SOAS Research Online

A Free Database of the Latest Research by SOAS Academics and PhD Students

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About

SOAS Research Online is the institutional repository of SOAS, University of London. Its aim is to provide a permanent record of the research output of the university and maximise the visibility, usage and impact of its research by providing, free access to outputs to any member of the public with an internet. We will strive to make as much of our research available to a global audience including members of the media, policy makers, NGOs and research institutes and researchers who may not otherwise have access to SOAS research.

Content

  • SOAS Research Online holds records and full-text of research publications except for:
    • Learning Objects
    • Software
    • Patents
  • Full-text items may include:
    • pre-prints (drafts prior to the peer-review process)
    • post-prints/accepted versions/author’s accepted manuscripts (final drafts that include changes resulting from the peer-review process but prior to publisher formatting and copy-editing)
    • versions of record (final published versions)

Full-text items are individually tagged to indicate version

Primary language is English but records of publications in other languages are also included.

Submission

  • The following members of SOAS may add records and research to SOAS Research Online and according to the following terms:
    • Staff employed on permanent or fixed-term contracts which include research are required to add records of all outputs resulting from their research while employed at SOAS. They may also deposit records for outputs from research undertaken before they joined the university.
    • Staff employed on teaching contracts are welcome to add records of their outputs when they are published with a SOAS affiliation.
    • Professional Services Staff only if outputs relate to their main duties of employment at SOAS and with prior approval from their head of service / line manager.
    • Visiting Scholars who have approval to use SOAS affiliation for publication and only when the output is a result of their research work at SOAS and includes the SOAS affiliation.
    • PhD Students who are registered at SOAS.
  • Authors who intend to submit outputs to the next REF are required to deposit the full-text of their Author Accepted Version of any articles or conference proceedings accepted for publication in a journal after 1st April 2016 within the requirements of the REF Open Access Policy. They are also required to deposit the accepted versions of all other outputs within copyright law and their publisher policies.
  • Records must be added with the appropriate metadata to describe the publications.
  • The validity and authenticity of full-text content added to SOAS Research Online is the sole responsibility of the author.
  • Errata and corrigenda lists may be included with the original record if required.
  • Authors are expected to add records and deposit full-texts to SOAS Research Online themselves and to seek assistance and training if required. Administrative support may in exceptional circumstances deposit on an author’s behalf, however priority will be given in the following order to:
    • Recent publications of authors employed on research contracts and particularly those eligible for the REF.
    • Publications of eligible researchers who may not have the necessary access rights to add research to SOAS Research Online themselves.
    • Backlists of publications for new and existing SOAS staff.

Deposit Licence

By depositing items or asking repository staff to deposit on your behalf you are agreeing to the terms of the Deposit Licence:

  • You give permission to the SOAS Research Online Administrator to store, copy and manipulate files you add in order to ensure long-term preservation and access to SOAS Research.
  • You give permission to SOAS Research Online store and preserve the deposited outputs and associated metadata by any means whatsoever, and to make your outputs and associated metadata permanently and publicly available online.
  • You warrant that depositing any full-text and metadata in SOAS Research Online does not conflict with the intellectual property rights of any third party to the best of your knowledge. You understand that it is your responsibility to check the terms of publication to ensure there is no conflict.
  • You understand that SOAS does not assume any liability for any infringement of copyright in the works or associated metadata added by any user of the repository.
  • You will immediately notify SOAS (eprints email) if you learn of any claim that the whole or any part of a work or associated metadata infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party, or is defamatory or obscene.

Administration

  • The SOAS Research Online administrator will check the following and seek further information from authors when necessary to ensure that:
    • metadata in records is accurate and complete to ensure research is discoverable and cited correctly
    • full-text items are deposited in the correct format and within copyright law and publishers policies
    • full-text items are deposited with the appropriate embargo periods according to publisher policies or author stipulations.
    • items which fall under the REF Open Access Policy are deposited in SOAS Research Online to meet compliance with the policy
  • The SOAS Research Online administrator will review additions to SOAS Research Online in the following order of priority:
    • Journal articles and conferences proceedings accepted for publication after 1st April 2016 and which therefore fall under REF Open Access requirements
    • Other outputs published in the current REF period (since January 2014)
    • Any other outputs (most recent publications will be processed first)
  • If research is submitted to SOAS Research Online outside of the scope of the Submission Policy (point 1) it will not be processed and referred back to the researcher for the approval of the Head of Department / Head of Service.

Re-use

Full-text items

  • Anyone may access publicly available full-text items free of charge.
  • Full-text items can be used according to any Creative Commons License if they are displayed in the record.
  • Full-text items without a Creative Commons License can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission free of charge. They can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties if:
    • the authors, title and full bibliographic details are cited
    • a hyperlink and/or URL are given for the original SOAS Research Online record
    • any copyright or permission statement included in the SOAS Research Online record or full-text is cited
    • the content is not changed in any way
  • Full-text items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holders.
  • SOAS Research Online is not the publisher of full-text items; it is merely the online archive.

Metadata (for information describing items in the repository)

  • Anyone may access the metadata free of charge.
  • The metadata may be re-used in any medium without prior permission for not-for-profit purposes provided:
    • the OAI Identifier or a link to the original metadata record are given
    • SOAS Research Online is mentioned
  • The metadata must not be re-used in any medium for commercial purposes without formal permission.

Preservation

  • Items will be retained indefinitely in SOAS Research Online.
  • SOAS Research Online will try to ensure continued readability and accessibility.
    • Items will be migrated to new file formats where necessary.
    • It may not be possible to guarantee the readability of some unusual file formats.
  • SOAS Research Online regularly backs up its files according to the University of London Computer Centre (ULCC) backup schedule.
  • The original bit stream is retained for all items, in addition to any upgraded formats
  • The URLs of any withdrawn items' 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.
  • In the event of SOAS Research Online being closed down, the database will be transferred to another appropriate archive.

Take Down Policy

  • In making material available online SOAS, University of London acts in good faith, however we recognize that from time to time records added may contain items that may need to be removed from public access for the following reasons:
    • Contravention of journal publishers' rules
    • Proven copyright violation or plagiarism
    • Legal requirements and proven violations
    • National Security
    • Falsified research
    • Upon the request of the Research Ethics Panel
    • Withdrawn items' URLs will continue to point to 'tombstone' citations, to avoid broken links and to retain item histories, with:
    • link to a replacement version, where available
  • a note explaining the reasons for withdrawal.
  • To contact us about the removal of material, please email outputs@soas.ac.uk or write to us at the following address: