Open Research, University of Aberdeen

After all of the talks yesterday at the #CopimConference about the importance of accessibility, this feels like great timing

A little black cat stands politely next to a lap desk

Who's going to the #CopimConference today? We've got a few people down in London -- including our fearless leader @simonjbains.bsky.social who will be speaking about our Thesis preservation project -- but most of us are joining from home. We'll miss meeting colleagues, but there are some advantages😉

Improving research culture will require us to consider some bold ideas, perhaps even a Conference Timekeeping Bear.

What's your big idea for research culture?

ARL Libraries Love Data Week — Association of Research Libraries During Love Data Week, the international celebration of data focuses on building and engaging community around good data practice. ARL member libraries are enthusiastic supporters of Love Data Week—se...

Check out the amazing things ARL member libraries have been doing for #LoveDataWeek!

www.arl.org/blog/arl-lib...

#DataScience #DataViz #OpenData #Research #Libraries #LoveData26

This looks like it should be a great event, and we appreciate you making it hybrid so we all can come 😊 Especially looking forward to the keynotes!

UoA researchers, be sure to check out the list for events relevant to your work!

Underground sensors assess Aberdeen's geothermal energy potential The data will be used to build a 3D map of granite lying deep beneath the city.

Today for #LoveDataWeek we're asking what can you do with large datasets? Well, a team a geologists at Aberdeen, led by @seismoamy.bsky.social have started a massive data gathering project aimed at finding effective spots for generating sustainable geothermal heat in the city abdn.site/GTheat

graphic reading 'Love Data Week: February 9-13, 2026' written in tones or red and pink with the o replaced with a pixelated heart

It's #LoveDataWeek and things are heating up with interesting events that you can log into from anywhere. We wanted to highlight talks hosted by @unisouthampton.bsky.social this week, starting this afternoon with friends from @glasgow.ac.uk about their new Petabyte storage system abdn.site/XY0B7

Graphic reading 'Save the Date! Love Data Week February 9-13, 2026' Graphic by the ICPSR re-used with permission

Next week we're celebrating International Love Data Week! This year's theme is 'Where's the Data?' so we'll be thinking about long term digital preservation and repository security.
We'll be posting more next week, but see the official Love Data week site for events and resources abdn.site/3DTA

Logo for Scottish Research Integrity and Culture Week, featuring a map of Scotland showing all the universities joined up as dots on the map

Have you heard? Scottish Research Integrity & Culture Week is less than a month away! Events will take place both all over Scotland and online and will discuss research ethics, open research, career development, and more! Register now!
abdn-research-integrity-and-culture-week.eventsair.site

A large industrial tube filled with diamonds suspended in clear liquid image by Globefill Inc., CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Would you like to publish in or otherwise support the work of Diamond Open Access journals? Check out the Diamond Discovery Hub created by @craft-oa.bsky.social and launched last October. It has a huge listing of journals and an easy search function ddh.diamas.org/en

A young woman is taking notes while watching a lecture on her computer Photo by Annushka Ahuja: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-girl-attending-an-online-class-8055848/

A new term has begun! Check out our guide to finding Open Access resources for help finding teaching materials that will be affordable and accessible to all your students, even online students working from abroad who may not be able to use all e-resources licensed by the university
abdn.site/x8qKf

Two friends laughing and holding onto each other, standing in from of a white aluminum christmas tree with a santa hat on top Photo by Boko Shots: https://www.pexels.com/photo/joyful-friends-celebrating-christmas-indoors-29930171/

On the last day before break our OA community gave to us: a wonderful community!
Thanks to everyone who participates in this endeavour of trying to make the world of research dissemination more open, fair, equitable, and human-centered. It isn't always easy, but it's always better in community🥰

Publisher Agreements | Library | The University of Aberdeen Open Research

On the 2nd day before break the OA community gave to us: our new SciFree Journal Search Tool!
This makes it much easier for authors to figure out which journals they can publish in at no cost, even if they don't have funding. Try it out now!

UKRI developing new research data policy framework New pan-UKRI research data policy framework will maximise the value of data arising from UKRI funding and support an open research and innovation culture.

On the 3rd day before break the OA community gave to us: a brand new draft policy for open data from @ukri.org ! This policy will help support researchers making their data open and incorporating FAIR principles into their data management!

Surges in Party Membership | The SNP and Scottish Greens after the Ind This book presents a comprehensive analysis of a remarkable and unexpected outcome of the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence. Despite defeat in the

Surges in Party Membership: The SNP and Scottish Greens after doi.org/10.4324/9780...
Narrative Objects: Museums, the Sakha Summer Festival, and Cultural Revival in Siberia doi.org/10.4324/9780...
On encountering and holding Reindeer in the Convivial North: www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...

A black and white cat is climbing over stacks of books Photo by Arti Kh: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cat-climbing-a-stack-of-books-22129776/

On the 4th day before break the OA community gave to us: the @ukri.org Open Access Fund for Books!
This funding has dramatically improved many author's ability to publish their books open access. At UoA we've had 2 books and one chapter published through this funding!

