Library Research Support

Welcome from the Library Research Support team! There are a few things it's useful for you to know and do as you begin your time at Hallam, and they're covered in these pages. There are links to our more detailed support pages too, for when you're ready.

"Working with resources in the library"- links to tools to find and manage sources

"Elements"- the Elements system, which you'll use to manage your scholarly and creative works.

"Your previous works"- how to add works from previous institutions to Elements.

"New works"- how to add the works you produce at Hallam to Elements, including rights retention and Open Access considerations.

"Making your work Open Access" - an introduction to the ways you can make your scholarly and creative works Open Access.

"Working with data"- how to work with data: security, organisation, and sharing.

"Impact and influence"- registering with ORCID and using metrics

"Further support and contacting the team"- how to get in touch

From Library online you can find:

Library Search. You cane use Library Search to find resources in the library, both physical and electronic.

The A-Z list of databases. Here you'll find links to the various tools and databases you can use to search for resources.

The subject guides, with detailed information on resources, tools, and databases for particular areas.

For items which we do not have in our collection, you can request them from the Document Supply service.

To help you to organise sources, we provide access to the RefWorks reference management tool.

Elements is the system you'll use to keep a record of your scholarly and creative works- articles, conference papers, books and book chapters, art works etc. You will be able to add works from previous institutions, and then use Elements to add new works.

It may take a little time for Elements to get your details so that you can log in. If after a few days you can't log in, email the team and we can investigate.

To find out more about using Elements, including checking your profile and adding previous and new works, go to the Elements pages. You can also email the team with any questions.

You will also come across SHURA. This is the site we use to share details of scholarly and creative works with people outside Hallam, and where we put open access versions of scholarly and creative works. Items you add to Elements will appear in SHURA if you include the item file.

To add works from previous institutions, you can download a file from the archive / repository of the relevant institution(s.) You should be able to download a RefWorks / RIS / Reference Manager file, which you can then upload to Elements.

If you cannot do this, you may be able to get the file from the library at your previous institution(s.)

Alternatively, the automatic claiming and name-based searches in Elements can try to find your previous publications based on unique identifiers (previous email address, ORCID ID, Researcher ID) or suggest publications that might be yours based on a combination of your name and your previous affiliations.  You will need to amend your profile settings in Elements.  Our help pages about Elements explain how to do this.

If you cannot get a file, you can manually add the details of your previous works.

You do not have to add all of your previous works; Hallam policy requires that you add materials from the current REF cycle onwards, so from 2021.

Adding your previous works to Elements means that your staff profile page will have a complete record of your scholarly and creative works.

If you're submitting a journal article, conference paper, or book chapter you need to include the Rights Retention Statement in the manuscript and the submission system. For more on rights retention and the university open access policy, see the Open Access pages.

When your work is accepted, you'll add its details to Elements, and where appropriate deposit the accepted manuscript or other file version. You'll do this manually, creating a record for the work in Elements and adding key details.  Have a look at our pages about depositing on Elements or our pages about using Elements.

Below is an introduction to the ways that you can make your work Open Access.

• Green Open Access

You can make the author accepted manuscript of your work available to download from the SHU institutional repository SHURA. For articles and chapters in journals, conference proceedings and edited collections including the Rights Retention Statement in your submission means the article or chapter can be made Open Access from the day of first publication under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence.  For other types of scholarly and creative works, your file will be made Open Access where possible and following your publisher's policy. You will need to deposit the accepted manuscript or file in our repository, using Elements. 

• Gold Open Access through a read-and-publish agreement

For journal articles, you may be able to take advantage of the Library's read-and-publish agreements.  These allow you to make the published version of your article Gold Open Access without any additional cost, in journals included in an agreement (eligibility requirements apply).

• Gold Open Access by paying a fee

There is a SHU Open Access Fund to support payment of Gold Open Access fees charged by journals and publishers.  For articles, chapters, monographs and edited collections, you can apply for funding by filling out a form before you submit your work to the journal or publisher. You may also be able to take advantage of Open Access support from your funder, for example if you are funded by the UKRI.  

There is more information on the Library pages on Open Access and please also have a look at the  SHU Research Publications and Copyright Policy (Open Access policy).

If you collect or use data in your research, have a look at our data management pages.

When you apply for ethical approval of a project, you will need to include a data management plan. Our team will review this and offer feedback. 

For secure storage of data, use the university research store. There's guidance on using the research store off campus on our remote research guide.

At the end of the project, data connected to publications needs to be added to SHURDA, the data archive. Data can also be shared via the archive, for other researchers to use. You will discuss what (if any) data you will share, and on what terms, in your data management plan.

If you've not got one already, set up your ORCID id. It doesn't take long, and you can add your ORCID to publications, which makes them more findable. You can also connect your ORCID profile to Elements, helping to keep them up to date.

Your ORCID id is one way in which you can increase the reach and impact of your work. You can find out how to use other tools, such as social media and altmetrics, in our influential researcher pages.

You can find out more about our support by browsing our pages. We also run sessions on these topics, and you can contact the team to set up a 1-2-1 meeting