Durham Research Online (DRO) is Durham University’s institutional Open Access repository. In DRO, you'll find information about published and upcoming research outputs that are affiliated with one or more Durham authors. Many DRO records will include access to a full text - sometimes this may be the author accepted manuscript so it will look a little different from the published version. Some files will be under embargo due to publisher policies - if this is the case, there will be information on the page telling you the file is embargoed. There are records that do not have a file attached but we always make every effort to provide a link to the published version.
DRO content can be use for non-commercial, personal study except where the licence displayed on the DRO record indicates otherwise.
For information on how to deposit, please visit our Outputs SharePoint site. You will find advice, support and guides on how to add your work to Durham Research Online using the Worktribe Outputs module - item type guidance, depositing FAQs and information about our Mediated Deposit service.
Our Mediated Deposit Service allows you to send details of a publication to the DRO Team, who will then add the output to the repository. Mediated deposits are intended for records to which you wish to attach a file. Simply complete the form, attach your file and submit it to the Library.
The version accepted for publication by the publisher, including changes arising from peer-review, but before copyediting, typesetting and proof correction. If you use Microsoft Word, it would be your final revised Word version - but we will convert and upload as a PDF. View Research England's diagram showing the accepted manuscript as part of the publication process.
Exceptions
Publishers' repository or author self-archiving policies are found on copyright agreements, licences and publishers’ websites. But the DRO Team will check the details for you when you provide your accepted manuscript or email the DRO Team and ask them to check. Below are summary details of ten leading academic publishers.
The DRO team use Sherpa Romeo to initially check embargo periods and publisher policies. You can do this by entering the journal title you wish to publish in and the different open access options will be displayed - if you are wishing to publish green open access you can check the embargo periods for authors' accepted manuscripts in institutional repositories.
Other journal checker tools you may find useful include the Plan S Journal Checker Tool. Currently, some funders such as the Wellcome Trust request authors check journals are Plan S compliant before submitting articles.
As a leading research institution, Durham University is committed to sharing its knowledge and expertise as widely as possible. Durham Research Online (DRO) is Durham University's institutional open access repository and, as of March 2024, contains almost 80,000 records describing a broad section of Durham's research outputs. New content is added every day.
The full-text of many DRO outputs is freely available to download and read, although some files are under temporary embargoes because of authors' copyright agreements. Embargo expiry dates are shown on DRO records, after which the content will be available.
DRO content can be used for non-commercial, personal study except where the licence displayed on the DRO record indicates otherwise. Many outputs are available under types of Creative Commons licence. Click the link on each record for details of each specific licence. Please note that all the licences require that the original author/licensor is credited. View the Durham Research Online (DRO) use policy.
It is easy to reference DRO content in your own publications - just provide the usual citation details and add the DRO URL and date when you accessed the file:
EXAMPLE
Surname, Firstname (YYYY). ‘Article title’, Journal title, Volume(Issue), pp. N-NN. Available at http://dro.dur.ac.uk/NNNN ; Accessed DD/MM/YYYY
You don't have to re-type the citation. Copy/paste the citation from either the output's DRO web page or cover sheet attached to each deposited file.
Rights owners of content found in DRO who have not given permission for its use can request that the content be removed. Please provide the following information:
Durham University
Bill Bryson Library
Stockton Road
DURHAM
DH1 3LY
United Kingdom
View Durham Research Online (DRO) take-down policy.
