The Library and Information Service has signed agreements with a number of publishers that make it easier for SU researchers to publish open access (OA), and in some cases to even publish OA without paying any article processing charge (APC). Many of these agreements have been negotiated by the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLiC), of which Stellenbosch University is a member. Herewith is a list of new and recently updated agreements with publishers.

Royal Society of Chemistry Platinum Agreement (2024-2027)

The Library and Information Service has signed a four-year agreement (2024-2027) with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). This agreement allows authors affiliated with Stellenbosch University to publish open access in any of the RSC journals without paying article processing charges. The Royal Society of Chemistry consists of journals that cover the core chemical sciences and related fields such as biology, energy and the environment, engineering, materials, medicine, and physics. There is no limit on the number of articles that can be published open access by authors affiliated with Stellenbosch University. To read more about the titles that are part of the agreement, please visit https://libguides.sun.ac.za/c.php?g=1232541&p=9019731.

SAGE Publishing

This agreement commenced in 2022 and has been renewed for three years (2025-2027).

SAGE is an independent academic and professional publisher of journals, books and electronic media spanning a wide range of subjects. The SAGE SANLiC agreement provides access to SAGE Premier journals collection of over 1,100 titles and permits affiliated authors to publish open access in the hybrid titles listed in the SAGE SANLiC agreement without paying article processing charges.

Fully open access titles: eligible corresponding authors will receive a discount of 20% on SAGE’s fully open access portfolio of titles. Please Click here to see the list of Gold open access titles. There are a few titles where SAGE is contractually prevented from offering open access publishing. A list of excluded journals is available from the publishers

Cambridge University Press (CUP)

This agreement commenced in 2021 and has been renewed for three years (2025-2027). Cambridge University Press (CUP) currently publishes over 400 peer-reviewed scholarly journals, of which 330 are hybrid journals and 40 are gold open-access journals. Participating institutions receive access to CUP’s full collection and affiliated authors can also publish in most hybrid and gold open-access Cambridge Universit Press journals without paying article processing charges (APCs).

Emerald

 This agreement commenced in 2022 and has been renewed for three years (2022-2027). Emerald publishes over 300 scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. The Emerald/SANLiC agreement for 2025-2027 is a transformational open-access agreement that provides read access to the collection that Stellenbosch University subscribes to and authors affiliated with the institution can publish a capped number of articles open access at no extra charge

Oxford University Press

This is a three-year agreement (2025-2027) where read access is provided to OUP’s full collection of more than 370 journals. Affiliated authors can publish open access in OUP’s hybrid journals without paying APCs. In addition, there is a 10% discount on APCs for publishing in OUP’s gold open-access titles.

See the full list of agreements in the Open Access Publishing library guide.

Author and contact person: Sakhile Mngomezulu

With a new and exciting year ahead, SUNScholar is ready for the submission of theses or dissertations to Thesis management.

Due to the many changes taking place last year, Thesis management can seem overwhelming. However, there are dedicated staff ready to assist with the three-step process of completing those final steps before graduation.

Part of last year’s changes include the perpetual availability of Thesis management throughout the year.  Therefore, there will be no waiting period as to when a graduate can be nominated on the system.  That said, the cut-off date for the final nomination of a student, the submission of a thesis/dissertation, and the approval of said submission will remain.

The cut-off dates for each graduation period are as follows:

• March/April 2025 graduation: closing date is 4 March 2025
• December 2025 graduation: closing date is 27 November 2025

Please follow this process:

1. The final thesis or dissertation must be submitted in PDF format.
2. Log onto SUNStudent Academia.
3. Click on Examinations, then click Thesis Management.
4. The supervisor/promoter or administrative staff nominates the candidate.
5. Please make use of Remarks to indicate the month and year of graduation.
6. The thesis/dissertation is uploaded by the supervisor/promoter or administrative staff.
7. The supervisor/promoter or administrative staff approves the submission.
8. The thesis/dissertation will be publicly accessible on SUNScholar following graduation, provided that no restrictions apply.

Please note that if you do not have access to SUNStudent access can be provisioned by following these steps:

1. Please access the SUNStudent Service Desk here.
2. The tile marked ‘user access management’ is the section that allows users to complete their user role access request.

