Open research is growing at Essex

Open research is rapidly becoming the way scholarship is conducted and shared.

At its core, open research promotes transparency, collaboration, and accessibility, enabling research methods and outputs to be made available to all.

At the University of Essex, this commitment is made clear through our Open Research Position Statement (.pdf). Open practices not only enhance reproducibility and trust but also increase the visibility and impact of your work. This helps research to reach wider audiences, from policymakers to global research communities.

A changing publishing landscape

Our recent decision not to renew our Read and Publish agreement with Elsevier reflects wider shifts across UK universities. More and more libraries are reassessing “big deal” subscriptions in favour of more progressive and open models. At Essex, we support models such as the Open Library of Humanities, MIT Press’s Direct to Open, and Open Book Publishers to help us transition to a better publishing system. This aligns with the building momentum of the international open research movement, supported by both funders, and the UK’s REF requirement for open access.

The scholarly publishing landscape has already changed significantly. Around 50% of global journal articles are now open access, and even within Elsevier’s portfolio, approximately 30% of content is openly available.

Taking opportunities for open research

Open access enables research to be read without barriers, increasing readership, citations, and real-world impact. At Essex, researchers can take advantage of multiple routes, including self-archiving via the institutional repository or publishing in open access journals.

There is also a growing ecosystem of openly available tools and resources to support both research and teaching. Web browser plug-ins and databases such as the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) can help you to locate accessible versions of research quickly, while open educational resources, including open textbooks, support a more open research-led education system.

Our approach to open research extends to student work too, as the Essex Student Journal provides opportunities for our students to experience the open access publishing process. This includes as authors, editors, and peer reviewers, all via our diamond open access journal.

Beyond open access, citizen science enables communities to get involved in research in various ways, including the co-design of research processes, data collection, and the publication of results. An example of this is PhD researcher Hannah Coburn’s project which encourages the public to become “duck detectives”.

Find out more

As the UK open research landscape continues to evolve, we are committed to growing our open research culture. Embracing open research is a strategic step toward a more equitable, transparent, and impactful research landscape.

Find out more about open research through our dedicated guide, and by catching up with recordings from Open Research Week 2026. You can also get involved with fellow researchers at Essex who are interested in these themes via our local network for the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN). To join its mailing list visit the Research networks and events page, click Institutional networks and events, and scroll down to find the UK Reproducibility Network link (log-in required). 

If you’d like to discuss open research, get in touch with the Library team via oapublish@essex.ac.uk.