Please see below for a list of frequently asked questions before contacting us. The FAQs are still being written and will be updated as the repository develops and goes live later in 2018.
Q. Why would you upload your student’s research output to Research4Justice?
A. There are a number of obvious benefits, such as:
- The repository will be accessible to caseworkers and justice system professionals (including public and commercial organisations) and therefore provide immediate application of the research
- Providing a platform for institutional collaborations and networks across academia and industry
- Supporting international research and development (R&D) strategies going forward
- Providing an opportunity to facilitate the use of standard approaches to such projects and in doing so make the data generated more robust for its use in Courts internationally
- Reducing/preventing inappropriate repetition of studies across HEIs.
Q. Who uploads the research output to Research4Justice?
A. Anyone can upload the research output to Research4Justice as long as they are registered. However, it is recommended that the research supervisor or departmental contact within the higher education institution agree to the submission and submits the research output on behalf of the student. This is because it is likely that related research is continuing within the institution, may contain sensitive content and/or may need an embargo on the release of the research at this time. This also means that the supervisor is listed as the main point of contact to support continuation and preservation of the research.
Q. Does Research4Justice only provide a repository for theses/dissertations?
A. No, Research4Justice provides a repository for a wide variety of research outputs, such as posters, placement reports, presentations for a wide range of disciplines that are relevant to civil and criminal justice systems all over the world. These therefore include all court systems, for example of relevance to coroners, family and youth courts.
Q. Does Research4Justice only provide a repository for research related to criminal justice systems?
A. No, Research4Justice provides a repository for a wide range of disciplines that are relevant to both civil and criminal justice systems, including coroner, family and youth courts.
Q. Will there be a login and password?
A. Yes, it is recommended that each user of the repository creates a free login to access the full content of the repository. It is possible that some information about the research may be made publicly available as open access; for example, the title of the research output, name of the author/research supervisor(s) and an abstract. However, not all depositors will want the information to be available to non-registered users. Therefore, to ensure you have access to all available information provided within the Research4Justice repository and/or upload documents/files to Research4Justice, a login is recommended. The process for logging in is currently being developed, but we are hoping this may be linked to your University OpenAthens login and/or UK Access Management Federation (Shibboleth) login.
Q. How do we ensure the quality of the uploaded research output?
A. All the research outputs should have been independently marked by two academics in the host institution and the research output may have been sampled for review by an external examiner. We recommend that if the full research output is deposited, that it was graded at 1st or 2.1 (Undergraduate) or Distinction or Merit (postgraduate, excluding PhDs as these are marked differently). However, the criteria for depositing the full output is established by the host university.
Q. Do I need to do anything before I upload to Research4Justice?
A. Yes, you need to ensure you have read through the requirements for preparing and depositing content. In summary, have access to the title, abstract, key words, author (student) and supervisor details. You must also seek written consent from the student prior to uploading the research output and a copy of this should also be deposited, but not made available to other repository users. Student’s names will be identified on the research output uploaded unless they request to be kept anonymous. Institutions may wish to consider the option of uploading to Research4Justice early on in the ethical consideration process.
Q. Can the student cite their research output on Research4Justice repository as a publication?
A. Yes, a DOI (digital object identifier) for example, can be used to cite the output deposited. DOIs will be automatically created during the deposition process. Having DOIs can be viewed as a plus for the student, however, the research output uploaded will not have been subjected to a journal peer-review process (e.g. Forensic Science International, Science & Justice etc.). Research4Justice will have a guide regarding citation and digital identifiers in due course.
Q. What happens if there are grammatical errors in the research outputs?
A. It is anticipated that there may be spelling, punctuation and grammar related errors present in the research outputs stored within the repository. Therefore users of the repository content need to be aware that errors of varying types may be present within the research output.
Q. How do I upload/deposit?
A. See the Research4Justice page regarding depositing/uploading a research output and the ‘How to’ Guide that will be created in due course.
Q. Who has asked for this repository to be created?
A. As a consequence of the UK Home Office Review of R&D in forensic science there is a greater need than ever to share research in forensic and law enforcement communities. Undergraduate/postgraduate students and their academic supervisors produce potentially valuable research through the creation of student thesis and wider research outputs, which are a currently untapped resource and such a repository aims to begin to bridge this gap.
Q. What are the benefits of creating a repository of “justice system related” research outputs?
A. There are a number of obvious benefits, such as:
- The repository will be accessible to caseworkers and justice system professionals (including those in public and commercial organisations) and therefore provide immediate application of the research
- Providing a platform for institutional collaborations and networks across academia and industry
- Supporting international R&D strategies going forward
- Providing an opportunity to facilitate the use of standard approaches to such projects and in doing so make the data generated more robust for its use in Courts across the world
- Reducing/preventing inappropriate repetition of studies across HEIs.
Q. How does the repository affect IPR/copyright/patents?
A. Ownership of the material resides with the author/organisation/institution. Every resource in Research4Justice has a Creative Commons license. This ensures that the resource is still owned by the content creator, but it makes it clear to the user what they can and cannot do with the resource.
Q. Will Research4Justice be able to cope with uploading all the research outputs?
A. Research4Justice currently has the capacity to deal with uploading a 5GB file at this time, more than sufficient for the vast majority of anticipated file sizes for research outputs. The file size will increase considerably once the repository has transitioned into full production at the end of 2018.
Q. How will our institution know how the research output uploaded has been accessed through Research4Justice?
A. Research4Justice will have a core set of metrics that can be provided to institutions and depositors will be able to access some metrics regarding the outputs they specifically upload. More information about these metrics and reporting capabilities will be provided in due course when the repository goes live.
Q. Will it cost me anything to upload thesis to Research4Justice?
A. Only a few minutes of your time to upload each research output. There is no money required. However, to maintain and develop the repository we are looking for financial support for our not-for-profit project through sponsorship from July 2019.
Q. Can the projects uploaded to Research4Justice be plagiarised or detected by plagiarism software?
A. It is expected that the HEI/university has submitted the research output through Turnitin or other appropriate plagiarism detection software prior to uploading to Research4Justice. Research4Justice does not currently have the capability to submit its resources through a plagiarism detection software and does not intend to have this function in the future.
Q. How do you cite the material on Research4Justice in a publication?
A. Refer to the full author(s), title, year and provide the link to the DOI. Alternatively cite the research output as unpublished material.
Q. How can the research outputs in the Research4Justice database be searched for?
A. At present, material is primarily searched through the Research4Justice website. We intend that resources may be readily found using general search engines such as Google or Google Scholar in due course.