For more information and assistance see here.

Please join us on 12 February when we present an online training webinar on Thesis management.  Please book via the the Training platform for staff.  Herewith is the link to make a booking.

Author: Paulette Talliard

Since its inception, SUNScholarData has been a game-changer in Stellenbosch University’s research landscape. As the institution’s official research data repository, SUNScholarData provides a secure, structured, and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) platform for researchers to store, manage, and openly share their datasets with the research community and the broader academic ecosystem.

SUNScholarData has significantly contributed to the visibility of research outputs by ensuring that datasets are assigned unique Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs). This feature enhances the discoverability of research and promotes collaboration among scholars within and beyond the institution. Making data openly accessible allows researchers to boost citations and contribute to the global research community. Funders require proper research data management, and SUNScholarData serves as a crucial tool in ensuring compliance. It aligns with institutional policies on Research Data Management (RDM) and supports researchers in adhering to best practices and fostering a culture of responsible data stewardship.

Supporting Data Integrity and Long-Term Preservation

Preserving research data is vital for verification, replication, and continued inquiry. SUNScholarData provides a robust infrastructure that ensures long-term preservation, mitigating risks of data loss while maintaining the integrity of research outputs. This has proven particularly valuable for multi-year and interdisciplinary projects. Through training initiatives such as SunDMP Wednesdays and RDM workshops, Stellenbosch University Library has equipped emerging researchers with essential skills to manage their data effectively. By utilizing SUNScholarData, these researchers gain hands-on experience in data documentation, licensing, and sharing, positioning them for success in an increasingly data-driven academic environment.

SUNScholarData growing in leaps and bounds

The diagram below shows the usage statistics of the SU institutional data repository since 2020-2021.

SUNScholarData: Growth in views, downloads and depositors

The annual statistics indicate a substantial increase in engagement and data contributions over the five-year period from 2020 to 2024. The number of views has grown significantly, from 7,960 in 2020 to 53,755 in 2024, demonstrating a heightened awareness and utilisation of the repository. Similarly, downloads have steadily increased from 1,764 to 7,152, suggesting that researchers and other stakeholders are actively accessing and utilising the shared datasets. The rise in depositors, from 15 in 2020 to 47 in 2024, highlights a growing culture of data sharing and open access research. These trends suggest a positive trajectory in research data management adoption, aligning with broader global movements towards open science.

What’s Next for SUNScholarData?

Integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into SUNScholarData marks a significant step in aligning Stellenbosch University’s research outputs with global sustainability priorities. By introducing an SDG selection feature, researchers will now be able to explicitly link their datasets to specific SDGs during submission. This initiative focuses on all the goals, from SDG 1 to SDG 17.

Additionally, a retroactive tagging project will ensure that existing datasets are updated with relevant SDG metadata, while datasets harvested from external platforms like PLOS ONE and Mendeley Data will also be integrated where possible. This enhancement not only increases the visibility of the university’s contributions to global challenges but also fosters collaboration, compliance with international frameworks, and opportunities for funding and recognition.

Author: Xabiso Xesi

Stellenbosch University is at the forefront of advancing open scholarship through its commitment to Diamond Open Access. This model eliminates financial barriers for both authors and readers and transforming the way knowledge is shared and accessed. From hosting open-access journals on the SUNJournals platform to plans for a dedicated monographs platform, Stellenbosch is ensuring that research outputs are freely accessible to all.

The University of Cape Town hosted a very informative conference on the 9-13 of December 2024. This conference afforded Open Science advocates the opportunity to interact and discuss issues around diamond open access and initiatives that exist to promote diamond open access. Diamond’s open-access existence revolves around ensuring that research output remains a public good, which must be produced and accessible without any form of restrictions. Making research outputs/knowledge freely accessible through open-access publishing contributes immensely to social justice by ensuring equitable access. Open science advocates from all parts of the world got a chance to interact and discuss the best practices to promote open access. Academic libraries have a critical role in ensuring equitable access to knowledge, and diamond open access aims to remove financial barriers and encourage equitable access to both the author and the reader. Access to knowledge remains a critical aspect in societies and academic institutions are at the forefront of ensuring that knowledge produced matches knowledge consumption. Diamond’s open access aims to eradicate APCs as a financial barrier to knowledge production. Novice and well-established authors have had to pay article processing charges to publish articles, and diamond open access emanates a great opportunity to publish without any barriers.

