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Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service - News from research support services

#BeOpenAccessSmart webinars

August 28, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Open access (OA) initiatives are rapidly gaining traction because of the increased subscription-based journal costs, access inequalities, advancements of digital technology, demand for greater transparency and collaboration, and funding agencies’ mandates calling for research published using their funds to be made publicly available.

Libraries, more than any other organisation, have been at the forefront of this evolving field of scholarly communications, helping to build institutional repositories, host open access books and journals, and publish open access textbooks, among other projects. Recently, libraries have been negotiating Transformational Agreements (TAs) to shield scholars from the astronomical Article Processing Charges (APCs) that journals demand for them to publish open access content. Despite all its achievements, it remains unclear if this approach has resulted in the fundamental transformation that proponents of open access and libraries had hoped for. Many OA supporters and libraries still believe that more can be done to advance OA despite all these efforts. As a result, libraries must launch creative campaigns to bolster their OA advocacy and guarantee that authors are aware of its advantages. Open Access (OA) projects generally aim to boost scientific innovation, foster cooperation, and democratically share knowledge.

The Library scheduled an open access (OA) webinar series, #BeOpenAccessSmart to share some open access insights with researchers. Mr. Thanos Giannakopoulos, Chief of the Information Management Section of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library, will lead the first-ever webinar. The session, titled “(G)AI, Open Access, and Sustainable Development: The Evolving Role of Libraries in a Transforming World,” will explore how (G)AI, Open Access, and sustainable development intersect. It will examine how libraries are becoming more and more important in advancing AI literacy, protecting data privacy, emphasising the need to lessen bias, and encouraging open access for all. Stellenbosch library aims to share practical approaches to appropriately addressing (G)AI while promoting international knowledge exchange and fair access to information. This webinar will take place on 17 September 2024 and the engagement will enlighten researchers on publishing in Open access, artificial intelligence and the role of the Stellenbosch library in the promotion of open access.

Date: 17 September 2024, 14:30 – 15:30 (SAST/CET) or 08:30-09:30 (ET)

Register here:  https://sun.ac.za.libcal.com/event/12695996

For further information: Please contact Sakhile Mngomezulu tel: 021 808 9907

Research Data Management Tools for SU Researchers

August 28, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Historically, data collection has been paper-based. However, the developments in information and communication technologies have brought paperless data management within reach. This has made way for the adoption of new methods and tools (software, hardware, instruments and equipment), new data sources, and increased connection of global research via the internet. Having explored this paradigm shift and the challenges it comes with, particularly the reproducibility of research and the transparency of research methods. The Stellenbosch University’s Library and Information Service acknowledges that by carefully planning, documenting, and preserving data, the goals of having reproducible and transparent research data are far easier to meet. It is for this reason that the Library adopted modern research technologies in the form of SunDMP (Data Management Planning tool) and SUNScholarData (Institutional Research Data Repository).

SunDMP: A data management planning tool

Data Management Plans are the basis for structured research data management throughout the research data lifecycle. A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a formal written document that describes the data a researcher expects to acquire or generate during the course of a scientific research project. The need for having a DMP emanates from the understanding that research data is being produced at a rapid rate in a wide variety of digital forms in academic institutions like Stellenbosch University (SU). However, this data is most prone to loss due to mismanagement. These kinds of developments have over the years prompted research funders to require researchers to submit DMPs as part of their proposals for research grant applications. The Library and Information Service as the natural partner to the research process understands that without proper management and care, research data often does not exist much past the completion of the scientific research project. The launch of SunDMP has made it possible for SU researchers to automatically generate DMPs using the University’s standard template. Moreover, the Library recommends that SunDMP not be limited to the minimal creation of a DMP as per funder requirements or SU’s research data management (RDM) regulations. Instead, it ought to be treated as an invaluable part of the research data lifecycle that ensures research data remains usable to the primary researcher during the scientific research project (and beyond), as well as by other researchers with similar research interests.

