Digital Library Services

Below is a curated list of useful resources that can enhance a university library website, particularly for researchers seeking resources in open access, open science, metrics, and research management based on Open Science principles and practices. 

Each service provides researchers with comprehensive, centralized access to essential open access and open science resources. Including clear guidance on these topics will empower researchers to publish, share, and manage their work responsibly and effectively in the digital academic environment.

Contributors

Dr Jo Havemann, ORCID: 0000-0002-6157-1494, Access 2 Perspectives, Germany

CRediT – Contributor Role Taxonomy, https://credit.niso.org/  

• Conceptualization and Data curation: JH

Scientometrics and Bibliometrics

• Scientometrics and Bibliometrics Overview: Provide an introductory section explaining these concepts and why they matter for research impact and assessment.

• Metrics Resources: Link to tools and databases like Google Scholar Metrics, The Lens, and OpenAlex for citation analysis and impact metrics.

• Altmetrics Tools: Offer links to resources like Altmetric.com  to track and understand alternative metrics.

  • Priem, J., Taraborelli, D., Groth, P., & Neylon, C. (2010). Altmetrics: A manifesto (1.01). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12684249 

• Guidelines on Responsible Metrics: Include documents like the Leiden Manifesto and DORA Declaration for ethical use of metrics in research assessment.

Choosing a Journal for Publication

• ​​Think. Check. Submit. (Journals) - https://thinkchecksubmit.org/journals/ 

Journal Selection Tools

• African Journals Online (AJOL) - https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajol 

• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) - https://doaj.org/
  

• Journal Seeker; https://journalseeker.com/ 

• Jane - Journal / Author Name Estimator - https://jane.biosemantics.org/ 

• Journal Finder | ScienceGate - https://www.sciencegate.app/journal-finder
  

Journal Impact Factor Awareness 

• “[…] the properties of the Journal Impact Factor are field-specific: it is a composite of multiple, highly diverse article types, including primary research papers and reviews […]. Journal Impact Factors can be manipulated (or “gamed”) by editorial policy […]; and […] data used to calculate the Journal Impact Factors are neither transparent nor openly available to the public […].” - Read the Declaration | DORA 

• “Numerous critiques have been made regarding the use of impact factors, both in terms of its statistical validity and its implications for how science is carried out and assessed.” Impact factor - Wikipedia 

Predatory Journal Awareness

• Avoid predatory journals by following the checklist

• Read up on predatory journal characteristics: Predatory publishing - Wikipedia. Complaints that are associated with predatory open-access publishing include:

• Accepting articles quickly with little or no peer review or quality control

• Notifying academics of article fees only after papers are accepted.

• Accepting papers which are outside of the declared scope of the journal

• Aggressively campaigning for academics to submit articles or serve on editorial boards

• Listing academics as members of editorial boards without their permission, and not allowing academics to resign from editorial boards.

• Appointing fake academics to editorial boards.

• Mimicking the name or website style of more established journals.

• Making misleading claims about the publishing operation, such as providing false locations.

• Using ISSNs improperly.

• Citing fake[ or non-existent impact factors.

• Boasting about being "indexed" by academic social networking sites (like ResearchGate) and standard identifiers (like ISSNs and DOIs) as if they were prestigious or reputable bibliographic databases.

• Favoritism and self-promotion in peer review.

Open Access (OA) Resources and Guidelines

• General Open Access Information: Provide basic information about OA and its importance for wider research dissemination.

  • Green OA

  • Gold OA

  • Diamond OA

• University OA Policy: Share links to the university’s own OA policy and any funding mandates or publishing requirements.

• OA Publishing Platforms: Highlight platforms like arXiv, bioRxiv, and Zenodo for sharing preprints, research data, presentations and other research output

  • Re3data

  • AfricArXiv

  • …
    
    

• Legal Aspects of OA: Offer guides on copyright, licensing, and Creative Commons options for OA publications.

FAIR and CARE Principles

Introduction to the FAIR Principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable)

• FORCE11 - https://force11.org/info/the-fair-data-principles/ 

• GO FAIR - https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/ 

• Research Data Alliance (RDA) - https://www.rd-alliance.org/ 

Introduction to the CARE Principles: Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics
Explain the principles—FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and CARE ()—and their importance.

Link to resources like the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA) to respect data sovereignty in Indigenous contexts; https://www.gida-global.org/care

Checklists for FAIR and CARE Compliance: Provide templates or checklists to help researchers assess compliance with FAIR and CARE principles.

Research Data Management (RDM) Guidelines and Templates

• Data Management Plan (DMP) Templates: Offer downloadable templates and guides for creating DMPs. Use resources from DMPTool or Science Europe’s DMP templates.

• RDM Best Practices: Include guides on how to organize, store, and archive data effectively. Provide tips for secure data handling and data privacy.

• Data Repositories: List recommended data repositories like Figshare, Dryad, Zenodo, and discipline-specific repositories.

• Data Sharing Policies: Explain the importance of data sharing and highlight any funding or publisher requirements for data availability statements.

Open Science Tools and Practices

• Open science | UNESCO

• Open science - Wikipedia  

• ​​AfricArXiv’s Open Science Webinar Series
   

• Open Science Overview: Provide an introductory page on open science practices, including open data, open access, open methods, and open software.

• Preprint Servers: List various preprint repositories by field (e.g., AfricArXiv, Baobab, bioRxiv, arXiv, PsyArXiv) to encourage early research sharing.

• Reproducibility and Transparency Resources: Include resources like Reproducibility Project to support transparent research practices.

  • Africa: African Reproducibility Network 

  • Global: Global REN Community

  • Asia

  • Latin Amica

• Open Software and Code Repositories: Link to AfricArXiv, GitHub, GitLab, and other open-source platforms for sharing code and software used in research.

Training and Educational Resources

• Workshops and Webinars: Include information on any upcoming or archived library-hosted sessions on open science, RDM, and scientometrics.

  • ​​AfricArXiv’s Open Science Webinar Series
    

• Research Guides and Tutorials: Provide guides on topics like literature review tools, citation management (e.g., using Zotero), and systematic reviews.
  

• MOOCs and Online Courses: Link to free online courses, such as those available on Coursera, edX, or FutureLearn, focusing on research data management, open science, and publishing skills.

  • https://access2perspectives.org/impact/ 

Intellectual Property and Copyright Resources

• Copyright Basics for Researchers: Offer a guide on copyright law, focusing on research, publications, and digital content.

  • Copyright vs. Copyleft

• Creative Commons Licenses: Explain the different types of Creative Commons licenses and how to select an appropriate one for open-access work.

  • Share your work - Creative Commons 

  • Choose an open-source license 

  
  

• Plagiarism and Ethical Use of Information: Provide resources on plagiarism avoidance, ethical information use, and citation standards.

Contact and Support Services

• Library Support and Consultation: Offer contact information for library liaisons or subject specialists who can assist researchers with open access, RDM, and publication issues.

• Ask a Librarian: Provide a live chat, email, or appointment booking system to facilitate quick assistance on digital library services.

Comments, questions, and suggestions

• …

• …

• …