• Section 1 - Preamble
• Section 2 - Purpose
• Section 3 - Scope
• Section 4 - Procedure
• Depositing scholarly works, research data and other works
• ARC and NHMRC open access compliance
• Submission of HDR theses
• Research Outputs support
• Copyright
• Embargo periods
• Publisher permissions
• Section 5 - Relevant Definitions
• Section 6 - Non-Compliance

Section 1 - Preamble

(1) Charles Darwin University (‘the University’, ‘CDU’) is committed to maximising the public value of research outputs and supporting researchers to enhance their scholarly profiles. The University achieves this by enabling the deposit of research outputs, including scholarly works and datasets, in the University’s institutional repository.

(2) In accordance with the Open Access Policy, the University conforms to best research practice and complies with the open access requirements of the Australian Research Council (ARC) and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and reporting requirements of Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) and the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC).

Section 2 - Purpose

(3) This document outlines the procedures for depositing research outputs including scholarly works and datasets to the University’s institutional repository.

Section 3 - Scope

(4) This procedure applies to all University staff, Higher Degree by Research candidates and affiliates, where attribution is appropriate.

Section 4 - Procedure

(5) University scholarly works and research data must be submitted into the University’s institutional repository for preservation and open access in accordance with the University’s Open Access Policy.

(6) The University encourages the deposit of other works such as grey literature, the submitted version of a work and works recommended by a relevant Senior Manager or Senior Executive, works produced by staff prior to joining the University, and special collection materials or materials with cultural or historical significance.

(7) The Research Outputs team, in consultation with researchers, will ensure that research outputs deposited into the institutional repository will be made publicly accessible, as far as technical, copyright, privacy and contract restrictions allow. Publications that contain material to be commercialised, confidential or culturally sensitive information, or where the availability of the publication would infringe a legal requirement by the University and/or the author/s, are excluded from the procedure. Where research output especially scholarly works and research data is not able to be deposited or made open access, the University will maintain metadata records for these outputs.

(8) If clarification is required as to how this procedure may be implemented in particular circumstances, advice should be sought from the Research Outputs team prior to submitting research outputs for publication.

Depositing scholarly works, research data and other works

(9) Scholarly works must be deposited into the University’s institutional repository at the time of submission of the accepted version of a manuscript to a publisher. The accepted version of a research output must be deposited even if this version will not become openly accessible.

(10) Scholarly works may be deposited by upload to the institutional repository or by email to research.outputs@cdu.edu.au.

1. Where technical specifications allow, research data with accompanying metadata must be deposited into the institutional repository.
2. Subsequent revisions of an accepted version may also be deposited in the institutional repository by upload or email.

(11) In cases of multiple authorship, the first CDU author must deposit a copy of the accepted version to the institutional repository by self-service upload or emailing the Research Outputs team at research.outputs@cdu.edu.au.

(12) Further information can be found in the Library’s Open Access Guide.

ARC and NHMRC open access compliance

(13) The Research Outputs team will assist the researchers and the Menzies School of Health Research administration with:

1. submissions to ERA and HERDC metadata records and digitised publications to the ARC and Australian Department of Education;
2. storage of metadata records and digitised publications in a retrievable and secure manner; and
3. ensuring metadata records and digitised publications meet the technical, confidentiality and other compliance requirements for storage, harvesting, archiving for reporting purposes.

(14) ARC/NHMRC funded researchers must deposit the accepted version (after refereeing) of their publications into the University’s institutional repository at the time they forward it to the publisher.

(15) Senior Managers and research supervisors must take all reasonable steps to ensure on a regular basis that all researchers funded by ARC or NHMRC are aware in advance of their obligations to ensure research results, including publications, have open access within the guidelines and limitations set out by the ARC and NHMRC.

Submission of HDR theses

(16) Higher Degree by Research students should forward electronic copies of theses and the CDU Thesis Deposit Agreement to the Office of Research and Innovation in accordance with the Higher Degree by Research – Preparation, Submission and Examinations Procedure. Once processed, the Office of Research and Innovation will upload the electronic copy of the thesis and the CDU Thesis Deposit Agreement to the institutional repository.

Research Outputs support

(17) Deposited outputs will be archived in the institutional repository for future reference and will only be made available on open access after the publisher embargo or other copyright requirements have been met.

(18) Self-service depositing enables self-archiving and provides authors a form to record specific access details and publication agreements.

(19) The Research Outputs team will check for embargo and copyright compliance before making the final record Open Access.

(20) The Research Outputs team will provide information and advice to authors to support the deposit of scholarly works and research outputs, including:

1. appropriate open access of outputs with author permission and in accordance with relevant legal obligations and policy requirements;
2. which version of research output and which documentation to deposit;
3. how to deposit research outputs and related documentation in the institutional repository;
4. how to deposit relevant metadata for research datasets;
5. acquisition of publisher versions from publisher or other sites when appropriate;
6. indicating any pre-publication versions for potential readers;
7. information on how to retain the copyright of work and not assign exclusive rights to any third party; and
8. compliance with copyright and other legal requirements and open access principles as found in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018, the ARC Open Access Policy and the NHMRC Open Access Policy statements.