Article processing charges (APCs) are mostly in Euros and authors from the global south find it expensive to publish, and that harms knowledge production. Africa is rich in knowledge; through diamond open access, authors can publish on indigenous knowledge and issues that are related to our societal issues. Diamond open access is often associated with predatory publishing; however, it is a model where publications are freely available to readers at no cost and authors do not have to pay APCs for publishing. To ensure the quality of the outputs, transparency, and reliability, diamond open access platforms peer-review their research outputs. To promote diamond open access, institutions have introduced platforms to host journals and monographs to ensure that researchers can publish without paying APCs. Diamond open access also plays a vital role in the decolonization of the publishing model; it ensures that perspectives from marginalized societies have a platform and are not excluded. It offers publishing in a variety of languages, which allows wider accessibility and sharing of knowledge in its original form. Diamond open access is not here to replace traditional publishing models but to provide an alternative for publishing scholarly outputs to authors who cannot afford APCs and to promote equity and justice where authors from diverse communities have equal opportunities to publish.

Establishing Diamond Open Access Platforms at Stellenbosch University:

Open Journal system (SUNJournals)

It is a publishing platform built on open-source software for managing and publishing scholarly journals. Sun Journals hosts 27 journals on different subjects to allow authors from different disciplines to publish for free and provide free access to the readers. Authors are encouraged to make use of the SUN journals platform, targeting first-year students, researchers, postgraduates, and academic staff interested in publishing. The good thing about OJS is that it can be integrated with green open-access platforms, e.g., SunScholar, to enhance the dissemination of research. The platform is free to both the reader and the author but that doesn’t exclude the peer review process to ensure that outputs are of a high quality and reliable.

Monographs platform

A few institutions in South Africa have already established their monograph platforms to enable authors to publish a variety of books in a variety of languages. This platform offers authors a great opportunity to publish more about indigenous knowledge that is freely accessible to the readers and has no cost of publication for the author. This platform promotes wider dissemination of knowledge, equitable access, and free access for all without restrictions. The Stellenbosch Library plans to establish its own monographs platform as part of diamond open access to ensure that we have a community-driven publishing platform that eliminates all barriers involved in publishing. The monograph platform will promote improved research impact and equitable access compared to traditional publishing models and make scholarly research freely accessible to a wider audience.

Conclusion
Diamond Open Access represents a transformative shift in academic publishing, promoting equity, decolonization, and unrestricted access to knowledge. Stellenbosch University’s initiatives, such as SUNJournals and plans for a monograph’s platform, exemplify its commitment to advancing open scholarship. By eliminating financial barriers and fostering inclusive publishing, Diamond Open Access ensures that diverse voices are heard, and knowledge is shared freely. Let’s continue to support and expand these efforts, creating a more just and accessible future for scholarly communication.

Authors: Sakhile Mngomezulu, Xabiso Xesi

The Primo Research Assistant has launched on the SU Library Search . This generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool – using OpenAI’s GPT–4o mini’s Large Language Model (LLM) – enables users to research a topic in natural language, using library and expanded academic electronic resources. In the process of retrieving results, it summarises the most pertinent information from the five top-ranked articles or other e-resources that can best address your question. It allows you to expand to more results where you can either tweak the Boolean query or filter your results to find more verified sources to assist in your research.

Phrase your question to give enough context as the assistant does not (yet) allow follow-up questions. The assistant now saves your questions between sessions. Access this tool by logging in on Library Search, the search function on the library home page.

Please note that you have to click on this feature in Library Search to use it, see the two options marked with yellow circles below:

Read more about this feature here: Getting started with Primo Research Assistant 

Read this detailed review of the Primo Research Assistant by Aaron Tay.

Enquiries or feedback: Natasja Malherbe, Tel: 021 808 2845

SUNScholarData is Stellenbosch University’s institutional research data repository, has taken a pivotal step toward supporting global sustainable development initiatives. By integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into our data repository framework, the University is fostering research that not only advances knowledge but also contributes to solving real-world challenges.

