Open Access at MENDELU
Monitoring of Open Access publishing at MENDELU
Open Access publishing is recorded at MENDELU in the records of science and research results in the OBD system. A distinction is made between publishing in Golden journals (fully Open Access) and hybrid journals (an author can publish an article in Open Access in an otherwise subscription journal after paying the APC fee). Open Access articles in journals and conference proceedings can also be Gratis Open Access, without specifying licensing terms. In 2024, the proportion of Open Access articles in journals authored by University authors was approximately 71 %.
Monitoring of Article Processing Charge (APC) fees
The MENDELU Department of Scientific and Pedagogical Information and Servicesrecords the Article Processing Charge (APC) payments for Open Access publishing, the amount of funds paid by the university for Open Access publishing in a particular year. The identified data are submitted to the National Technical Library in accordance with the Rector's Methodological Instruction No.1/2021 in due time.
| Year of publication | Number of paid OA articles | Amount/CZK (according to the average exchange rate of the Czech National Bank) without VAT |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 37 | 687 113 CZK |
| 2019 | 48 | 858 863 CZK |
| 2020 | 75 | 2 214 162 CZK |
| 2021 | 116 articles | 3 657 646 CZK |
| 2022 | 78 articles | 2 913 205 CZK |
| 2023 | 89 articles | 3 092 268 CZK |
| 2024 | 81 articles | 3 409 611 CZK |
Survey: Authors' Attitudes to Open Access Publishing
The questionnaire survey Authors' Attitude to Open Access Publishing was conducted at MENDELU in October 2020 under the auspices of the Open Access Initiative of the Association of University Libraries of the Czech Republic and the results were evaluated by ÚVIS (Department of Scientific and Pedagogical Information and Services.) The questionnaire contained 37 questions. A total of 56 respondents from MENDELU out of a total of 1,131 academic and scientific staff responded (data from 2020).
The most important outcomes
- 51.79 % of the authors strongly agree with the principles of Open Access.
- 16.07 % of the authors do not know about Open Access principles.
- The motivation for open publishing is to increase the information impact of science.
- In only 4 cases did respondents encounter an obligation to publish openly.
- Respondents would most welcome a fund and discounts for Open Access publishing.
- Authors would welcome information on predatory journals, are interested in Open Access topics and science assessment, however some do not want to receive information on Open Access.
Survey: Researchers' approach to research data management at MENDELU
In March 2022, the University conducted an anonymous survey Researchers' approach to research data management at MENDELU. The university used the freely available questionnaire of the university VŠB-TUO. The aim was to map how scientists handle data and what problems and needs they have in this area. The survey at MENDELU was evaluated by ÚVIS. The questionnaire contained 40 questions. Total of 142 researchers responded out of a total of 756 academic and scientific staff and 524 PhD students (out of a total of 1,280 FTE in 2021). Want to know the detailed results of the survey?
Open Science at MENDELU
Open Science is an open access to scientific information in a broader sense, it includes: otevřený přístup k publikacím (Open Access), Open data, Open source, Open Peer Review, Open Education, Alternative Metrics and Citizen Science etc.
MENDELU vision: Mendel University in Brno will become an open university, hat immediately gives access to the results of its scientific research and supports the rapid dissemination of these results not only in the academic and scientific sphere but also towards practical use. To support this vision, an Open Science Centre at the University was created. Together with the data stewards, the person responsible for data storage infrastructure and faculty coordinators Open Science Centre will provide methodological support to authors regarding Open Science, Open Access and Research Data Management.
MENDELU has the Open Access and Open Science Strategy (*2023), which was approved in 2022.
Objective n. 1: Open Access publishing
- Promotion of Open Access publishing
- Financial support of Open Access publishing - University Open Access Fund
- Monitoring of the Article Processing Charges fees
- Minimizing negative phenomena associated with Open Access publishing, such as predatory journals.
- Publishing university publications primarily in Open Access.
- Introduction of ORCID identifier in published Open Access publications
Objective n. 2: Establishment of an Open Science Centre
- Establishment of an Open Science Centre
- Job positions of the Open Science Centre
- Methodological support to authors
- Support and development of the open repository MENDELU
- Author´s identifiers and update of ORCID profiles
Objective n. 3: Infrastructure for Open Science
- Research data management
- Technical solution of the Open Science infrastructure
Archiving Open Access Results of Research and Development Results in the MENDELU Repository
The university manages the open repository of research and development results, which serves as a repository for the results published in Open Access, in the form that the publishers allow to publish, including metadata. You can make your results Open Access via either the Gold Open Access or the Green Open Access. The publication of the results in the open repository is provided by Department of Scientific and Pedagogical Information and Services, Open Science Centre.
Open Access Fund
The authors have the opportunity to apply for financial support for open publishing. Fund for Open Access publishing allows you to pay the APC (Article Processing Charge) fees for publishing an article in an Open Access journal. For a given year, the rules, financial support and workflow of the fund is approved by the Chancellor's committee for creative Mendel activities of Mendel University in Brno. The Fund is managed by the Open Science Center; there is a "first-come, first-served" rule: requests are handled in the order of the application until the funds resources are available. A specific amount of financial support is allocated to the faculties.
Open Science Week
Open Science Week is an international event whose aim is to educate scientists and inform about open publishing. MENDELU has been participating in Open Access Week since 2012. The event includes lectures by experts on open access and open science. Information posters inform scientists about news in Open Science.