(21) The version of record of a scholarly work may be deposited in the institutional repository in addition to the accepted version.

Copyright

(22) The copyright of any material deposited in the University’s institutional repository is retained by the author or creator. The repository exists to preserve and make available that material, but it does not assume ownership rights.

(23) Depositing an item into the institutional repository does not change any copyright agreements made at the time of publication, or the author’s rights for unpublished material.

Embargo periods

(24) Where an embargo period is imposed by copyright owners, authors and creators can still deposit research materials in the institutional repository. The Research Outputs team will ensure closed access pending the expiry of embargo periods and other legal obligations, then automatically make the materials visible and accessible in the institutional repository at the end of the embargo period.

Publisher permissions

(25) Research data and primary research materials will only be made open access to the public with the permission of the owner of the research material. Authors and creators are responsible for confirming that deposited material in the institutional repository does not breach any agreement made with a third party in relation to the research. Where possible, the Research Outputs team will provide a link from the metadata to the article’s location on the publisher's site.

(26) The Research Outputs team will check that the publisher allows author self-archiving before uploading deposited material to the institutional repository.

(27) In cases where a publisher does not permit self-archiving, depositors will be required to gain permission to deposit their material in the institutional repository.

(28) If there is any dispute over the appearance of a publication in the institutional repository, the Research Outputs team will remove the item until the dispute is resolved.

(29) If this permission is not provided, a full copy of the research material will not be accepted; however, a record of the publication metadata, including bibliographic information, must be provided.

Section 5 - Relevant Definitions

(30) In the context of this document:

1. Accepted version means a manuscript that has been corrected after peer review and sent to a publisher for publication. This is also known as a post-print. Sometimes a publisher may ask for further editing to an accepted version. For the purposes of deposit with the institutional repository, only the initial accepted version is required;
2. Metadata means the structured description of bibliographic data such as the title and authorship of a resource, for example, book, article, image or video in an institutional repository;
3. Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) means the national evaluation program for the quality of Australian research by eligible institutions. It is administered by the Australian Research Council to evaluate the quality of the research undertaken in Australian universities against national and international benchmarks;
4. Grey literature means informally published written material such as reports, patents, and technical reports from government agencies or scientific research groups, working papers from research groups or committees, and white papers;
5. HDR means Higher Degree by Research and includes PhD Candidates, Masters by Research Candidates and Research Professional Doctorate Candidates;
6. Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) means the research income and publication data submitted by universities each year to the Australian Government;
7. Institutional repository means the software system for centralising, preserving and disseminating in electronic form, the knowledge generated by the University. The University’s institutional repository is called CDU eSpace. The institutional repository is distinct from other services such as student course work, which operate on the same software;
8. Research Outputs team means the team of Library and Office of Research and Innovation staff responsible for the management of the University’s institutional repository;
9. Open access means the practice of providing unrestricted access via the internet to peer-reviewed scholarly works such as theses, journal articles, scholarly monographs and chapters;
10. Publisher or published version means the formally published version of a research output that includes publisher contributed copy-editing, proof corrections, layout, and typesetting. This is also known as the Version of Record. A publisher normally sends a copy of the publisher version to the author and this is known as the author version or author record;
11. Research data means all data which is created by researchers in the course of their work, and for which the institution has a curatorial responsibility for at least as long as the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018 and relevant archives/record keeping acts require, and third-party data which may have originated within the institution or come from elsewhere;
12. Scholarly work means original intellectual work that is validated by peers where at least one (1) of the authors or creators of the research output or other eligible type of material is a University staff member or postgraduate student at the time of the deposit or at the time the work was produced;
13. Submitted version means a manuscript that has been sent to a publisher for consideration prior to peer-review and/or placed on a pre-print server for academic discussion. This is also referred to as a pre-print; and
14. Version of Record is the reviewed and accepted manuscript with publisher contributed copy-editing, proof corrections, layout, and typesetting included. This is also known as the publisher or published version. A publisher normally sends a copy of the version of record to the author and this is known as the author version or author record.

Section 6 - Non-Compliance

(31) Non-compliance with Governance Documents is considered a breach of the Code of Conduct – Staff or the Code of Conduct – Students, as applicable, and is treated seriously by the University. Reports of concerns about non-compliance will be managed in accordance with the applicable disciplinary procedures outlined in the Charles Darwin University and Union Enterprise Agreement 2022 and the Code of Conduct – Students.

(32) Complaints may be raised in accordance with the Code of Conduct – Staff and Code of Conduct - Students.

(33) All staff members have an individual responsibility to raise any suspicion, allegation or report of fraud or corruption in accordance with the Fraud and Corruption Control Policy and Whistleblower Reporting (Improper Conduct) Procedure.