Have you heard the terms “open textbooks” or, more broadly, the umbrella term “open educational resources” (OER)? OER are free, openly licensed textbooks or other types of course materials. They are designed to be high quality, free alternatives to traditional textbooks.
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With over 5.3 million downloads since 2015, STARS helps authors reach a worldwide audience by providing an online home for open access content! STARS, UCF’s Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship, is the digital institutional repository of content by, for, or about the University of Central Florida. Everyday UCF authors use STARS to manage, share, and increase impact for their full range of scholarship while retaining the rights to their works.
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2021 marks the 14th year for Open Access Week — a global event that celebrates the Open Access (OA) movement. Here at UCF Libraries, we will be celebrating the week by sharing information about open access resources and tools that can be used by researchers year-round. From UCF’s institutional repository, STARS, to support for locating and using open educational resources, there are many different ways the Libraries can assist you with open access resources. Throughout the week, we’ll share blog posts and social media posts too, so stay tuned!
“Open Access” is a term used to describe a reform movement that aims to make scholarly literature freely available on the web and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. It can also describe an item itself. For example, if a journal article is Open Access, then that means it is available for free access and, typically, unrestricted non-commercial use.
To publish something “Open Access” is in contrast to traditional publishing. Where a traditional publisher of academic journals charges money to read those journal articles, an Open Access academic journal is free to read and access online.
However, those interested in publishing will want to consider a variety of factors before deciding if OA is right for them. For instance, there may be other costs associated with publishing, such as Article Processing Charges — a fee charged to authors to make their work accessible in some Open Access journals. In addition, researchers will want to explore strategies for discerning reliable publishers and considerations for grant funding requirements.
Open Access does not just apply to academic journal articles. Books, textbooks, data-sets, and other works can also be Open Access. For more information about open access resources, visit our guide: https://guides.ucf.edu/OA/home.
Follow us all week to learn about how Open Access. Meanwhile, check out the official Open Access Week website (http://www.openaccessweek.org/) and UCF Libraries’ Office of Scholarly Communication website for more information (https://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/scholarly-communication/).
For additional information or to answer any questions please contact Sarah Norris, Scholarly Communication Librarian by email at: sarah.norris@ucf.edu.
The UCF Libraries presents a Fall 2021 Foundations of Data Management Library Workshop Series starting in September. These workshops are a part of the Research Computing and Data Workshop Series, which is being jointly presented by UCF Library, UCF Graduate and Research IT, and UCF Advanced Research Computing Center (ARCC). The UCF Libraries will hold workshops in September and October 2021 remotely via Zoom. Topics include: finding data sources from a multi-disciplinary perspective, finding discipline-specific resources for the social sciences and STEM, and data organization in spreadsheets for social scientists. Come join us!
SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 | 4:00 PM–5:00 PM
Location: Online Session, please see registration link for details.
Session Description: Data and statistics play an important role in conducting research, yet understanding how to find, analyze, and manage data can be complicated. If you are interested in developing data skills, the first of two workshops on finding data sources will provide an overview of introductory information to aid you on your path to being a data expert. The workshop will introduce the basic concepts of data and examples of how it is used in supporting research, including copyright concerns to be aware of. Additionally, information on UCF STARS, our institutional repository will be shared with a review of government related data resources.
OCTOBER 20, 2021 | 1:00 PM–3:30 PM
Location: Online Session, please see registration link for details.
Session Description: This hands-on workshop will cover how to tackle data organization by applying simple practices using Microsoft Excel. Good data organization is the foundation of any research project and learning to organize data in spreadsheets is one way to ensure your data collection is off to a good start. Some of the principles that will be reviewed during this session include good data entry practices by formatting data tables properly, basic quality control and data manipulation in spreadsheets, and how to export data from spreadsheets. Please bring your own device and have a spreadsheet program downloaded on your device prior to the workshop date.
OCTOBER 27, 2021 | 2:00 PM–3:00 PM
Location: Online Session, please see registration link for details.
Session Description: In the second workshop of the series on finding quality data, Government, Social Science, and STEM resources will be presented that are applicable in a variety of disciplines. Data source examples will also highlight open data sources, subscription-based sources available through the UCF Libraries, along with grey literature and preprint sources will be discussed.
For more information about the workshops offered through the Research Computing and Data Workshops Series visit: https://rci.research.ucf.edu/workshops/2021/
As a part of the 2021 Research Computing and Data Workshop Series, the UCF Libraries presents a Spring 2021 Foundations of Data Management Library Workshop Series starting this February. We will hold a monthly workshop for the next three months remotely via Zoom, covering topics like finding data sources from a multi-disciplinary perspective, how to manage your data properly, and how to maximize the impact of your research. Come join us!
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