This checklist is for all GCU authors to follow to help them make their research outputs open access.
Externally funded authors will have an extra step to follow to ensure they comply with their funders’ policies.
For the University and its researchers to comply with funder requirements and Research Excellence Framework (REF) requirements, and to enable the broadest dissemination of research and scholarship, whilst enabling staff to publish in a journal of their choice, the institution has adopted the Glasgow Caledonian University Publications Policy (2025) . The policy includes an institutional Rights Retention Strategy (RRS). The policy was approved by Senate in June 2025, and all GCU authors are expected to follow its requirements from 1st October 2025.
If you are unsure about any of the following steps, please contact the Library Research Team for support: libraryresearch@gcu.ac.uk .
Before submission
Step one: Selecting a journal to publish in
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When considering which journal to publish in, you may wish to use journal metrics to assist your selection criteria. Journal metrics attempt to signifying a journal's importance and influence in a particular field. Journal metrics are by their nature controversial. As with all measures of scholarly impact, they should be used in the appropriate context and never in isolation. The following webpage provides guidance on the responsible use of research metrics .
The Think. Check. Submit. initiative supports researchers in finding reputable journals and publishers for their work. By providing tools and practical resources, this global, cross-sector initiative seeks to educate researchers, uphold integrity, and foster trust in credible research and publications. Think. Check. Submit may be a helpful resource to include in your journal selection process, and can also assist in the identification of non-reputable publishers and potentially predatory journals .
Step two: Data access statement and standardised affiliation
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As outlined in the GCU Publications Policy, you must include a data access statement in all research outputs even where there are no data associated with the publication or the data is inaccessible. The statement informs readers where the associated underlying research materials are available and how they can be accessed.
Guidance on creating data access statements is available from the Library's Data access statements webpage .
When submitting an item for publication, you should use an address in the style listed below. As a minimum, a standardised institutional affiliation “Glasgow Caledonian University” must be used, but the following format is preferred:
<Centre/Department>, <School>, <Glasgow Caledonian University>, <Postal Address> .
Step three: Check your funder open access requirements
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Check your funder open access requirements and ensure that your chosen journal is compliant with these requirements. You can use the cOAlition S Journal Checker Tool for an initial indication.
Step four: Open access considerations
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Open access publisher agreements When selecting a journal, check if GCU has an open access publisher agreement in place. Option one on the Funding for open access webpage lists all available publisher agreements. Corresponding authors at GCU can make use of the agreements, which may enable you to publish your article gold open access with a Creative Commons licence for no fee.
Green open access Green open access (also known as self-archiving) is a way to provide access to your research without cost to the authors or readers. Option two on the Funding for open access webpage provides further detail on green open access.
If you decide to publish in a subscription journal, or in a hybrid journal using the subscription model, you can achieve open access using the green route. Scholarly outputs should include the following rights retention statement in the funding acknowledgement section of the manuscript and any accompanying cover letter/note:“For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.” Excel document . If your publisher is not on the list, please contact the Library Research Team, who will notify the publisher as soon as possible and update the list accordingly. Where your publisher is not on the list, the rights retention statement must be included in the funding acknowledgement section of the submitted manuscript and any accompanying cover letter/note .
There may be circumstances where you cannot include the rights retention statement in your submitted manuscript. In this scenario please contact the Library Research Team for support prior to submission, so they can advise on the best course of action. In exceptional circumstances it may be possible to opt out of the GCU Publications Policy, although doing so could result in your research output being non-compliant with funder and/or Research Excellence Framework (REF) open access policies.
Please note, you cannot opt out of the requirement to deposit an electronic copy of the author accepted manuscript in the University’s institutional repository.
GCU open access fund If you are publishing in a fully open access journal, and your journal of choice is not included in a GCU publisher agreement, you may be able to apply to the GCU open access fund to cover the article processing charge (APC). Option three on the Funding for open access webpage outlines the eligibility criteria and decision process when applying to use the GCU open access fund.
Step five: Investigate any additional publication fees
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Check your journal's webpages to see if the publisher charges any additional fees, for example extra page, colour or overlength charges. Some journals have also introduced an article development charge. Article development charges may result in a barrier to you retaining your right to disseminate and use your own work.
Additional publication fees cannot be paid by the library, even if you have funding through the GCU open access fund. We would strongly advise contacting the Library Research Team before committing to paying any additional charges.
Upon acceptance
Step six: Deposit in Pure
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When you receive the acceptance notification from the journal editor, you must ensure that the author accepted manuscript (AAM) is deposited in Pure. You should also send the formal acceptance email to the Library Research Team: libraryresearch@gcu.ac.uk .
The library's Guide to adding publications to Pure provides information on creating Pure research output records.
If your research is externally funded, you should link the output to the relevant project record in Pure.
Step seven: Open access route
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After your article is accepted for publication, the publisher usually sends you a link to complete their online forms. At this point select your open access route and initiate the process with the journal publisher, usually via;
Option one: Open access publisher agreement As you will have indicated your GCU affiliation during submission, this should help ensure your article will automatically be included in the open access publisher agreement. Each publisher has their own system which should be simple to follow; however if you have any questions, the Library Research Team will be able to guide you through the process. Please do not order an invoice, as this will have to be cancelled.
Option two: Green open access If you have included the rights retention statement listed in step four (above) in your submission, deposited the author accepted manuscript in Pure, and provided the Library Research Team with the formal acceptance email, then the article can be made immediately open access on publication. If the publisher wants to remove, or already has removed, the statement, please contact the Library Research Team for support.
Option three: GCU open access fund Before submission, you will have received notification as to whether your application to the GCU open access fund has been successful and funding is available. If your article processing charge is being funded by the open access fund, upon acceptance, contact the Library Research Team, who will provide guidance specific to your publisher.
When completing publisher online forms, please remember to select the CC BY licence when prompted. This will ensure compliance with funder and Research Excellence Framework (REF) open access policies.
After publication
Step eight: Notification
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When your article is published and available online, please send notification to the Library Research Team. The Library Research Team will update your Pure record, and where applicable, make sure the author accepted manuscript can be made open access as soon as possible with the correct final publication details.
Extra step for funded research outputs
Step nine: Additional external repository deposit requirements
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Deposit in Pure is not sufficient to ensure compliance with some funders’ open access policies. If required by funders, you may need to deposit in an additional repository that is external to GCU.
