Research data management is a core part of responsible research conduct; it covers the entire research data lifecycle and ensures the integrity, confidentiality and availability of research data.  Within the legislative realm of data protection, researchers need to understand their role and responsibilities in terms of various legislation and regulatory guidelines on protection of data, most notably the South African Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). It is for this purpose that the University developed and adopted research data management regulations for researchers. These regulations are aligned with the FAIR Principles (data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), which serve as the international standard for Open Data and Open Science. The aim of these principles is to ensure that research data remains accessible and usable not only during the research lifecycle but also after the project concludes, promoting the sustainability of academic contributions.

The RDM regulations are not designed to lock research data away but rather to strike a balance between safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring ease of access for future research.

Why SU RDM regulations are crucial

SU researchers are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with these regulations, as they play a pivotal role in the proper planning, handling, and management of research data. The importance of adhering to these guidelines extends far beyond SU’s borders. The RDM regulations integrate a range of existing policies and legislations, both at the national and international levels, reflecting the complex landscape of data governance. These include national legislation, policies from research funders, regional and local guidelines, institutional policies, discipline-specific community standards, and publication-specific policies (journal requirements).

Given the diversity of data policies across these sources, researchers often find it challenging to remain compliant, especially regarding local institutional rules such as SU’s RDM regulations. This uncertainty is more prevalent in fields where data practices are less regulated. The SU RDM regulations seek to eliminate this ambiguity by equipping researchers with the knowledge and tools needed to manage their data effectively, ensuring both compliance and ethical data use.

Support and advocacy through the Library and Information Service

The  Library offers a wide range of support services to assist researchers with RDM, including guidance available through the RDM LibGuide. These resources help ensure that research data is properly managed in alignment with the institution’s standards and broader legislative requirements. To facilitate compliance with these regulations, the library services provide researchers with SunDMP, a data management planning tool designed to help structure and plan for responsible data handling throughout the research process. Moreover, research data can be stored and shared in SUNScholarData, SU’s institutional data repository, which ensures long-term preservation and access to data in line with global best practices.

SU’s RDM regulations advocate for the sharing of research data as a means of promoting scholarly communication, transparency in research, and maximizing the return on resources invested in SU’s research efforts. By encouraging the open sharing of data, these regulations support a collaborative research environment, where data is not just a byproduct of research, but a resource that amplifies the impact and reach of SU’s contributions to global knowledge.

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

In light of celebrating democracy in 2024, the Library will be hosting the 14^th Annual Manuscript Lecture as part of the Woordfees on 1 October at 12:00 in the SU Library auditorium. The theme of the lecture is “Democracy through the lens of primary documents at Special Collections” and will feature a panel discussion on democracy through the lens of primary documents at Special Collections. Participants will be asked, inter alia, to reflect on their interaction with primary resources.

Dr Marietjie Oelofsen, former IDASA member and current project manager at the Stellenbosch University Museum will facilitate the panel discussion. The invited participants are Riaan de Villiers, journalist, political researcher and author, Sherie Vollenhoven and Nkululeko Ndlovu, both BA Hons Journalism students. The event will also include a viewing of the democracy exhibition.

In celebration of 30 years of democracy and South Africa, the SU Library is currently presenting an exhibition, titled 1994–2024 – Democracy in South Africa: A History Told by Unique Library Collections, in front of the Learning Commons on the upper floor. The exhibition showcases rare and historically significant items from collections in the Special Collections division that chronicle the nation’s journey to democracy.

The exhibition focuses specifically on recently acquired collections that reflect a more comprehensive view of South Africa’s history, focusing on the road to democracy and decisive moments in the nation’s history. The exhibition is by no means an exhaustive expression of recent history as it is based on collections curated by the Library.

One of the main aims of the exhibition is to highlight the research value of manuscript collections. Researching these may lead to a deeper understanding of the historical context that led to the establishment of democracy in 1994. Some of the collections featured, for example, the Foreign Debt Collection of 1985/86, contains rare documents that have not previously been examined and can shed light on the impact that negotiating the country’s foreign debt in the 1980’s had on the eventual release of Nelson Mandela.

Some of the highlights of the exhibition include:

• Handwritten excerpt from “A prayer for the ANC” by Beyers Naudé, 1994.
• A letter from Nelson Mandela indicating that the renegotiation of South African debt overseas in the 1980s played a major role in his liberation –an item from the South African Foreign Debt collection, 1985/1986.
• The Frederik van Zyl Slabbert collection with various interesting items relating to his resignation from Parliament, views on apartheid and the need for reform debate.
• The IDASA collection, focusing on material related to voter education before the 1994 election.

Author: Mimi Seyffert-Wirth

Stellenbosch University’s Library and Information Service is committed to advancing open science by implementing innovative services that support researchers, academics, and all stakeholders in the scholarly publishing process. Over the years, the Library has implemented several initiatives to promote open science/access. These include the celebration of the  International Open Access Week, an annual event where open access advocates share innovative ideas about developments in the open science/access sphere.

This year the Library’s International Open Access Week event will be celebrated in October. It will consist of a panel discussion of 3 researchers which will help increase awareness about the advantages of open science/access. Other SU open access initiatives include SunScholar, which is Stellenbosch University’s institutional repository that supports openness and dissemination of scholarly publication to wider audience with very limited access restrictions. This repository consists of theses and dissertations, journal papers, conference papers and many other types of research outputs. Another repository, SUNDigital Collections showcases digital content from the Library and Information Service’s unique digital and cultural heritage collections, while SUNScholarData is used for the registration, archival storage, sharing and dissemination of research data produced or collected about research conducted under the auspices of Stellenbosch University. The Stellenbosch University is also part of the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLiC), which signed “Read and Publish” (transformational) agreements with publishers. These agreements aim to open opportunities for SU researchers to publish open access without paying article processing charges (APCs). So far, 16 publishers allow SU researchers to publish in all hybrid journals at no APCs and in selected fully open access journals, at a discount. We continue to encourage researchers to educate themselves about the different open access options.  Open access increases the visibility and impact of research published at SU. However, we understand that new models of publishing come with their challenges. Not every researcher understands the role and benefits of OA. As such, the Library has been involved in various innovative initiatives that seek to introduce the open access publishing model to researchers.

One such innovation is the recently launched #BeOpenAccessSmart webinar series which commenced with an inaugural webinar on 17 September 2024. With the introduction of the webinar series, the library aims to consolidate its role as one of the foremost critical thought leaders in the open science arena. The webinar will strengthen the Library’s advocacy role for open science and ensure that scholars understand its benefits. Open Science initiatives typically seek to democratically provide knowledge, promote collaboration, and support the advancement of scientific innovation without any financial and access hindrances.

Ms Ellen Tise, the Senior Director of the Library, officially launched the #BeOpenAccessSmart webinar series and both internal and external attendees had the opportunity to learn more about open access/science. Conducted by Mr Thanos Giannakopoulos, from the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library, the title of the inaugural presentation was “(G)AI, Open Access, and Sustainable Development: The Evolving Role of Libraries in a Transforming World.” The focus was on the intersection of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), open access (OA), and sustainable development. Among other themes, the webinar explored the evolving role of libraries in promoting AI literacy, safeguarding data privacy, elevating the need to mitigate bias, and fostering OA for all. Mr Giannakopoulos stipulated that libraries play a critical role in mitigating misinformation and raising awareness about challenges like privacy, bias, and the environmental impact of generative AI in relation to sustainable human development. He further alluded that libraries should ensure that AI tools are accessible globally, particularly for underdeveloped regions. He warned that generative AI poses risks associated with misuse and abuse of personal data, among other concerns. It is the role of libraries, working with different stakeholders, to ensure responsible AI use. These libraries must advocate for sustainable and ethical AI practices aligned with sustainable development goals.

Meanwhile 460 registrations from about 23 countries were received for the webinar of which at least 180 people attended. Attendees alluded that Mr Thanos’ presentation greatly enriched their understanding of how these dynamic fields are shaping the future and the pivotal role libraries play in this transformation. Libraries are at the centre of the OA movement, and their role is to dissect the open science or OA concept and ensure that researchers are well-informed and educated on the issues of open science/access.

