where to publish is one of the most important decisions you'll make when disseminating your research. It's best to start thinking about this as early as possible, ideally at the very start of each research project. 

Ultimately, the decision of where to publish your work as a researcher is up to you. However, there are some things you might want to think about:

Bibliometrics

You may have heard of the h-index and citation rate. These are just two of many metrics used to calculate the impact of articles, authors and publications. The academic system tends to be weighted in favour of authors who are published in high-impact journals and who have high citation rates. However, reaching the right audience for your work may involve publishing in smaller journals with a more specific focus, or making your work freely available to the public, both of which allow your work to have different types of impact. These sorts of impact are increasingly considered in evaluation exercises such as the Research Excellence Framework (REF).

Is the journal legitimate?

Fraud in academic publishing has unfortunately become a common occurrence and academics have found themselves paying charges to be published in predatory journals. Before you publish, have a look at the checklist on Think. Check. Submit.

The video below from the Betty and Gordon Moore Library has a useful introduction to Predatory Publishers and how to avoid them.

[Link to video]

Peer Review

There are usually several stages to peer review:

• The author(s) submit the manuscript to their preferred journal. 
• An editor receives the manuscript and performs an initial screen. They may reject at this stage or decide to assign it to reviewers. 
• Reviewers are experts in the field who give their professional opinion on the manuscript. They might recommend a rejection or acceptance with major or minor revisions, or acceptance as the manuscript stands.
• If changes are required, the author completes these and communicates with the editor. 
• The final decision about publication rests with the editor. 

This process is a collaboration between editor, reviewers and authors to ensure that the best research is disseminated, and in the best possible form. 

Open Access

Open Access is simply making published research results freely available to anyone with an internet connection rather than keeping those results hidden behind a subscription paywall.

Making research articles Open Access is a requirement for most funders and for the Research Excellence Framework, or REF. It also ensures that they are more discoverable, more accessible, and therefore more likely to be cited. 

The Open Access policy landscape in the UK is complex. The University of Cambridge Open Access team can assist researchers with policy compliance and funder requirements. For information on the changing UKRI policy, see the UKRI Policy page on the Open Access website.

There are two main routes to open access: Green and Gold.

Green Open Access is making a version of work (usually an author's accepted manuscript) available in an open access repository. These can be institutional such as Apollo the Cambridge repository or subject based, such as arXiv, PubMed Central, RePEc or SSRN. 

Gold Open Access is open access to the published article via the journal. It can be considered to be 'born Open Access'. Fully Open Access journals often (but not always) charge a fee for publication. The Cambridge University Open Access Policy Framework recommends Green Open Access  as the most cost-effective, sustainable way to achieve greater public access to research outputs.

The easiest way to make your articles Open Access is to upload your accepted manuscripts from your Symplectic Elements home page as soon as they're accepted for publication. The University’s Open Access team will then add it to the University Repository for you and advise on any other requirements that might apply.

Where can I find out more?

The Library Team can provide training and one-to-one advice, and you can also find more information on the University of Cambridge Open Access website.

The video below from the Betty and Gordon Moore Library introduces the key principles of Open Access in one minute.

[Link to video]

ORCiD

ORCiD stands or Open Researcher and Contributor ID. It provides a persistent digital identifier (an ORCiD iD) that you own and control, and that distinguishes you from every other researcher. You can connect your ORCiD with your professional information — affiliations, grants, publications, peer review, and more. You can use your ORCiD to share your information with other systems, ensuring you get recognition for all your contributions, saving you time and hassle, and reducing the risk of errors. Please note, an ORCiD is for life and it belongs to you. If you leave the University, your ORCiD will not be affected.

ORCiD accounts can be linked to a variety of other sources including MLA BibLink and arXiv as well as Dimensions and other profile tools such as Scopus Author ID and ResearcherID to draw in relevant information.

Registering your ORCiD is a free online process that should take less than one minute. You own your ORCID record and, after registering for it yourself, you will be able to update or add information by signing into your account.

Step-by-step instructions to register your ORCiD can be found on the ORCiD website.

ORCiD and Symplectic Elements are now integrated such that researchers can create, or connect an existing ORCiD directly from their Symplectic Elements profile. Step-by-step instructions for linking your ORCiD with your Symplectic Elements account can be found on the Research Information Sharepoint site (Raven login required). 

Data Champions

Data Champions are local experts on research data management and sharing who can provide assistance and support within their departments. The Data Champions can answer discipline-specific questions and are happy to speak at meetings, deliver training and provide information about research data. 

For information about the Data Champions programme across the University, or to become a Data Champion yourself, please see the Data Champions website. 

Research resources

Cambridge Training: 

• The University has a strong Researcher Development Programme full of online training, podcasts, 1:1 support, and lots more.
• Cambridge University Libraries have created a useful Research Skills Guide to multiple aspects of research.

Research Support: 

• The University Research Strategy Office site has information on research policies.
• Information about various tools and sources of support is available from the Research Information Office.
• The University's Office of Scholarly Communication (OSC) covers Open Access, Research Data Management and Thesis Management. 

Finding References:  

• For detailed subject-specific database recommendations, see our Engineering Sciences Subject Guide, Computer Sciences Subject Guide or the CJBS Database LibGuide. Our guide to Literature Searching and Reviewing will help you plan a literature search and develop a search strategy.
• If you have any trouble with your search, or finding a specific reference, the Technology Libraries team can help. Please contact us for assistance.

Open Research / Open Access:  

• Information about Open Research is available via the OSC.
• For queries about Open Access, see the Open Access website.

Research Systems: 

• Access your Symplectic Elements account (Raven login required)
• Check your details on ResearchFish

Funding:

• See guidance on funding and grant applications from the Research Operations Office (ROO).