Through this integration, SU researchers can now tag datasets, publications, and research outputs based on their relevance to one or more of the 17 SDGs. This development enables SUNScholarData to serve as a repository not only for preserving research data but also for amplifying research impact by linking outputs to international sustainability objectives.

Aligning Research with Global Impact

The inclusion of SDG tagging in SUNScholarData encourages researchers to connect their work with broader societal goals. By categorizing research outputs according to specific SDGs, this feature aims to make sustainable research contributions more visible and accessible to both local and global audiences. This convergence with global agendas demonstrates our institution’s dedication to tackling critical societal issues through academic research and innovation.

How SUNScholarData Supports Interdisciplinary Collaboration

By enabling SDG tagging, SUNScholarData provides a platform where researchers from diverse fields can easily identify studies addressing similar goals, regardless of discipline. This feature fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, promoting comprehensive approaches to complex global issues and advancing innovation across fields. SUNScholarData thus not only host research but also becomes a bridge that brings scholars together to tackle shared challenges.

Library Support and Guidance

SUNScholarData’s integration of SDGs reaffirms our dedication to fostering a research environment that is innovative, ethical, and globally conscious. We encourage all researchers to make use of this feature and join us in advancing research that contributes to a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive future.

Please contact Sizwe Ngcobo or Xabiso Xesi at rdm@sun.ac.za for any inquiries.

Authors: Xabiso Xesi and Sizwe Ngcobo

To measure research impact is an increasingly important aspect in securing government funding for research activity, NRF rating, institutional ranking and the management of research output within the university sector. This has placed considerable emphasis on tracking citations of a researcher’s published works and publishing within highly-ranked journals.

What is Research Impact?

Broadly speaking, the impact of research can be academic or societal and therefore can occur within academia or beyond it. Impact has academic, societal and economic elements, which are defined as follows by the University College Dublin, in their Research Impact Toolkit:

Academic impact is the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to academic advances, across and within disciplines, including significant advances in understanding, method, theory and application.

Societal and economic impact is the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy, of benefit to individuals, organisations and nations. This is a broad definition and research can contribute to society in many ways.

Read more in the Research Impact library guide

How do you measure Research Impact?

Tracking citations of a researcher’s published works is only one way of measuring research impact. This can be done using author metrics, article metrics and journal metrics. These are found in databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, Dimensions, Google Scholar, etc. Altmetrics could also be used to get input about the number of tweets or mentions in blog posts, etc.

It is important to note that researchers cannot rely only on metrics or indicators to determine impact. Julie Bayley describes in her book, Creating Meaningful Impact: The Essential Guide to Developing an Impact-literate Mindset, that “impact is the changes we can see (demonstrate, measure and capture), beyond academia (in society, economy, environment or elsewhere) which happen because of our research (caused by, contributed to and attributable to)… but ultimately is about connecting academic research to changes in the real world.” (p.11)

A researcher’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals could therefore also be a good indication of his/her impact in the real world, but only if those works have been used to make a difference.

What type of metrics could be included in a researcher impact report?

The Library offers Researcher Impact Reports which give you an overview of your citation data from different databases and a more in-depth Power Bi report which will include information on co-authorship, contribution to SDGs, subject areas and many more. A SciVal report will also be included which give you a broad overview of your metrics, but also more specific information about international collaboration and your specific subject areas.  It is important to not look at only the basic metrics such as the H-Index, but look at a broader snapshot of what your impact might be. Please note that these are only indicators and do not necessarily measure impact “in the real world”.

How do I request a Research Impact report?

You are welcome to request a report from your faculty librarian or contact Marié Roux to coordinate the request.

Why do we refer to the responsible use of metrics?

It is best practice that quantitative evaluation (metrics, numbers and indicators) should only support qualitative and expert assessment and not the other way around. Institutions and funders evaluate researchers often only by one or two indicators, such as the H-Index. There are many reasons why this is not a responsible way to measure research impact.

Read more in the Research Impact library guide

How can you improve your impact as a researcher?

A previous blog post of 2024 summarises the answer to this question: Improve the impact of your research.

Please contact Marié Roux for any further questions.

Or consult the Library Guide on Research Impact.

On 24 October 2024, Stellenbosch University (SU) Library celebrated International Open Access Week with a hybrid event focusing on the theme “Community Over Commercialisation.” Held in the SU Library Auditorium and streamed online, the event featured a panel discussion facilitated by the SU Library’s Director of Research Services, Dr. Siviwe Bangani. The panel included insights from influential voices in Open Science, both locally and internationally.

On SU’s Open Access Commitment

Opening the Discussion, Ms Ellen R. Tise, Senior Director: Library and Information Services, highlighted the university’s longstanding commitment to Open Access, from signing the Berlin Declaration in 2010, hosting Africa’s first Berlin Open Access Conference in 2012, and the Open Repositories conference in 2023. She spoke about the financial challenges, such as high subscription fees and fluctuations in local currency, that limit access for South African institutions. Tise also underscored the inequalities caused by “double dipping,” where publicly funded research becomes costly for the researchers themselves. She stressed that Open Access is essential for ensuring that African scholarship reaches a global audience.

Connecting Scholarship with Society

Prof. Marena Manley from SU’s Food Science department discussed how Open Access extends research impact beyond academia to benefit society. “It’s not just for other researchers; Open Access reaches the public,” she noted. Prof. Manley also emphasised quality control in Open Access publications, advocating for “open reviews” that involve public engagement to ensure research remains relevant and accessible. She highlighted the value of peer review and community feedback in maintaining high standards, comparable to those of traditional journals.

Reclaiming Scholarship: Challenging the Commercialisation of Knowledge

Dr. Reggie Raju, Director: Research & Learning, University of Cape Town (UCT), spoke on the dominance of commercial publishers, arguing that scholarship should be a public good rather than a profit-driven commodity. He referenced initiatives like Diamond Open Access (DOA) as viable paths for reclaiming academic publishing from commercial interests. DOA is an open access publishing model where research is made freely available to readers and authors pay no Article Processing Charges (APCs) to publish. This model is often supported by institutions (including through Institutional repositories) or sponsors. DOA promotes equitable access to knowledge by removing financial barriers for both authors and readers. Dr. Raju also mentioned a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. against major publishers for allegedly blocking Open Access alternatives, which he sees as a critical step in restoring accessibility.

Furthermore, Raju was asked about the challenges unique to Global South researchers, who often feel pressured to align with Global North priorities. He described how “research pilgrimage” affects local relevance and noted the prohibitive costs of APCs for many South African researchers. He encouraged collaborations that would enable Global South academics to publish without high costs.

Policy and Inclusivity

In response to a question on policy’s role in mitigating commercial influence, Jeroen Sondervan, Programme Leader Open Scholarly Communication, Open Science NL at the Dutch Research Council (NWO) highlighted transformative agreements and policy reforms as essential. He advocated for Diamond Open Access to promote inclusive publishing, suggesting that funding for Open Access infrastructure could reduce reliance on traditional metrics such as citations and h-index. To this, Dr. Raju added that policy change should include revisiting institutional reward systems to recognise Open Access contributions.

From Local to Global Impact: Open Access and the SDGs

Reflecting on Open Access’s broader role, Ms Tise linked it to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting its importance in education, health, poverty alleviation, and climate change. She noted how Open Access enabled rapid dissemination of COVID-19 research, emphasising that unrestricted access to information empowers communities to address societal challenges. However, she cautioned against the trend of rising publisher fees, which threaten accessibility.

Tise pointed out the need for ongoing education about Open Access models, which are constantly evolving. While libraries provide updates, she acknowledged that many researchers still struggle to navigate the options. She urged for simpler, more standardised Open Access agreements and encouraged researchers to look beyond traditional, high-prestige journals, noting initiatives like Diamond Open Access that promote free-to-publish and free-to-read models.

A Call to Action

The panel concluded with a shared commitment to foster Open Access policies that prioritise equity and community impact. As SU continues its advocacy, the event highlighted the transformative potential of Open Access to make research more inclusive, accessible, and beneficial for society.