SUNScholarData: An institutional research data repository

Data management and sharing have become more prominent among research organisations, and this has encouraged such organisations to develop local infrastructure (institutional research data repositories) to cater for such developments. A growing number of funders and publishers require researchers to publicly share their research data and sometimes recommend specific platforms in which data may be shared. Research data publishing is an approach for sharing research data to enable other researchers with similar interests to reuse the same data. In instances where SU researchers are unsure where to share their research data when publishing, our CoreTrustSeal-certified SUNScholarData should always remain the first point of reference. This does not in any way supersede the platform recommended by the funder or publisher. The use of SUNScholarData by SU researchers helps ensure that their research data is likely to be discovered by other users and more likely to be cited. This is due to the fact that SUNScholarData is an openly accessible platform that adheres to FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) principles of data handling and management.

Enquiries: Xabiso Xesi, Sizwe Ngcobo

#SmartResearcher webinars in September

August 23, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Spring feels like it is coming early this year so hopefully we’ll have a proper Spring Day on 1 September. What you can also look forward to in September is our next batch of #SmartResearcher webinars! The focus in September will be on all things data, how to manage it, how to preserve it and also, how to visualise it! We have workshops on MS Power Bi, Tableau Desktop, Flourish. In addition, if you need to preserve your data and want to learn more, have a look at our upcoming webinar about SUNScholarData. We also have our monthly EndNote for Reference Management webinar if you want to brush up on the tool, or if you are finally ready to switch over from Mendeley. We look forward to seeing you and helping you with your research!

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.
Principles of Data Visualisation

This workshop will cover the key principles to keep in mind when you are planning your visualisations, from choosing the best visualisation type for your data to the effective use of colour, narrative, etc.

Date: Tuesday, 3 September

Time: 14:00 – 15:30

Register Here
Overview of software for effective data analysis and data visualisation

An overview of tools and free software for data analysis and data visualisation will be presented. These tools are useful for statistical analysis, visualisation, mapping, data cleaning and the digital humanities.

Date: Thursday, 5 September

Time: 14:00 – 16:00

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, 18 September 2024

Time: 11:00 – 13:00

Register Here
Introduction to Tableau Desktop and Flourish for data visualisation

This workshop will be an introductory course to visualise your data with Tableau Desktop and Flourish. Both tools are free for students and academics and are fairly user friendly.

Date: Thursday, 19 September 2024

Time: 14:00 – 16:00

Register Here
Introduction to Microsoft Power BI

The workshop will be a hands-on introduction to Power BI, available for free through SU’s subscription to Microsoft 365.

Participants will learn the following:

·         How to install the desktop application and connect to Microsoft Excel

·         Start visualising data easily with an extensive library of data visualisations.

·         How to build reports and dashboards

Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2024

Time: 14:00 – 16:00

Register Here
Tableau for Intermediate Users

This is an intermediate-level workshop focusing on visual data analysis skills using Tableau Desktop software. Tableau stands out as one of the global leaders in business intelligence software and finds extensive application in universities for teaching and learning by academic staff.

Date: Thursday, 26 September 2024

Time: 11:00 – 13:00

Register Here
An overview of SUNScholarData – the SU institutional data repository

Many funders mandate that data collected in the process of conducting research funded by them is deposited in reputable repositories, this workshop will provide an overview of research data repositories and demonstrate the manner in which the SU’s Institutional Research Data Repository functions.

Date: Thursday, 26 September 2024

Time: 14:00 – 16:00

Register Here

 

Special Collections as research tool: The JJ Smith collection

October 17, 2023 / / 0 Comments

The documents in the J. J. Smith Collection (Ms 333) were donated to the SU Library and Information Service in 2000. A record of the J.J. Smith Collection is available in the library catalogue to make it more accessible.  This collection holds documents dating from 1883 to 1949 and consists of 88 pamphlet boxes containing correspondence; articles; photographs; manuscripts; notebooks; radio talks; speeches; personalia; newspaper clippings and more. Some of the notebooks contain interesting contributions to the language of children, students, old people, regional language, names of places, names of trees, animals, etc.

The focus of the documents is on the history, orthography and spelling of the Afrikaans language.

“J. J. Smith (1883-1949) became the first editor of the Afrikaans dictionary, (Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal), in 1926. He was an exceptional linguist who left a lasting impression on the history of Stellenbosch University, as well as the press in South Africa (Nasionale Pers). He was also the first professor in Afrikaans and Dutch at Stellenbosch University in 1919 and the first editor of the Afrikaans magazine, Die Huisgenoot”.

The collection is completely described, catalogued and indexed, and available to researchers. To gain access to the collection please visit Special Collections.

See more information in this article: BibNews August 2007.

Authors: Marieta Buys and Busi Mofu

#SmartResearcher webinars for September

August 23, 2023 / / 0 Comments

September’s #SmartResearcher webinars will focus on improving your research impact and the visibility of your research, data sharing and dissemination, data visualisation with tools such as MS PowerBI, Tableau Public and RawGraphs and, finally, an introduction to ORCID and why it is such a valuable resource for researchers. Below is the list of the upcoming webinars:

 

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.
Maximise your research impact

This workshop will show how to improve your impact as a researcher. The following two sessions will be presented:

Session 1: 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 researcher
  • Understand the role of science communication and social media

Session 2: Measure your impact (1 hour)

Participants will learn about:

  • The different citation metrics and altmetrics and where to find it
  • Awareness of methods to increase citations
  • Responsible use of metrics

Date: 21 September 2023 @ 14:00-16:00

Register Here
Enhancing 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: 6 September 2023 @ 14h00 – 15h30

Register Here
Data sharing and dissemination: ethical and legal considerations

The workshop is designed to illuminate the methods and platforms of data sharing and highlights various ways in which data can be shared and disseminated within acceptable ethical and legal considerations.

Date: 7 September 2023 @ 14h00 – 16h00

Register Here
Data Visualisation with Power BI

The workshop will be a hands-on introduction to Power BI, available for free through SU’s subscription to Microsoft 365.

Participants will learn the following:

  • How to install the desktop application and connect to Microsoft Excel
  • Start visualising data easily with an extensive library of data visualisations.
  • How to build reports and dashboards

Date: 19 September 2023 @ 14h00 – 16h00

Register Here
Mendeley for reference management

Managing your references can be a daunting task. This workshop will introduce you to Mendeley, a free tool focusing mainly on reference management. Mendeley offers various services, including reference management, organising and annotation of PDF documents and collaboration.

Date: 20 September 2023 @ 11h00 – 13h00

Register Here
Introduction to Tableau Public and RawGraphs for data visualisation

This workshop will be an introductory course to visualise your data with Tableau Public and RAWGraphs. Both are free tools and fairly user friendly.

Date: 26 September 2023 @ 14h00 – 16h00

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: 28 September 2023 @ 14h00 – 15h00

Register Here

From Open Access to Open Data

September 27, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Image source: JulieBeck

In the past decade, the management of research data has come to take on a more prominent role at tertiary education institutions around the world. This has been primarily due to the increasingly data-centric route that academic research has taken. At the same time, academic institutions have come to be influenced by the Open Access movement which advocates for the unrestricted access and use of published research outputs. A convergence of these two developments has culminated in a call for unrestricted access and use of research data. The term commonly reserved for data that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone is: ‘Open Data’.

The move to make research data more openly accessible is being pushed through by research funding agencies as well as academic journal publishers. In recent years, some of Stellenbosch University’s research funders have instituted mandates that require the implementation of adequate research data management practices in order to enable the open accessibility of research data. Such practices should comply with certain best practices, such as the following requirements:

  1. research data should be managed through the creation and submission of data management plans; and
  2. research data should comply with the FAIR Data Principles by being findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.

As a leading research institution, Stellenbosch University sought to address this issue by setting up an institutional research data repository known as SUNScholarData. SUNScholarData is a multidisciplinary institutional research data repository that was launched in August 2019. The repository is used for the registration, archival storage, sharing and dissemination of research data produced or collected in relation to research conducted under the auspices of Stellenbosch University. SUNScholarData creates a medium through which Stellenbosch University’s research data can be made findable and accessible. It also facilitates the interoperability and re-usability of the university’s research data.

