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Researchers and employees

The OPUS publication server also offers Ostfalia lecturers, researchers and staff the opportunity to publish their texts or multimedia content.

Publishing on a publication server is a modern alternative to conventional forms of publication and offers many advantages:

  • high visibility (Google Scholar specifically evaluates publication servers)
  • fast and free publication
  • Import and export functions from Citavi
  • Creation of publication lists
  • automatically updated linking to your own homepage possible
  • Long-term archiving and data backup of the text on a German server
  • First and second publication fulfils the open access requirements of public third-party funding bodies (DFG, BMBF, EU)

What do we need from you?

  • Your (research) publication
  • Your work must fulfil certain requirements for publication. See "What do I need to consider?".
  • A completed and signed declaration of consent from each (co-)author as a PDF scan with the following file name: EE_surname.pdf. Please upload the scan together with your publication in the first upload mask. The fillable PDF form is available here.

What needs to be considered?

Publication on the university publication server places the following requirements on your work:

  • Anonymised library version (private data and (e-mail) addresses, telephone numbers, interview partners with real names, etc. must not be included)
  • File format: PDF/A format
  • Number of files: 1
  • File size: max. 10 MB
  • File name: surname_year_keyword_content_work.pdf
  • As we endeavour to operate OPUS as a full-text publication server in the spirit of Open Access, only publishes records with full texts. We exclude the publication of abstracts or datasets without full texts within the scope of publication.

What do you need to do?

Would you like a DOI for your publication? For further information, please refer to "DOI allocation".

You can now upload your work via our OPUS publication mask (external link, opens in a new window).

The following fields must be completed or ticked:

  • Document type + file if applicable (depending on the DOI assignment)
  • Bibliography
  • Grant of simple right of use
  • Contact details of the submitter (please be sure to enter your private e-mail address for any queries)
  • Title of the work and language Title
  • Abstract (optional)
  • Authors (first name and surname)
  • Year of completion
  • Publishing house
  • at least one GND keyword and, if applicable, free keywords
  • DDC subject group
  • Language
  • CC licence (detailed information on this can be found here) or a reference to German copyright law (only for secondary publications)
  • Please upload the completed and signed declaration of consent as a scan in the upload mask. You can obtain the PDF form here.

Once we have received and checked your data set and the required documents, we will then authorise your work.

Secondary publication right

In an amendment to copyright law in 2014, the legislator created an indispensable secondary publication right.

Scientific articles that are the result of research that is at least half publicly funded and published in a periodical that appears at least twice a year can be republished one year after publication, e.g. in a repository such as OPUS, and thus made freely available in open access, regardless of the content of the publishing contract.

With regard to public funding, however, the restriction applies that it must be public third-party funding, so that contributions in connection with research activities financed from basic funds or purely didactic activities are not covered by this law.

DOI allocation

Since 2019, the university has offered its researchers and employees the opportunity to register DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) for their publications. You can find more information on DOIs here. The prerequisite is that the publication is first published Open Access with us.

If you would like a DOI for your publication, please let us know in the comments field when uploading.

VG word

Texts published online can be reported to VG Wort. As it is not possible to automatically count the number of hits via OPUS, the report is made via the annual special distribution. The details of this special distribution are summarised in the following PDF (external link, opens in a new window) (short version: Annual special distribution).

The PDF "Metis for authors" with all information from VG Wort can be downloaded here: PDF (external link, opens in a new window)

Your question has not been answered? Please feel free to contact us:

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