Institutional Repositories Policy Statement

YSJU institutional repositories, RaY and RaYDaR, are not publishers, but services which exist to store, showcase and share the University’s research outputs and research data.

Research outputs may include (not exclusively):

• Publications
• Conference and workshop papers
• Theses and dissertations
• Performances
• Exhibitions
• Unpublished works and working papers
• Learning objects
• Teaching materials
• Software

Research data may include (not exclusively):

• Spreadsheets
• Laboratory or field work notebooks
• Interview or questionnaire transcripts
• Multimedia and audio-visual files
• Software code
• Samples and specimens

All research outputs and research data should be deposited in YSJU institutional repositories in the form of bibliographic metadata with post prints/author accepted manuscripts of research outputs (subject to publisher copyright permissions) or research data files.

Repository records will include:

• Author/Creator, title and bibliographic metadata
• Details of rights permissions and conditions of use
• A URL and/or DOI for the publisher’s metadata page
• A URL and/or DOI to the related research output or research data

Anyone may access research outputs, research data and accompanying metadata from YSJU institutional repositories immediately and free of any charge or restriction, unless the metadata and rights declaration states otherwise.

Research outputs and research data can be reproduced, displayed or performed for personal research and study, education, or not-for-profit purposes without any charge or prior permission required.

Metadata may be re-used in any medium without prior permission for not-for-profit purposes provided the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) Identifier or a link to the original metadata record are given.

If access to research outputs or research data is restricted, the output or data record in RaY or RaYDaR will include abstract or metadata records only, with a URL link to the full text where possible.

Research outputs, research data and metadata must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holders.

Research outputs and research data may only be deposited into RaY or RaYDaR by YSJU staff or researchers who have contributed to the creation of the output or data, for example, the author, co-author, researcher, artist, or performer.

Any research output or research data deposited into RaY or RaYDaR must also include accompanying metadata.

Research outputs and research data will initially be deposited into a holding area, where the Repository Librarian will review the output or data for the eligibility of authors/contributors, the relevance of the output or data to the repository and the appropriateness of metadata before transferring the output or data to the appropriate location within the repository.

The validity, authenticity and legality of the content of research outputs and research data is the sole responsibility of the author/contributor.

Research outputs and research data can be deposited at any time, but will not be made publicly visible until any publishers' or funders' embargo period have expired.

Any copyright violations are entirely the responsibility of the authors/contributors – if in doubt, please contact RaY or RaYDaR.

If RaY or RaYDaR receives proof of copyright violation, the relevant item will be removed from the public access area immediately, in line with the Notice and Take Down Policy.

RaY and RaYDaR operate an immediate notice and take down policy.

Grounds for complaint might include:

• Unauthorised use by reason of reproduction and/or making available protected material.
• Breach of any moral right (integrity/right not to have work subjected to derogatory treatment).
• Issues on grounds other than copyright and/or related rights (for example, defamation, breach of confidence, data protection).

On receipt of a complaint, the Repository Librarian will:

• Promptly acknowledge the complaint.
• Make an initial judgement as to the validity of the complaint, obtaining advice from the Copyright and Licences Officer or University Solicitor if necessary.
• Inform the author of the resource as to the nature of the complaint and provide the author with the opportunity to refute the claim.
• If the complaint is judged to be valid based on UK law, the resource will be removed from the public access portion of RaY or RaYDaR, pending verification of the complaint.
• If the complaint is judged to be invalid based on UK law, we will inform the complainant of this and of our reasons.
• If an investigation finds in favour of the complainant, the resource will be removed immediately from RaY or RaYDaR. The records and metadata relating to the resource will be retained (unless they are found to violate any person’s legal rights).

Any complaint will be investigated in full and professional legal advice will be sought where necessary. At the conclusion of an investigation, both the complainant and the author will be contacted and informed of the outcome of the investigation, including any action taken. YSJU will endeavour to resolve the issue swiftly and amicably to the satisfaction of both the complainant and the contributor.

A copy of any complaints about the legal status of a resource will be kept. If you wish to submit a complaint, please contact RaY or RaYDaR in the first instance.

Research outputs and research data will generally be retained indefinitely, subject to periodic review, or otherwise for a period of time agreed with the copyright holder.

RaY and RaYDaR will try to ensure continued readability and accessibility. Research outputs and research data will be migrated to new file formats where necessary. It may not be possible to guarantee the readability of some unusual file formats.

RaY and RaYDaR regularly back up its files according to current best practice.

Research outputs and research data will not normally be removed from the repository expect for acceptable reasons for withdrawal including:

• Journal publishers' rules
• Proven copyright violation or plagiarism
• Legal requirements and proven violations
• National Security
• Falsified research
• Ethical or moral concerns

Withdrawn items may be deleted or at least removed from public view, but withdrawn items' identifiers/URLs are retained indefinitely. URLs will continue to point to 'tombstone' citations to avoid broken links and to retain item histories, with:

• A link to a replacement version, where available.
• A note explaining the reasons for withdrawal.

If necessary, an updated version may be deposited.