Deposit your work

This page contains help and information on depositing your research outputs into the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) to achieve 'green' open access.

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Learn more about 'green' open access, repositories and depositing

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Depositing your work into the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA)

Oxford academics and researchers can deposit their research outputs into the University's repository, the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA). 

You can deposit into ORA using the research information system, Symplectic Elements (also known just as Elements or SE).

The depositing process

  1. Submit your research output for publication
    (See: What can I make open access for more information on outputs you can deposit). Once your output has been 'accepted' for publication:
  2. Record the details of your research output on Elements 
    Most research staff have an automatic Elements account and will just need to log in - see below information on this page if you need to request an account
  3. Attach the full text file to your Elements record
    Once you've made a record of your research output, attach the full text file (usually the 'author accepted manuscript') in Elements
  4. Your work is made available in the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA)
    Your full text file will be processed by the ORA team and made available to all readers in the Oxford University Research Archive, after any required embargo period.
A diagram outlining a four point deposit - First submit your outputs, then register the information in Symplectic Elements, to deposit an item you then attach a document to the SE record, which is processed by the ORA team to make it open access.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The difference between Symplectic Elements and The Oxford University Research Archive

 

The University's research information management system managed by Research Services. Researchers use Elements to record outputs, grants, professional activities, and deposit full text outputs to the University’s repository, the Oxford Research Archive (ORA). It provides consistent information on research activity and is the University’s principal tool for preparing its submission to the Research Excellence Framework (REF). It also feeds research information to other University systems including public-facing profiles on department websites.

Learn more about Symplectic Elements

Symplectic Elements for Beginners: Orientation videos

 

The institutional repository for the University of Oxford. Providing access to the full text of Oxford's academic research such as articles, theses, and data since 2007, whilst also proving long-term storage and preservation.

Learn more about the Oxford University Research Archive

Benefits of depositing

This service is free of charge for Oxford University authors and gives you many benefits:

  • wider dissemination of your work – ORA is crawled by search engines, so your work has greater visibility
  • increased potential for your publications to be cited by others
  • the ability to upload associated content (such as datasets or video/audio files) with a linked digital object identifier (DOI)
  • a permanent URL that will not change (this can be a DOI if you request it)
  • results of your research collected in one place and can be displayed on departmental pages
  • work that is accessible from any computer at any location

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Depositing your work and the Research Excellence Framework (REF)

The current REF requires published research articles and conference papers to be made open access. 

The University encourages Oxford researchers to act on acceptance to ensure their research is 'REFable'. This means:

  • when your paper is accepted for publication, act on acceptance
  • deposit the accepted manuscript into the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA)
  • deposit within 3 months of acceptance

You can register many other types of research outputs for consideration by the REF, through creating a record on Elements and then attaching the items to the record. The REF does not require you to deposit these outputs into ORA, but it is still best practice to do this.

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