Celebrating our International Open Access Week 2024 event at Stellenbosch University. Top Left: Mr. Jeroen Sondervan; Top Right: Ms. Mimi Seyffert-Wirth, Ms. Ellen R. Tise, Prof. Marena Manley, Dr. Siviwe Bangani; Bottom Left: Online attendees; Bottom Right: Dr. Reggie Raju

Author: Theresa Schoeman

Gallagher, J.R. 2024. Case Study Research in the Digital Age. Abingdon, Oxon; Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781003402169.

The advent of information technologies (IT) has drastically changed modern life. IT has impacted how society works, for instance, writing and reading are now predominantly done on computers, instead of paper. The development of the internet further emphasises the transformational impact of IT, on daily lives, to most, unimaginably with their smart cellular phones. This era, termed the Digital Age, and sometimes, the Information Society, is characterised by rapid and constant changes in all aspects of society. This book intends to demonstrate how this digital age has permeated case studies in scientific research. Gallager argues that case study research needs to be reconsidered and updated to fit with the digital nature of modern human life. In an elaborate development of his argument, Gallagher, convincingly unpacks case study research, and recontextualizes it in the digital context.

Drawing on the author’s more than twenty years experience as a Writing and Rhetoric researcher, and affiliated with Information Science, at the University of Urbana-Champaign, the book foregrounds its theoretical rationale in the ‘Introduction’. The rationale is further developed in Chapter 1, which deals with definitions and the book’s central theme, entities [own emphasis]. In Chapter 2, a link is created between ‘Iterative bounding’ and digital research, to develop the book’s conceptual framework. Data collection, phrased as ‘collections practices’, is explained in Chapter 3. Logically, data analysis in digital case studies follows, in Chapter 4, which is divided into four parts. Chapter 5 concentrates on ethics, this chapter can be read before data collection and analysis, as it is applicable throughout the research process. Special considerations in ‘Writing and visualizing the digital case’, are explained in Chapter 6. The book concludes by noting the emergence of artificial intelligence and its potential implications on case study research.

Gallagher argues that the current digital age requires reimagining case studies, not just as a method or technique, but also as methodology. The advantage of marrying case study with digital research is motivated. Both can be understood as complex, messy, and flexible boundaries (Gallagher, 2024:3). The rationale for the book is justified by claiming that most prominent literature on case studies has not considered the digital networked nature of the modern, and therefore the
“…approaches of these books can be applied to… digital context but their frameworks are not explicitly designed for such contexts.” (Gallagher, 2024:4). Crucially the book motivates for replacing ‘unit of analysis’ with ‘entity’ as the central concept in case studies. It maintains that the term unit connotates a bounded reality, which does not suit the messy and porous boundaries of modern life, because of networked information technologies.

Although the argument is well explained, it was challenging to grasp how this necessitated reconceptualizing case studies entirely as digital phenomena. The argument of the book, to review case study in the digital pervasive human existence, is further developed in the latter chapters of the book by providing examples to demonstrate the inadequacy of the positivist bounded holism case study approaches, as espoused by Stake (1995) and Yin (2009) (Gallagher, 2024:39). Although the book adds additional digital dimensions to case studies, such as web-scraping boundaries (Gallagher, 2024:86) and facets of digital data boundaries (Gallagher, 2024:93), it does concede that the traditional case study approach should not be discarded. The book integrates the traditional qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques, for instance, workflow boundaries (Gallagher, 2024:100), data cleaning boundaries (Gallagher, 2024:105), with digital affordances, such as topic modelling using computer algorithms, and identifying themes, through machine learning language models. However, these digital additions, seem to be related to practicalities, and may not explain the call to, for instance, replace ‘unit of study’ with ‘entity’, as argued.

The concept of adapting case study as a methodology to align with the flexible, boundless and networked digital world advanced by Gallager, is timely. Especially, as the author noted, with the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and the ethical questions around bias, because of scraping the existing unbalanced content on the internet, as well as distinguishing between human and machine writing (Gallagher, 2024:121). The thesis of the book will be of interest to researchers and students involved in case study research, and research generally, as it foregrounds digital research, which is a fact of modern-day research life.

Author: Joseph Mangadi, Faculty Librarian: Science