nerc.ac.uk

Policies

Metadata policy

  1. Anyone may access the metadata free of charge.
  2. The metadata may be re-used in any medium without prior permission for non-commercial purposes provided:
    1. the OAI Identifier or a link to the original metadata record are given
    2. the repository is cited as: NERC Open Research Archive (NORA). Available: https://nora.nerc.ac.uk.
  3. The metadata must not be re-used in any medium for commercial purposes without formal permission from the NORA Editors: email nora.nerc@bgs.ac.uk.

Access/use policy

  1. Access to some full text items are controlled.
  2. Subject to clause 5, single copies of full text items can be:
    1. Reproduced, given to third parties and stored in a database in any format or medium.
    2. Used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided:
      1. The author/s, title and full bibliographic details are given
      2. A hyperlink and/or URL are given for the original metadata page
      3. The original copyright statement is given
      4. the content is not changed in any way
  3. Full text items must not be harvested by robots except transiently for full-text indexing or citation analysis
  4. Full text items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright-holder
  5. Some full-text items are individually tagged with different rights permissions and conditions
  6. This repository is not the publisher, it is the online archive
  7. Mention of the repository is required and should be cited as: NERC Open Access Research Archive (NORA) Available: http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/.

Content policy

  1. This is a joint archive of outputs produced by researchers based at NERC fully-owned centres - BAS and BGS - and independent centres in receipt of NERC funding - UK CEH and NOC.
  2. Subject specialities include: atmospheric science, earth and geoscience, earth observation, ecology, engineering, environmental maths and statistics, hydrology, marine science, polar and cryospheric science, technology and computer science.
  3. The repository is primarily intended to hold published peer-reviewed papers, reports and other outputs.
  4. Deposited papers should be the final published article (Version of Record) where allowed by the publisher, or the peer-reviewed, post-corrections copy of the manuscript (post-print or Author Accepted Manuscript). All items are individually tagged with their peer-review and publication status.
  5. Metadata language: English

Submission policy

  1. The aim of the NORA is to maximise the visibility, usage and impact through global access, of research outputs produced by staff affiliated to the four research centres.
  2. Full text of all peer-reviewed publications resulting from UKRI-funded research must be deposited at the earliest opportunity in compliance with the UKRI Open Access policy. Deposit of full text of other publication types is recommended but not mandatory.
  3. Full text should be deposited in pdf format. The native format may also be deposited (available to NORA staff only).
  4. The correct licence and copyright information for the deposited item should be included in the record.
  5. All deposits will be assessed by the NORA Editors to ensure that they are within the scope of the repository. The validity and authenticity of the content of submissions lies with the author/s and is not checked.

Ref: UKRI policy on access to research outputs.

Take Down Policy

  1. Items may be removed at the request of the author/copyright holder, but this is strongly discouraged.
  2. If the repository receives proof of copyright violation, the relevant item will be removed from public view.
  3. Withdrawn items are not deleted per se, but are removed from public view and the items' identifiers/URLs retained indefinitely.
  4. URLs will continue to point to 'tombstone' citations, to avoid broken links and to retain item histories, with:
    1. A link to a replacement version, where available
    2. A note explaining the reasons for withdrawal
  5. The metadata of withdrawn items will not be publicly searchable

Preservation policy

  1. NORA supports long-term preservation and free access to research outputs and is intended to retain items in perpetuity.
  2. The repository is externally hosted and regularly backed up.
  3. Where possible, digital preservations methods may be used to ensure continued readability and accessibility (e.g. migration to newer file formats).
  4. Changes to deposited full-text items are not permitted.
  5. If necessary, an updated version of an item may be deposited:
    1. The earlier version may be withdrawn from public view
    2. The original URL will be linked to the latest version
  6. Errata and Corrigenda lists may be included with the original record if required
  7. Corrections to metadata are permitted in consultation with the NORA Editors, and changes are fully auditable.
  8. In the event of the repository being closed down, the archive will be transferred to another appropriate repository.

Updated 3/11/2022