Open Access

The University of Iceland reminds staff to familiarise themselves and comply with rules from grant providers regarding open access to the results of funded research. The Icelandic Centre for Research requires that projects funded by a grant from the Icelandic Centre for Research, as of January 2013, publish their results in an open access outlet. The Icelandic Centre for Research also urges researchers to publish results from research funded before January 2013 in an open access outlet. This policy does not apply to books, book chapters, or student theses. You must submit a special application to be exempt from open access publication.

Peer-reviewed publications of results from projects funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme must be available in open access outlets.  Researchers are required to make a copy accessible through a digital repository (i) no later than when it is published in a journal or (ii) following a waiting period of 12 months for humanities and social sciences and 6 months for other disciplines.

An ever increasing number of research funds require grant recipients to provide open access to the results of funded research.  The website ROARMAP includes accessible, standardised information on open access policies from research funds and links to the funds' websites where you can check that the entry is up to date.

It is important for grant recipients to inform themselves of journals' policies and whether authors have the right to publish in open access repositories before signing a publication contract. Information is available on the website SHERPA/RoMEO, which can be confirmed on publishers' own websites.

It is recommended that authors keep the open access policies of the University of Iceland and relevant funds in mind when selecting a publication outlet.

A large number of quality, peer-reviewed journals are available in open access. Information on these journals is available on the Directory of Open Access Journals.

Division of Science and Innovation staff can also provide assistance in selecting a journal and negotiating with publishers if any doubts arise regarding open access.

The University of Iceland recommends that staff use an ORCID number, which is required to register works on opinvisindi.is. Those who do not already have such an ORCID number can register on ORCID.org; registration is quick and simple. An ever increasing number of funds require applicants to submit their ORCID numbers. Those who already have another ID, e.g. ResearcherID, can link that to an ORCID number and therefore do not need to record information on their publications again.

It is possible to link your ORCID number with Ugla and have your bibliography published in the University of Iceland telephone directory.

You can use your ORCID number to ensure that your work is always recognised even if another author shares your name. It is also possible to register different ways of writing your name. This ensures that works by Auður Ása Guðmundsdóttir are registered as her work whether her name is recorded as A.Á.Guðmunsdóttir, A.A. Guðmundsdottir, A.A.Guomundsdottir, Audur Asa Guomundsdottir, Auður Ása Gudmundsdóttir or Auður Asa Gudmundsdottir, etc.

Rules of procedure on the open access publishing of scientific articles

1. The University of Iceland encourages its staff to publish their scientific articles in journals which are published in an open access format. The University of Iceland does not directly participate in the possible expenses of open access publishing. Members of academic staff at the University are however, depending on the circumstances, permitted to use their research funding to cover such expenses.
2. No later than the date of publication, the author of a scientific article must send the Division of Science and Innovation an electronic copy of the final version of the article. This electronic copy may be submitted in PDF format, as a link to a website, or in another suitable manner.
3. The University of Iceland is authorised to make articles accessible on the internet, though see Article 4.
4. An author may request that a certain journal article be made exempt from the provisions of Article 3 if it can be satisfactorily shown that it is not possible to publish the article's content in an open access outlet. Such exemptions may be permanent or involve the delay of open access publication. The following factors are considered when evaluating requests for exemptions:

   a) The academic quality of the journal.
   The author is invited to publish a scientific article in a prestigious traditional subscription journal with a high impact factor. A key policy target at the University of Iceland is to increase the number of quality publications in all schools within the University. University of Iceland policy places significant emphasis on academic staff selecting a publication outlet that makes rigorous academic demands and is likely to increase the impact of the University's research work. Emphasis on publishing articles in open access outlets must not reduce the impact of University of Iceland research work at the domestic and international levels. Authors publishing an article in a subscription journal with a high impact factor shall, if possible, also publish the article in an open access online archive.

   b) Publication outlet selected by another party.
   The author has to defer to the decisions of another party, e.g. the research leader or a co-author, for example at a collaborating university or research centre outside Iceland.

   c) Cost
   The cost to the author is considered excessive or not in keeping with what would be thought reasonable.

5. Requests for exemptions cf. Article 4 shall be directed to the Division of Science and Innovation through their homepage.
6. These rules of procedure are based on the University of Iceland policy on open access to research results and final projects, approved by the University Council 6 February 2014. The Division of Science and Innovation and Division of Academic Affairs shall resolve any disputes that may arise in connection with the implementation of these rules. These rules shall enter into force 1 July 2014.

[Implementation of the policy postponed until 1 September 2015]

The University of Iceland is a member of the National and University Library's digital repository opinvisindi.is. UI staff are expected to save a copy of any peer-reviewed journal articles in the repository. The repository's website includes detailed instructions (currently in Icelandic only) and University of Iceland are able to register their work themselves.

If you require assistance with registering your work, please contact Sigurgeir Finnsson at the National and University Library (tel: +354 525 5732, email: sigurgeir@landsbokasafn.is).

Division of Science and Innovation staff also offer assistance with registration and information on anything else regarding open access publication. Please contact Birna Gunnarsdóttir (tel: +354 525 4707, email: birnag@hi.is).