SUNScholarData was not set up in isolation. Instead, it was set up as part of a broader implementation which also included the formulation of a governance framework and the development of supporting research data services that are provided by dedicated staff members at the University’s Library and Information Services. Such services include data curation, client consultations and related training sessions. The use of SUNScholarData is supported by the SUNScholarData Library Guide. This is an online resource that provides a wealth of information about the repository in an easily digestible manner.

For more information about how you can make your research data openly accessible please contact the Research Data Services division at: rdm@sun.ac.za.

#SmartResearcher Webinars in September

August 30, 2022 / / 0 Comments

#SmartResearcher webinars continue in September. Please see below more information about the webinars.

 Kindly note that you will receive a link to MS Teams for every session that you register.

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.
Tips on how to format your thesis (MS Word)

This workshop will help you work around some of the common formatting glitches most postgraduate students experience, whilst getting their document ready for submission.

Date: Tuesday, 13 September, 11h00 – 13h00

Please book here
Mendeley for reference management

Managing your references can be a daunting task. This workshop will introduce you to Mendeley, a free tool focusing mainly on reference management. Mendeley offers various services, including reference management, organising and annotation of PDF documents and collaboration.

Date: Thursday, 15 September, 11h00 – 12h30

Please book here

How to use the Institutional Research Data Repository, SUNScholarData

Many funders mandate that data collected in the process of conducting research funded by them is deposited in reputable repositories, this workshop will provide an overview of research data repositories and demonstrate the manner in which the SU’s Institutional Research Data Repository functions.

Date: Tuesday, 20 September, 14h00 – 16h00

Please book 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: Wednesday, 21 September, 10h00 – 13h00

Please book here
Enhancing 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: Thursday, 22 September, 11h00 – 12h30

Please book here
Maximise your research impact

This workshop will show how to improve your impact as a researcher.

Date: Tuesday, 27 September, 14h00 – 16h00

Please book here
Data Visualisation with Power BI

The workshop will be a hands-on introduction to Power BI, available for free through SU’s subscription to Microsoft 365.

Participants will learn the following:

  • How to install the desktop application and connect to Microsoft Excel
  • Start visualising data easily with an extensive library of data visualisations.
  • How to build reports and dashboards

Date: Wednesday, 28 September, 11h00 – 13h00

Please book here
Introduction to Tableau Public and RawGraphs for data visualisation

This workshop will be an introductory course to visualise your data with Tableau Public and RAWGraphs. Both are free tools and fairly user friendly.

Date: Thursday, 29 September, 14h00 – 16h00

Please book here

Developing a plan for communicating your research

May 20, 2021 / / 0 Comments

The following steps might be a good way to improve your online visibility as a researcher and assist you with communicating about your research:

  1.  Create and maintain online profiles (e.g. Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Academia).
  2.  Use persistent identifiers (e.g. ORCID, Researcher ID in Publons, DOIs) to disambiguate yourself as an author or to link to your work.
  3.  Publish in Open Access journals or choose Open Access options.
  4.  Use Creative Commons licenses for your work for re-use.
  5.  Self-archive pre- or post-prints to institutional repositories (SUNScholar).
  6.  Publish your data to data repositories (SUNScholarData).
  7.  Make social media engagement about your research a regular habit (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)
  8.  Engage your audience in meaningful conversations about the topics that you are interested in.
  9.  Connect with other researchers by means of academic network tools (ResearchGate, Mendeley, etc)
  10.  Appeal to various audiences via multiple publication types (academic articles, news items, blog posts, magazine articles)

It will be important to check in on your goals often, at least once in six months, or when you have published a new article.

Get help:
Marié Roux
Faculty Librarians
Research Commons Librarians

Sources:
Library guide: Research Impact & Scholarly Profiles, University of California, Berkeley Library
Library guide: The Research Process: Improve your impact, Stellenbosch University 

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