A lego guy who looks like a stereotypical lab scientist standing in front of some kind of fancy computer terminal. The image is labelled 'Mad Social Scientist' and the chat bubble reads 'When I push this button the median income for Americans age 17-35 will increase 15% in fiscal year 2020!' Image is by Chris Blakeley, via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

On the 5th day before break the OA community gave to us: the launch of the @morphss.bsky.social project!
MORPHSS is working to push forward open research in the humanities and social sciences by understanding the unique needs of that community, and we can't wait to see what they accomplish!

A pumpkin carved with skeleton hands forming a heart symbol. Meghan Wilson via Liverpool John Moore's University

On the 6th day before break the OA community gave to us: the sheer joy of seeing our 'Carve your PhD contest spread to new institutions! We were thrilled to see all the contestants (and glorious champion) from @ljmuresearch.bsky.social and hope to see even more get in on the fun next year!

The strain on scientific publishing Abstract. Scientists are increasingly overwhelmed by the volume of articles being published. The total number of articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science has grown exponentially in recent years;…

On the 7th day before break, the OA community gave to us: Landmark research into the state of academic publishing. @hansonmark.bsky.social & team produced two papers: 'The Strain/Drain on Scientific Publishing' demonstrating the challenges we face
doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
doi.org/10.48550/arX...

Picture of two students walking through a mid-century modern design library. In the top corner is the logo OJC, subtitled 'Free Access to Hundred of the World's leading academic journals.' Image by the Open Library of the Humanities, CC-BY

On the 8th day before break, the Open Access community in 2025 gave to us: the launch of Open Journals Collective! 🎉
With the mission of expanding community funded open access journals @ojcollective.bsky.social is an important project for future of scholarly publishing www.openjournalscollective.org

For Day 9 we see: The Copim Compass! This comprehensive and continuously updated guide from our friends @copim.bsky.social provides resources for anyone wanting to get involved in Open Access book production be you a: author, publisher, editor, software designer or library
abdn.site/vNQ3U

a man with a red beard is standing next to a stuffed gnome in front of a building . Alt: The Ghost of Christmas Present and Scrooge in his dressing gown from Muppet Christmas Carol are dancing from side to side

There are only 9 more school days before our offices shut for the Holiday break and we're beginning to feel a bit festive!
We're going to do an Advent Calendar/Holiday countdown of sorts celebrating our favourite things that have happened in the world of Open Research in the last year!

Making Open Access Easier: Introducing the SciFree Journal Search Tool <br>Our institution now has a growing number of open access agreements with publishers. These agreements — often called ‘Read and Publish’ or ‘Transitional’ Agreements — allow affiliated researchers t...

We're excited for you to try our newest Open Access tool! Read all about it in our latest blog post
abdn.site/k8ItZ

On a field of snow sit a couple of wrapped presents in red and white. On them sits a little figurine of a happy child with curly pigtails. Photo by Couleur via Pixnio CC0

🎁This year’s top gift for researchers:
A tool that tells UoA researchers exactly which journals they can publish OA in through our institutional publisher agreements.
SciFree Journal Search—saving time and APCs www.abdn.ac.uk/library/open...

Introducing the j-metric: a true measure of what matters in academia Science has become obsessed with publishing numbers. With this new satirical proposal, have we reached peak metric?

'Introducing the j-metric: a true measure of what matters in academia' www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Hmmmm, we're not sure if this one is DORA-compliant, tbh

What do you think, are skewed metrics still dominating academic life, despite our attempts at reform?

A woman with dark curly hair staring at a notebook with her had on her head as if she is confused and headachey by: Flickr user CollegeDegrees360, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Are you confused about the REF2029 open access requirements and how to make sure your work will be eligible? Sign up on coursebooking for our 'ExplORe Session: Guide to the REF2029 Open Access Requirements' and we'll explain it all. Tomorrow at 2PM
📢Only one more day to sign up!🏃
abdn.site/GREF29

Graphic with stylised image of university in background reading, ExplORe Open Research Essentials. Guide to the REF2029 Open Access Requirements. Wednesday 12th of November 2:00-2:45PM

Have the changing guidelines for REF left you confused or uncertain? Join us for a session where we demystify the REF29 Open Access guidelines and teach you everything you need to make sure your research is eligible. Sign up on Coursebooking abdn.site/GREF29

a nightmare before christmas poster that says there 's only 361 days left ' till next halloween Alt: a nightmare before christmas poster that says there 's only 361 days left ' till next halloween

A huge thank you to everyone who participated, either by voting or sending in an entry. If you weren't quite able to make it this year, we hope to see your pumpkins next year!

A turnip decorated with gold and silver paint and fragments of scripture and liturgy along with fragile tape, CC BY by Christopher West

Our runner-up is Christopher West @christophernwest.bsky.social from @abdndivinity.bsky.social with a wonderful neep representing his PhD 'Inordinate Rites: Symbolic Actions in Irish Anglican Ordinations and the God-Talk of the Infrequent Worshipper'

A pumpkin carved to look like the face of a Python surrounded by a decorative border reading 'Carve your PhD 2025 Winner!'

After careful calculation by our most talented number ghouls, we are ready to announce the winner of Carve your PhD 2025: Yujun Wang, from the Computing Science department! Her PhD explores how languages express time and temporal relationships, and how these can be understood by LLMs