Statistics and Data Science

Publishing Open Access (OA) means allowing your research findings/article/data/software to be accessible by anyone. 

Being accessible is about more than just posting the information to the web. Using the FAIR principles, to effectively share your work OA you should ensure it's: 
 

FAIR data principles by SangyaPundir under CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Findable = Your content (data & metadata) is easily findable by humans and computers! Someone not explicitly looking for your work should be able to easily find it.

Accessible = Users can access your content without having to pay money, and it is easy to understand HOW to access it. 

Interoperable = Your content can interact with more commonly used programming languages and software for easy use.
(ex: using a .csv versus a .xml to share your dataset. .xml can only be seen by Microsoft users whereas .csv is more open).

Reusable =  Your dataset set up and accompanying metadata and/or ReadMe file is clear and understandable for a wide audience to understand.

Reusability is the crux of OA.
 

The goal of OA is for others to be able to re-use your findings in their own research to expand the overall knowledge of the field and society.

For data work this principles are helpful in guiding you as you work through your information process. Even better, the library can help you with applying these principles to your work! Check out the info below to learn more about Open Data. 

Our subject liaisons and functional experts work together to assist you through different areas of the research lifecycle.

In-Person Resources: 

Subject Liaisons: Are dedicated to servicing YOUR subject area and are most familiar with your unique information needs. They're your first point of contact and can assist with connecting you with tools, resources, and information to further your research and publishing your research.
You can find out who your librarian is here (Tip: Search by subject). 

Research and Data Services: Functional experts focused on connecting "with the appropriate tools, resources, and expertise required for dealing with data at every phase of research, from the earliest planning stages through to archiving and publication."

If you have questions at any stage in your research process, please reach out directly to your subject liaison and schedule a one-on-one consultation! 

Online Resources: 

Publishing and Research Services at UTL - This is a landing page with links out to additional resources (many of which are expanded on below). 

UT's Open Access Infrastructure: 

• Texas Data Repository (TDR) - A multi-institutional OA data repository hosted by Texas Digital Libraries, hosting data from universities all over Texas. If you are interested in learning more about sharing your data here, please view this user guide and reach out to your subject liaison with any questions you may have. Best for datasets. 
• Texas Scholar Works (TSW)- UT's institutional repository for research article preservation and archiving. UT researchers, scholars, and students can store their published or pre-print works here. To learn more about TSW, check out this FAQ and reach out to your subject liaison with any questions you have.
• TDR and TSW are complementary. You can publish your article in TSW and your accompanying dataset in TDR, then link them to each other. 

Research guides: 

UTL Librarians create research guides focused on specific subjects and topics that contain UT and non-UT resources to help you. 

• Open Access @ UT Libguide 

  • Provides a deeper understanding of OA in general

  • Learn about APC discounts via UTL/publisher partnerships 

  • Tips for deciding where to publish OA 

• Research and Data Services 

  • Linked above as well, this guide is broken into different stages of the research lifecycle. Helpful as a guide as you work through your research and prepare for publishing. 

• Copyright Crash Course

  • Publishing OA does not mean you lose your rights to your works! However, in the traditional publishing model you might.

  • Learn more about copyright in general, your rights, and picking the right CC (Creative Commons) license for yourself. 

References :

Harvard Medical School. (n.d.). Biomedical Data Lifecycle. Longwood Research Data Management. Retrieved June 2, 2025, from https://researchsupport.harvard.edu/research-lifecycle