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Innovation
The digital environment provides new opportunities for accessing and preserving a wide range of research outputs within a global knowledge commons. The U15 encourages the collaborative development of new models of scholarly communications that would benefit the academy and the public by leveraging the power of the digital age in ways that enhance the quality of scholarly and scientific publications.
Technological changes have impacted radically how scholarly research is conducted and disseminated. Yet scholarly publishing continues to follow models that were conceived in the print era, and the means to effectively manage and preserve research data are just beginning to evolve.
Queen’s University Library, along with provincial, national and international partners, is working to leverage digital opportunities to advance innovative, cost-effective scholarly communication models in a global knowledge commons. Our aim is to strengthen Queen’s research prominence by improving access to research outputs for the widest possible audience at the earliest possible opportunity.
Digital Scholarly Record: Principles
Digital scholarly records are needed to understand and replicate research results. They include:
- Data used as evidence in the research process
- Computer programs and documentation used to generate and manipulate the data set
- Outputs of research and scholarship in digital form (e.g. publications, creative works, digital environments, etc.)
Queen’s Digital Scholarly Record Working Group proposes that the planning and policies supporting the digital scholarly record be guided by a bold statement of principles for the dissemination of research results, in support of improving the impact of research conducted at Queen’s University across all disciplines.
Principles for the Dissemination of Research Results
Queen’s researchers and scholars aim to generate globally impactful research and scholarship, thus Queen’s gives VOICE to research results according to the following principles:
- Value
The university’s evaluation of research impact includes a wide range of measures, including not only bibliometric analytics but also assessments appropriately based in qualitative analysis. - Openness
The results of research and scholarship should be disseminated as widely as possible for the advancement of research and the benefit of society. - Inclusivity
All disciplines, areas of study and human differences are supported, and it is recognized that they have unique and particular needs. - Collaborative Platforms
The university supports the development and use of distributed, reputable platforms for research dissemination and preservation that reduce cost barriers and are guided by the FAIR data principles – that data must be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. - Engaged Researchers
The university supports researchers in their engagement in the research enterprise, including regaining control of the scholarly communication ecosystem (e.g. by intentionally licensing their publications and other research results so that they retain their ownership while sharing them openly).
Engaging with the services that are guided by these principles helps Queen’s researchers and scholars ensure that their digital scholarly records are accessible and preserved in a global knowledge commons.
Open Scholarship Services
In collaboration with researchers, other university units and partners outside Queen’s, the library is developing a suite of open scholarship services, including: