Category Archives: Tri-Agency Policies

SSHRC: Important Updates to Website

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SSHRC has recently updated policies, guidelines and other related information on their website. Please click the following links for more information on these topics:

The following funding opportunities have been updated (descriptions and application materials):

  1. Insight Grants Funding Opportunity and Resource Centre for Grants (with new resources regarding Research Creation), and
  2. Knowledge Synthesis Grants : What effects will the quest for energy and natural resources have on our society and our position on the world stage?

 

Feedback Wanted: Draft Tri-Agency Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management

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Overview
High-quality data management is fundamental to research excellence.  The ability to store, access, reuse and build upon digital research data is critical to the advancement of research and supports the discovery of innovative solutions to economic and social challenges. Digital data holds tremendous potential for Canada’s productivity and competitiveness, and for improvements in quality of life nationally and internationally.

The Tri-Agencies are committed to fostering a robust environment for data stewardship in Canada and internationally, and to helping ensure that Canada is well positioned to contribute to and capitalize on data-intensive science and scholarship. To achieve this, and while recognizing the diversity of data practices and needs within the Canadian research community, SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR are in the process of reviewing and enhancing their data management requirements for Agency-supported researchers.

As a step in this process, the Agencies have developed a draft Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management. This builds on the 2013 consultation document, Toward a Policy Framework for Advancing Digital Scholarship in Canada, information provided by a Comprehensive Brief on Research Data Management Policies, and advice received through stakeholder engagement.

The draft Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management (the Statement) outlines the Agencies’ overarching expectations with regard to digital research data management, and the responsibilities of researchers, research communities, institutions and funders in meeting these expectations. It complements and builds upon existing Agency policies, and will serve as a guide to assist the research community in preparing for, and contributing to the development of, Tri-Agency data management requirements.

Feedback
SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR invite institutions, associations, organizations and individuals to comment on the draft Statement, its comprehensiveness and balance, as well as its usefulness in advancing data stewardship in general and data management practices in particular. The HTML version is accessible here, and the PDF version is accessible here.

Please note that the Agencies will be accepting feedback on the draft Statement until September 4, 2015. Feedback can be sent electronically to any of the following email addresses:
researchdata@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
researchdata@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
researchdata@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Please indicate the section(s) of the draft being referred to in your feedback.

Next Steps
By the end of 2015, SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR will revise the Statement as appropriate and formally adopt it. In 2016, they plan to engage the research community to seek advice on realizing the principles expressed in the draft Statement, particularly with a view to developing new data management requirements.

Research Grant Development Workshop

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You are invited to attend an upcoming research grant development workshop:

Wednesday, June 3rd
9:30 – 11:00am
Location: Room 204 –MSJ

Areas of focus for the workshop include:

  • Grant proposal preparation and development, with overviews on:
  • Tri-agency open access policy on publications
  • Changes to SSHRC Insight grant (2015) application process
  • Common CV
  • Q & A (across disciplines)

 Please RSVP to Beth Russell-Minda by May 27th
elizabeth.minda[at]uwo.ca

University Affairs article: What does the new tri-agency open access policy mean for researchers?

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On April 28, 2015, University Affairs magazine published a nice, concise article on the new tri-agency open access policy. The new policy came into effect May 1st. In this article, the authors outline the basic Open Access (OA) options available to researchers: the “green” option, the “hybrid journal-gold” option, and the full “gold” option.

You can read the full UA article here:
“What does the new tri-agency open access policy mean for researchers?”

 

 

 

 

 

New Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications

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In a February 27 press release, Minister Holder formally announced the newly approved Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications.  The policy, which has been in draft stages for some time, will require grant-holders funded by one of the three federal granting agencies to make their peer-reviewed journal publications freely available online within 12 months. The three federal granting agencies include: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The policy will require NSERC and SSHRC funded researchers to comply with the policy for all grants awarded May 1, 2015 and onward. The policy will not change current compliance requirements for CIHR funded researchers since a similar policy with the same requirements has been in effect since 2008.

Quick Facts

  • Open access is the practice of providing free and unrestricted online access to research publications.
  • In keeping with the global movement towards open access, the harmonized policy requires that researchers receiving grants from CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC  make their resulting peer-reviewed journal articles freely available online within 12 months of publication.
  • Researchers can comply with the open access policy in two ways: ‘self-archiving’ by depositing their peer-reviewed manuscript to an online repository that will make the manuscript freely accessible within 12 months of publication; or submitting their manuscript to a journal that offers open access within 12 months of publication.
  • CIHR-funded researchers are also required to deposit bioinformatics, atomic, and molecular coordinate data into the appropriate public database immediately upon publication of research results. They must also retain original data sets for a minimum of five years (or longer if other policies apply).
  • Since 2008, SSHRC has invited applications for financial support from open access journals through its Aid to Scholarly Journals funding opportunity. In the 2014 competition, nearly 65% of applicants had an open-access or delayed open-access business model, up from just over 50% in the previous competition.
  • The Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications aligns with the objectives of Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government and is a commitment under the updated Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy.

Open access publishing resources for faculty:

Scholarly Publishing Resources from Western Libraries – provides links to open access publishing solutions, directories, and open access advocacy groups for researchers at Western and the affiliated colleges including Scholarship@Western

Scholars Portal DataVerse (a repository for research data collected by individuals and organizations associated with Ontario universities)

University of Toronto Libraries Open Access Resources

 

Revised 2014 Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide

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The Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide (v.2014) has been revised. The policies and requirements found in the guide apply to all three agencies: NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR. Any exceptions to these will be indicated in the program description of the respective Agency. The guide is effective January 1st, 2015 and supersedes all previous versions.

A Summary of the Changes can be found here.

SSHRC Future Challenge Areas

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For Canada to be a successful 21st‑century society we need to anticipate the challenges ahead and keep our minds open to the potential futures facing us all. This is the inspiration behind SSHRC’s Imagining Canada’s Future initiative.

SSHRC launched Imagining Canada’s Future in June 2011 to identify future challenge areas for Canada in an evolving global context that are likely to emerge in five, 10 and 20 years and to which the social sciences and humanities research community could contribute its knowledge, talent and expertise.

The project involved a two‑year, cross‑Canada and international consultation process, during which we reached out to more than 13,000 subject matter experts, members of the academic research community, students, and public, private and not-for-profit sector leaders, to seek their insight.

The Six Future Challenge Areas are as follows:

  1. What new ways of learning, particularly in higher education, will Canadians need to thrive in an evolving society and labour market?
  2. What effects will the quest for energy and natural resources have on our society and our position on the world stage?
  3. How are the experiences and aspirations of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada essential to building a successful shared future?
  4. What might the implications of global peak population be for Canada?
  5. How can emerging technologies be leveraged to benefit Canadians?
  6. What knowledge will Canada need to thrive in an interconnected, evolving global landscape?

SSHRC invites all applicants to its funding opportunities to review the future challenge areas, and subquestions, and to consider addressing one or more of these areas in their research proposal.

SSHRC Guidelines for Effective Research Training

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sshrc

In response to consultations with the research community, and informed by a literature review, the guidelines present a common definition of effective research training across all SSHRC funding opportunities.

The guidelines apply to each of SSHRC’s programs (Talent, Insight and Connection) and are designed to assist the research community in its efforts to promote effective research training and career development as part of its SSHRC-funded research activities.

All SSHRC funding applicants proposing training plans and budgets are encouraged to use the guidelines as a tool to help identify the elements of effective research training. Funding applicants should include in their proposals the dimensions of research training that are the most relevant to their research projects and that can be of most benefit to all parties involved. External reviewers and committee members are also encouraged to use the guidelines to assist in gauging the quality of research training activities proposed in SSHRC applications.

To read the guidelines, please follow this link to the SSHRC website.

Open Access Journals–How to Evaluate and Choose the Best Ones

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More and more, the world of academic publishing is moving in the direction of open access avenues of dissemination. In fact, there is a draft Tri-Agency open access policy on the table as we speak (see also: Science.gc.ca Open Access and response to the draft policy). This proposed policy would require grant applicants to include plans for open access publishing of results and overall open data management within their grant applications. It’s something worth considering as the world of academic research and funding agencies appear to be heading in the open access direction. What’s also worth considering is the way in which we think about open access publishing. Reputable and distinguished open access journals are out there, but at the same time, there are tons more that aren’t worth your time or your money. The journals that fall in the latter category are often billed as “predatory journals” or “vanity publications.” Their main intent is to publish as many articles and journals as they possibly can, and take the money and run. And many don’t incorporate a true peer-review process, which can lead to all sorts of problems for the author down the road.

One way to avoid these types of predatory publishers is to begin by conducting your own investigation and evaluation. Below you will find some resources compiled by Western Libraries that will help you make an informed decision on where to find the most reputable open access publisher.

The following questions can be used as guidelines when you are evaluating open access journals.

Publisher level
Is the publisher a member of Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)? OASPA consists of a group of open access publishers, which are recognized for promoting and advocating open access publishing. Please see the list of OASPA members here. Newer publishers are not listed in OASPA, so it will be more appropriate to evaluate them based on their reputation in the related academic community.

Is the publisher a questionable open access publisher? Jeffrey Beall, an academic librarian at the University of Colorado Denver has compiled a list of predatory scholarly open access publishers in his blog. See his criteria for determining predatory open access publisher (2nd edition) here.

What is the mandate of the publisher of the journal? Is it for-profit or not-for-profit? The mandate of the publisher often can be found on their website. Not-for-profit publishers may have deeper commitment to open access, as they focus on scholarship and the dissemination of information rather than profit.

Journal level

Is the journal listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)? DOAJ has an established quality control process to ensure the quality of the journals being included. For the selection criteria, please refer to their webpage.

Does the journal have an impact factor? How high is the impact factor? For some newer open access journals, impact factor may not be available.

Are the peer review guidelines posted on the journal’s website? Is it a blind peer review (or anonymous peer review) in which the reviewers’ and author’s identities are kept secret from each other? Or is it an open peer review in which the identities of the reviewers are transparent to the author? Blind peer review is traditionally considered as the trademark for scientific publishing.

How qualified is the editorial board of the journal? You can check the editorial board members’ profiles if they are available on the journal’s site, or you can do some research on their research backgrounds on the Internet.

Is the journal indexed in major databases or index services? Check Ulrichs Global Serials Directory and sometimes the journal’s website for that information.

How many issues have been published since the journal started? It is useful to review the current and past issues of the journal to get a quick snapshot of the publication history of the journal.

Article level

Check the authors of several articles published in several issues. Are these articles written by a single author or different authors? This can help to see the pool of article submittors of the journal.

Scan through some articles published in several issues. Does the content make sense? Are the articles well-written?

If the author is listed with some affiliation, check the affiliation’s background. If it is an institution or a university, is the affiliated institution or university a reputable one? Does it have a program in the field the article is written about? Check their website for this kind of information.

Check the total cites (number of times being cited by others) for some articles published in several issues. Are these articles being cited reasonably frequently by others in the field, given the time since they were published? There are different places where you can check the total cites for articles. Web of Science has total cites if the article is indexed there. If you need help finding this information, you can contact a subject librarian.