Category: Events

Newcastle University holds inaugural open research conference

On Friday 13th June 2025 Newcastle University held its first ever open research conference, bringing together staff and postgraduate students to share successes and challenges in their open research journeys so far and learn what benefits working openly can bring. Attendees came from SAgE, HaSS, FMS and Professional Services indicating a growing multidisciplinary interest in open research practices. A welcoming address was given by Natasha Mauthner, Associate Dean for Good Research Practice and UKRN institutional lead.

The conference was aimed specifically at early career researchers (ECRs) and PGR students who were either practising open research or were keen to learn more about how to go about conducting open research, with the opportunity to share best practice and build upon open research techniques through a series of invited talks and hands-on workshops. Workshops were delivered by open research champions and the library open research team. Topics covered on the day included open, FAIR and sensitive data, trust in research methods and results, transparency and reproducibility, and research tools and software for openness. The day concluded with a hands-on exploration of open research through games and a productive and thought-provoking ‘open forum’ discussion of what open research means for non-quantitative disciplines including challenges, opportunities to expand how openness and transparency is considered over all disciplines within the university, and open research training needs.

Feedback on the day was positive, there was a buzz of discussion and attendees were able to make new connections, learn about new tools and discuss any shared challenges in making their research more open. The conference also acted as an opportunity to promote the work of the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) at Newcastle University and the monthly ReproducibiliTea journal club.

Details of the talks from invited speakers and workshops with resources can be found on the conference programme page and below, with links to the slides.

Short Talks

  • Open-Source Software Tools for Research – Ben Wooding, School of Computing, SAgE (download slides)
  • Demystifying Clinical Audit vs Research – Edmund Ong, Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, FMS (download slides)
  • Applying FAIR Principles to Research Software – Frances Turner, Carol Booth, Research Software Engineering Team (download slides)
  • Open Access DNA-Encoded Library Screening : Accelerating Therapeutic Discovery Through Collaboration – Cameron Taylor, Mike Waring, Dan Gugan, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, SAgE  (download slides)
  • Introduction to Open Hardware Principles – James Grimshaw, BioImaging Unit, FMS (download slides)
  • Open, FAIR, and Sensitive Data in the context of Electric Vehicle Charging – Shouai Wang, Sanchari Deb, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, SAgE (download slides)
  • Multi100: Estimating the Analytical Robustness of the Social Sciences + Lessons About Open Research – Harry Clelland, Eotvos Lorand University and Northumbria University (download slides)
  • Using Social Media Big Data and ChatGPT for Identifying Counter-urbanisation Hot Spots in China: A Case for Open and Ethical Research – Jian Chen, Centre for Rural Economy, SAgE
  • A Brief History of Research Software Engineering – Mark Turner, Research Software Engineering (download slides)
  • Generating trustworthy evidence: A painful story – Gavin Stewart, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, SAgE (download slides)

Workshops

  • Workshop 1: A Very Short Introduction to Version Control with Git – Janetta Steyn, Research Software Engineering Team (Intro to Git & GitHub)
  • Workshop 2: Sharing sources and processes: a milestone for trust and research longevity – Bogdan Metes, Library Research Services
  • Workshop 3: Making Your Literature Review Easier and More Transparent: Reference Managers and other Tools – Nayara Albrecht, Federal University for Latin American Integration, previously School of Geography, Politics and Sociology (download slides)
  • Workshop 4: DOI Generation and other tools for open publishing – Glyn Nelson, Bioimaging Facility, Faculty of Medical Sciences (download slides)

This guest post was written by Nicola Howe and Clement Lee, local network leads for UKRN Newcastle.

Book Giveaway!

Routledge Critical Food Studies book series will soon publish “Sustainable Food Consumption in China: Changing Foodscapes, Values, and Practices” by Alex Hughes, Shuru Zhong, Mike Crang, Guojun Zeng, Fernando Fastoso, Hector Gonzalez Jimenez and Bob Doherty.

Simply, share or like one of the following posts by 12 June 2025 for a chance to win a print copy!

The book, expected on 18 June 2025, will be published open access as a result of the UKRI open access policy for long-form publications, with open access costs covered by UKRI funding.

Full details of the UKRI open access policy and how we in Library Research Services can support you to publish open access can be found on our UKRI Policy for long-form publications page.

If you have any questions or concerns about the policy, and how this might affect any current or future publications, please contact openaccess@ncl.ac.uk.

What’s happening in Library Research Services: June, July and August 2025

As we move towards the summer months, members of the Library Research Services (LRS) team continue to be on hand to support you with any Open Research, Research Data and Open Access training and queries. Get in touch at lrs@ncl.ac.uk.

There are also a number of interesting events happening:

Check out the library calendar for further courses and dates in 2025.

Philosophical issues in open qualitative research

Monday 9th June, 2025 14:00 – 15:00 (BST). Online.

In this interactive workshop Natasha Mauthner, Professor of Social Science Philosophy and Method at Newcastle University, will critically examine philosophical issues in open qualitative research.