The Library hopes that these webinars will be a cornerstone for the scholarly communication landscape by providing essential education and support to researchers navigating the complexities of open science/access publishing.

Please contact Sakhile Mngomezulu for any assistance with Open Access publishing or for more information about the events.

Authors: Sakhile Mngomezulu and Siviwe Bangani

October will be the final month during which we will present our #SmartResearcher webinars for the year. The focus of the webinars will be on how to supervisors can submit theses and dissertations on behalf of their students, important decisions around getting published, how to measure the impact of your research, and more.

These workshops are aimed at postgraduate students, emerging researchers and academic staff and the focus will be on the research process. The sessions vary in length depending on the subject matter, but cover a wide range of subjects related to the postgraduate research journey.

Increasing the visibility of your research output through self-archiving Stellenbosch University’s institutional policy on the self-archiving of research output is curated by the Library and Information Service. Complying with this policy, which asks researchers to deposit copies of their research output in SUNScholar, our institutional repository, can greatly increase the visibility and impact of research output. This workshop will teach participants more about the policy and how to comply with the policy in order to improve access to and visibility of their research outputs. Date: Tuesday, 1 October Time: 14:00 – 15:30 Register Here

Making important decisions about publishing your research This hands-on session covers important factors to help you decide where to publish your research. Making the right choices can increase readership and citations, diminish publication lag and ensure that your publication is eligible for government subsidy. Date: Thursday, 3 October Time: 10:00 – 13:00 Register Here

Enhancing your research impact through open access publishing This workshop will introduce attendees to the principles of Open Access and how it can benefit the impact of their research. Open access publishing is a model of scholarly communication that provides unrestricted and free access to scholarly research outputs, such as articles, papers, and data. In open access publishing, the content is made available online to the public without financial, legal, or technical barriers. Date: Tuesday, 8 October Time: 14:00 – 15:00 Register Here

Managing your unique author identity with ORCID ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. This workshop will explain what ORCID is, how to register and populate your profiles. Date: Wednesday, 9 October Time: 14:00 – 15:00 Register Here

Maximise your research impact This workshop will show how to improve your impact as a researcher. The following two sessions will be presented: Increase the visibility of your research (1 hour) Participants will learn to: ·         Find and navigate social research networks (ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Mendeley, etc.) ·         Develop research profiles ·         Understand how to increase your visibility as a researcher ·         Understand the role of science communication and social media Tracking your citations (1 hour) Participants will learn about: ·         The different citation metrics and altmetrics and where to find it ·         Awareness on methods to increase citations ·         Responsible use of metrics Date: Tuesday, 15 October Time: 14:00 – 16:00 Register Here

Submitting a thesis /dissertation to SUNScholar This library training opportunity for academic staff is designed to provide practical guidance to academic staff who are now required to submit theses/dissertations on behalf of their students. Date: Wednesday, 16 October Time: 14:00 – 15:00 Register Here

EndNote for reference management EndNote 21 offers various services, including reference management, organising and annotation of PDF documents and collaboration. In this session, we will show you how to download and install EndNote and how to set up your account. Date: Wednesday, 23 October Time: 14:00 – 16:00 Register Here

Introduction

The Library and Information Service is dedicated to offering top-notch assistance for any open access-related inquiries. To guarantee that our researchers receive timely feedback on matters about open access, frequently asked questions (FAQs) have been added to LibAnswers.

Eligibility to use transformational agreements

One of the most frequently asked inquiries is concerning eligibility, and researchers are interested in the requirements, primarily the institution’s affiliation. It is also crucial to remember that, if one of our writers collaborates with an author from another university, the corresponding author of the paper needs to be affiliated with Stellenbosch University for the article to be eligible for the use of a transformational agreement.

How to avoid Predatory journals?

Finding information about predatory journals and ensuring that researchers are not duped into publishing in questionable journals are two commonly addressed questions. Ask your Faculty Librarian or Scholarly Communicaton staff to help you to avoid these journals and publishers.

Does Open Access mean lower quality?

NO, the quality of a journal is determined by its editorial standards, peer-review process, and the impact of its publications, not by its accessibility. Many reputable journals are open access including those published by major academic publishers.

Are all predatory journals Open Access?

