Open Research

The University of Edinburgh and the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences are committed to making the full record of research fully and freely available through Open Research

The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences has developed a new Open Research Strategy (2026–29), designed to reflect the specific needs and practices of researchers across our disciplines.

The strategy is grounded in the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science — a globally recognised framework promoting openness, equity and collaboration in research. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach, the work centres on how open research principles can be made meaningful and workable for arts, humanities and social sciences communities.

The strategy responds to a changing policy landscape, including new funder requirements, the University's Rights Retention Strategy, and evolving expectations around research culture and assessment. It is structured around four areas: advocacy; support and training; research culture, ethics and integrity; and strategy and environment.

Key priorities include recognising diverse research outputs beyond traditional articles, promoting non-commercial publishing models, supporting ethical data sharing, and developing discipline-relevant training.

Open Access at CAHSS

These are examples of outputs published open access by researchers at schools across the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: 

Browse our Open Access published works on the Edinburgh Diamond website.

Discover all of CAHSS research outputs on the University's Research Explorer platform.

Veronica Cano

Open Data and REF Manager

Contact details