The open research movement—encompassing its practices, policies, concepts, infrastructure, governance, guidance, protocols, and rationale—is rooted in an implicit positivist understanding of research. In contrast, qualitative research is grounded in a rich diversity of philosophical traditions, including positivism, interpretivism, social constructionism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, symbolic interactionism, postmodernism, poststructuralism, and deconstruction.

This workshop invites participants to explore the tensions between the normative, one-size-fits-all model of open research—often shaped by positivist assumptions—and the ontological and epistemological diversity of qualitative inquiry. How can qualitative researchers from various philosophical traditions meaningfully engage with open research practices? Conversely, how might the open research movement evolve to better reflect and support the complexity and pluralism of qualitative research?

Register now

Hosted jointly by Newcastle University and the University of Reading Qualitative Open Research group.

What’s happening in Library Research Services: March and April 2025

This March, you can come and chat with members of the Library Research Services (LRS) team at our in-person event (12.00-14.00) on the 28th in the Henry Daysh Building, HDB.1.04, as part of the Universities for North East England Open Research Week.

Other events coming up:

Check out the library calendar for further courses and dates in 2025.

Universities for North East England Open Research Week – 24 to 28 March 2025

The Universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside are pleased to invite you to attend their Open Research Week.

We have organised a series of events, featuring a range of speakers, discussing Open Research practices in our institutions and beyond. The events aim to explore and share good practice, discuss barriers and strategies to enable Open Research.

Who should attend? Anyone with an interest in knowing more about Open Research, including researchers, academics, technicians, research staff support and students.

Registration details and more information about each event are available at the links below (all times are in GMT). The majority of events are hosted online via Teams, and registration is open to all.

Monday 24th March

  • 14:00 – 15:30 – Open Data?! Benefits and strategies for sharing research data
    (Prof Eamonn Bell, Durham University; Dr Alan Bowman, Teesside University; Dr Martin P Eccles, Newcastle University; Prof Sarah Lonbay, University of Sunderland; Dr Sebastian Potthoff, Northumbria University; Dr Louise Rayne, Newcastle University)

Tuesday 25th March

Wednesday 26th March

Thursday 27th March

Friday 28th March

Each institution will advertise an in-person drop-in session open to its own staff and research students. Please check individual institutions for details.

  • 11:00 – 13:00 – Open Research Drop-in (Research Commons Collaboration Space 1)
    (at Northumbria University)
  • 12:00 – 14:00 – Open Research Drop-in
    (at Teesside University)

Friday 4th April

Link to all events

If you have any questions please contact Library Research Services lrs@ncl.ac.uk

What’s happening in Library Research Services: February 2025

The Library Research Services (LRS) team are here to help in 2025.

Coming up in the next month:

Check out the library calendar for further courses and dates in 2025.

Data Access Statements: Building Trust through Transparency

In Love Data Week, we show our love for research data.

The Research Data Management teams in the libraries of both Newcastle University and Northumbria University are organising a collaborative event for research colleagues and PGR students during Love Data Week. It will take place a day before Valentine’s Day to help us improve our relationship with research data, before the big day.

Regardless of your research methods (qualitative or quantitative), or whether you write code, you will collect or produce data. Research data are what supports our research claims, underpins our research publications, and brings credibility and a deeper understanding to our work. If you are trying to publish your work, or you collect, analyse, store or share research data, book your place and find out how your data access statement can enhance the transparency of your work.

In this session we will cover:

·         The principles and importance of data access statements in research.

·         Practical guidance on writing clear and impactful statements.

·         Real-world examples and common pitfalls to avoid.

·         Where to share research data.

·         Resources and support to simplify the process.

Date: Thursday, 13th February 2025.

Time: 10:00 – 11:30.

Book you place: https://newcastle-uk.libcal.com/event/4311014.

Treat your data with love this Valentine’s Day!

Contact the team via email at rdm@ncl.ac.uk, or visit the website.

Visit the Love Data Week website for more events.

Open Access Support Sessions 2024/25

Our Open Access Support Sessions are continuing between January to July 2025.

Are you looking for advice and information on open access or managing publications? Come to one of our monthly drop-in sessions and meet members of the Library Research Services team, who will be happy to answer questions on:

  • Publishing open access
  • Understanding research funder policy requirements
  • Copyright and licencing issues relating to your publications
  • Uploading your publications to MyImpact

Whether you’re a seasoned researcher, student or simply keen to explore the possibilities within open access, these sessions offer a welcoming space to ask questions, gain insights and delve deeper into the realm of open access.

Each session is informal, and will focus on a specific area and how this relates to open access:

23 January Publisher Agreements 13.00-13.45

18 February  Licences and Copyright for Open Access Publications 13.00-13.45

20 March Rights Retention and ePrints 13.00-13.45

29 April Data in Publications 13.00-13.45

6 June Funders and Open Access 13.00-13.45

10 July Library Research Services 13.00-13.45

Please note registration is required for you to receive the online zoom link. 

All are welcome!

What’s happening in Library Research Services: December

This December, you can come and chat with members of the Library Research Services (LRS) team at our pop-up event (12.00-14.00) on the 11th at The Atrium, Urban Sciences Building.

We’re also running:

Check out the library calendar for further courses and dates in December and 2025.