NO, predatory journals can be both open access or subscription-based. The access model is not a determining factor, but predatory journals lack legitimate and transparent editorial practices.

Why do some researchers associate Open Access journals with lower quality?

The association stems from the existence of predatory publishers who misuse the open access model. Predatory publishers often lack proper peer review and editorial oversight, leading to the publication of low-quality or even fake research.

What are Article Processing Charges (APCs)?

Scholars consistently inquire about the types of publications included in transformational agreements and the distinction between publishing in fully open access vs hybrid journals. The FAQs have been updated, and researchers may now access crucial information including the fact that there are no APCs associated with publishing in hybrid journals, but that there are various reductions available for completely open access journals based on the institution’s arrangement with the participating publisher.

Is the Open Access Publishing Fund still available?

Scholars consistently inquire about the Open Access Publication Fund, which was discontinued in April 2021. This fund is therefore not available anymore. To address these questions, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on Libanswers was created, along with a link to our open access Libguide that offers a detailed explanation of the fund’s closure.

What is a Journal finder?

Researchers are welcome to contact their Faculty Librarians or Scholarly Communication to get assistance in selecting journals to publish their articles. Most publishers have a “Journal finder” section which also assists them with locating the appropriate approved journal for a publication. See these examples: Elsevier’s Journal Finder and Wiley’s Journal Finder. 

Where can I find the list of accredited journals?

Researchers frequently have inquiries concerning the DHET accredited journals list. You can find out whether a journal is accredited by consulting the Accredited journals page under “Outputs and Journals” on the Division for Research Development website. You are also welcome to ask your faculty librarian for assistance.

What is a Read and Publish agreement?

One of the frequently asked questions, revolves around understanding what a Read and Publish agreement really means. It is also known as transformational agreements, which means that these agreements provide access to publishing and reading simultaneously. One of the benefits of open access is unrestricted spreading of knowledge to the wider audience, to ensure improved impact, consumption, increased citations and growth as an author.

Conclusion

The open access team at Stellenbosch University is responsible for ensuring that researchers are fully informed on everything related to open access. The purpose of the recently introduced FAQs is to enhance our offerings and enable customers to access information when the Library is closed. Additionally, the group is dedicated to helping users and interacting with them to improve comprehension of scientific publishing and open access.

More information:

• Stellenbosch University Transformational Agreements Libguide
• The Library’s Open Access webpage
• SANLiC
• Publisher Websites: Many publishers provide details about their transformational agreements and participating institutions.

Enquiries: Sakhile Mngomezulu

“SUNScholar is open to receive new nominations for the December 2024 graduation period.”

That was the opening line for every graduation period.  This year is no different, except now it has a new name, face and place.  The submission of theses and dissertations for graduation has moved to SUNStudent Academia.

The nomination for students to submit a thesis or dissertation for graduation now takes place on Thesis Management.

Thesis Management sits under the tab for Examinations, yet it has nothing to do with examinations.  For each functionality, Examinations and Thesis Management, it is two totally different, and separate processes and therefore two different outcomes.

During the process of Examinations, the thesis or dissertation has yet to be examined and reviewed.  In Thesis Management only the final revised thesis or dissertation needs to be uploaded.  This is the copy following examination, and after all corrections have been made.  This is also the copy that will be available on SUNScholar.

The User Guide for Thesis Management is available here.

For the most part, the workflow for Thesis management hasn’t changed.

To summarise the process:

1. The final revised document 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. The thesis/dissertation is uploaded by the supervisor/promoter or administrative staff.
6. The supervisor/promoter or administrative staff approves the submission.
7. The thesis/dissertation will be publicly accessible on SUNScholar following graduation.

Due to the sensitive nature of security and ongoing enhancements to Thesis Management, the upload/submission of the final revised thesis or dissertation, must be done by the supervisor/promoter or administrative staff.

The final date for the submission of theses or dissertations for the December 2024 graduation is 28 November 2024.

