Library Research Support Services

Uploading files to Pure is important for complying with REF and University mandates, as well as funder requirements in some cases.

• The current REF open access policy requires that authors deposit their Author's Accepted Manuscripts of paywalled journal articles and conference papers with an ISSN to their institutional repository (i.e. via Pure to PEARL) within 90 days of acceptance.

• The University of Plymouth Open Access policy is deliberately aligned with REF requirements, but includes a wider range of research outputs. This is to ensure that University of Plymouth researchers can gain the maximum benefits of making their work open access in PEARL and on the Research Portal.

At the beginning of June 2024, research outputs for current academic staff were migrated from Symplectic Elements to Pure. This was a bulk process involving tens of thousands of records, and so it was not possible to check every individual research output before Pure went live.

If you think you had outputs in Symplectic Elements that are not in Pure, please contact ris@plymouth.ac.uk using subject “Missing research output” with details.

If your outputs were not in Symplectic Elements, they will not have been imported automatically. However, you can contact the email above if you need help getting old outputs into Pure. This includes new members of staff, as we can help you to run a bulk import from databases like Scopus to populate your profile quickly.

There are lots of different output 'types' in Pure. Below you can find some guidance on what these are, which can help you to decide which one to select when you are adding a new output. This guidance can also be found within Pure itself by hovering over the output type in question:

Outputs may fit within the definitions of more than one 'type', and researchers generally have control over what 'label' they wish to apply to an output within Pure. Pure administrative staff will only modify output types selected by researchers if their definition is clearly defined and it obviously belongs under a different subtype. (For example, conference proceedings clearly published in a journal with an ISSN will be moved under Contribution to journal if they are deposited elsewhere, since this is an important distinction for REF purposes.)

Contribution to journal

A journal is published in a consecutive number of volumes/issues, as a series with the same journal title. The journal will usually have an ISSN-number, e.g. ISSN 1234-5678.

• Article: A presentation of new research. The journal will normally classify this output as an 'Article'/'Original Research Article'/etc.
• Review article: An article that reviews previous research on a topic and provides a summarisation of the current understanding of the topic.
• Letter: A short description of new, important research results.
• Comment/debate: Short commentary/contribution to debate in a publication, often about former published articles.
• Editorial: An article-like text with the official opinion about a subject, from a journal's point of view.
• Book Review: A short critical analysis of an academic book, published in a journal.
• Conference proceedings published in a journal: An article that has been presented at a conference AND published in a journal. This specific form of conference publication is subject to REF OA requirements, so it is important to classify these properly for REF reporting purposes. If your conference proceedings have not been published in a journal, you can find alternative output templates under Contribution to conference or Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding.

Book/Report

Books, reports and anthologies/collected works where the depositing author(s) are responsible for the entire work. The work may have an ISBN.

• Book: A completed, stand-alone work that may be published in one or more volumes. Often with one or few authors and one or few subject areas/
• Edited collection: A collection of a number of contributions to a completed work on a more or less specific subject.
• Commissioned report: A report with a pre-defined objective, requested by the institution in charge.

Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding

Books, reports and anthologies/collected works where the depositing author(s) are only responsible for part of the work, e.g. a chapter. The work may have an ISBN.

• Chapter: Chapter or part of a book, report, or anthology/collected work.
• Entry for encyclopaedia/dictionary: A short, focused article on one or more subject(s) for publication in an encyclopaedia.
• Conference proceedings published in a book: An article that has been presented at a conference AND published in a book.
• Foreword/postscript: Contribution to book/report/conference prior to the main text (foreword), as well as after this (postscript).

Contribution to conference

Article, abstract, or poster, presented at a conference but not formally published officially in a journal/proceeding. For 'formally published' conference proceedings found in a journal or a book, there are separate output types available under Contribution to journal and Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding.

• Conference paper (not formally published): Text prepared in advance, for a conference. Made available at the conference or institution's own website, but not published officially in a journal/proceeding.
• Poster: A poster is a presentation of work at a conference. Often with a dominating visual aspect, allowing a quick overview.
• Abstract: An abstract is a short condensed preview of an article or work, presented at a conference.

Working paper

An early version or draft of an output. See Preprints.org for more examples of the differences between working papers and preprints.

• Working paper: Working/discussion paper usually constitutes a very early version of a publication or work in progress. They will not have a DOI.
• Discussion paper: Working/discussion paper constitutes an early version of a publication or work in progress. They will not have a DOI.
• Preprint: A preprint is a version of a scientific manuscript posted on a public server prior to formal peer review. A preprint becomes a permanent part of the scientific record, even if it is not eventually published. It is citable, and may have its own unique DOI (this can be applied in Pure upon request, or may have already been applied if the preprint has been posted on an external preprint server like arXiv.). Similar to a working/discussion paper in that it has not gone through peer review, but preprints tend to be more 'complete'.

Patent

A patent is a document that grants the rights of a piece of work/invention to its originator.

• Patent: A patent is a document that grants the rights of a piece of work/invention to its originator.

Non-textual form

Research output that is not explicitly text. E.g. content with main focus on audio or images.

• Software: Stand-alone software for execution of specific tasks.
• Digital Object: E.g. podcasts, animations, photos, sound recordings.
• Artefact: Artefacts of various kinds.
• Exhibition: Sculptures, models, paintings, (art) installations etc.
• Performance: Dramatic or musical entertainment.
• Performance: A short critical analysis of an academic book, published in a journal.
• Composition: Musical scores, notes, or sheets.
• Design: Design in various forms.
• Sound/Music: An audio recording of any kind, e.g. recorded music.
• Artwork: E.g. fine art, visual installations, paintings.

Other contribution

Any kind of output that does not fit into the other defined categories.

• Other contribution: A catch-all category for outputs that do not fit elsewhere. Researchers may wish to provide more details in the Abstract field.
• Previously awarded Doctoral thesis: This is for researchers who want to include their PhD thesis on their Pure profile, if that thesis was conducted at another university. (PhDs awarded elsewhere should not be deposited in the main 'Student thesis' section of Pure since this is reserved for theses conducted at the University of Plymouth.)

Contribution to specialist publication

A research output that has been published in a domain-specific journal with a more communicative approach. May have a wider intended audience.

• Article: Article that communicates to a wide audience with a popular, debating, and/or summarising content.
• Featured article: Featured article, with a dominant location, that communicates to a wide audience with a popular, debating, and/or summarising content.
• Book/film/article review: Review of a book, film, or article in a journal with a wide audience.
• Editorial: An article-like text with the official opinion about a subject from the publication's point of view.
• Letter: A short description of new, important research results.
• Special issue: A journal with focus on a special theme or subject.