Knowledge For All: UWC Research Repository hosts over 2 000 open access papers

Many of humanity’s greatest wonders can be attributed to the power of collaboration, and many challenges (climate change, food security, looming water shortages) are just too big for any single researcher to tackle.

But that collaboration is only possible if researchers have access to the research findings of others - access that isn’t blocked by restricted access to academic journals that may be too expensive, or that are simply not known to peers in related fields.

That’s why UWC is proud to announce that the UWC Research Repository has reached a major milestone: it now hosts over 2 000 open access papers.

Open access repositories host articles from a university (or other institute) and make them  available for viewing by anyone, free of charge. They are indexed, searchable, visible to search engines - open and visible to all.

The repository team sources UWC research publications and processes them to produce an openly accessible version that also legally satisfies publisher copyright policies.

“As openly licensed research texts, the UWC Research Repository can be a valuable source of teaching materials that reflect South African experiences and phenomena, as well as providing new ideas, methods and information for research purposes,” says Allison Fullard, Deputy Director of the UWC Library. “The Repository allows information to be shared amongst all those who may find it useful, and may be able to take it further.”

UWC Research Repository: Growing and Giving Knowledge

Just three short years ago - during Open Access Week 2014, actually - the repository reached its 1000th paper, representing a whole lot of knowledge in a wide variety of fields, made open to all. Since then, scores of researchers have added their recent and older papers to the mix, sharing expertise on everything from community dentistry to conservation biology, and everything in between.

During the month of Africa Day, the Library has been using its homepage to highlight recent additions to the Repository to focus attention on highly original studies on local culture and social issues, from paediatrics to public health to pulsars. Wondering what UWC researchers have been sharing? Check out some of the featured articles, or browse the repository here.

And remember, you can help to grow this globally accessible resource and bring more readers to your work by using UWC Article Drop - a convenient two-step process for sharing your research with the world.

Want to know more about it? Just check out this handy UWC Article Drop video and all your questions will be answered.