Changes in the process

• The Thesis Management function will remain open throughout the year.
• It is compulsory for all master’s and doctoral students to complete this process for graduation.
• Students will not be uploading any documents; this will be the responsibility of the nominator.
• The process of nomination, submission and approval/rejection will take place on the same screen/programme.
• The manual input of the student number will give a dropdown box of ALL postgraduate students within the faculty, ensure you ‘pick’ the correct student from the dropdown box.
• The manual input of the supervisor/promotor staff number will give a dropdown box of ALL supervisors/promotors within the faculty, ensure you ‘pick’ the correct supervisor/promotor from the dropdown box.
• Incorrect uploading of document(s) cannot be replaced after the submission process, so the process of nomination needs to be cancelled.
• Only a cumulative maximum of 250 MB can be uploaded per student. Exceeding this threshold requires the user to send the document(s) to scholar@sun.ac.za.
• Uploaded documents will remain visible to the staff member who did the nomination.
• The discretion and security of uploaded documents remain with the department.
• Thesis management will be ‘wiped’ clean after each graduation period.
• The embargo period only goes up to three years. For extensions or moving from embargo to open access and vice versa, an email must be sent to scholar@sun.ac.za  to manually make the changes.  These changes will not be reflected in Thesis Management.

What remains

The recommendations and look and feel of the thesis document remain the same.  Such as the new SU title page, declaration page(s), abstract(s) and typesetting.  See the library help page, Thesis/Dissertation submission for templates.

Requesting Access to SUNStudent

Access will only be granted to SU staff and with the approval of their line manager.  Any user requesting access must get their line manager’s approval for the request to be processed.

Your 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 enquiries about theses/dissertations submissions, please contact Paulette Talliard or scholar@sun.ac.za.

As you may know, we switched over to EndNote as our officially supported reference management software at the start of 2024. The uptake has been impressive and our clients seem very satisfied with the software. But there are always questions and some of them get asked more frequently than others and, as EndNote can be quite a complex programme to work with when compared to Mendeley or Zotero, we’ll try and answer some of these questions here. This will be a “work in progress” as new questions continually pop up. So we’ll add a link to our EndNote LibGuide to this post so you can check back in to see if any new questions were added.

How is EndNote different from Mendeley and/or Zotero?

The core functions of all three programmes are essentially the same, to simplify in-text citations and generate a reference list for your research paper, assignment or thesis/dissertation. But there are some significant differences that we cannot go into here. Considering technical support, while Mendeley and Zotero are open source free-to-use platforms, EndNote is subscription-based and with the subscription, we get an immense amount of technical support and access to instructional resources that are of greater quality than that of Mendeley or Zotero. To read more about these differences, click here.

Is EndNote available to anyone at SU?

Yes, we have an institutional subscription, which means that any student or staff member at SU can get EndNote. However, we still discourage undergraduates from using reference managers, since they first need to learn how to reference and cite properly before they can make optimal use of reference managers.

I have been using Mendeley/Zotero to reference in my thesis, must I switch to EndNote?

No, you do not have to switch over to EndNote, especially if you are in the advanced stages of your thesis/dissertation. It can be a tedious and distracting exercise to switch over to EndNote at the later stages, so we recommend that you rather finish your current research project before switching over.

I have installed EndNote on my Mac device and clicked on it to run, but nothing seems to be happening

Unlike EndNote for Windows, EndNote Mac does not prompt you to create a new library the first time you launch the software and you need to do it manually. To learn more on how to do that, check Step 15 in the installation instructions here.

I have many folders in Mendeley, is there a way they can be replicated in EndNote?

Unfortunately, there is no way to replicate these folders and you will have to manually reorganise your references once you have imported your Mendeley library to EndNote.

Can I share my EndNote library or folders with colleagues?

Yes, you can either share your entire library, or specific folders (called Groups in EndNote) with colleagues. More about sharing with EndNote can be viewed in these PDFs:

Windows

EndNote 21 Library Sharing

MacOS

EndNote 21 Library Sharing

Can I use EndNote without internet access

Yes absolutely. EndNote works perfectly well without internet access. The online library serves more as a backup of your data.

How do I import references into EndNote

You can learn more about importing references here:

Windows

Adding a new reference

MacOS

Adding a new reference

How do I manage and edit citations in EndNote?

You can learn more about importing references here:

Windows

Managing citations

MacOS

Managing citations

For any enquiries please contact Kirchner van Deventer.