For Readers

• What is DRO?
• Access
• Browse
• Quick search
• Advanced search
• Format results
• Keep up-to-date
• Policies
• FAQ

What is DRO?

• a Web-accessible database of records describing Durham University's research outputs
• Journal articles, book chapters, conference and working papers


• Full-text of an output is attached to its record if the copyright agreement with the publisher permits
• Usually the post-print - the author's final, peer-reviewed manuscript - rather than the published version


• Content can be used free of charge for non-commercial, personal study

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Access

DRO content can be easily browsed and searched. Results can be formatted ready for import into your own reference management software.

Browse

Select Browse by year or Browse by department from the Quick links menu at the right of the screen. Records can be sorted by the first-named author or by the item type - e.g. article, book chapter etc.

Quick search

Enter search terms into the Quick search box on the home page. Terms are matched against all of the following fields:

• Title
• Author
• Editor
• Abstract
• Keywords

Results can be sorted alphabetically by Title or Author, or by Date.

Advanced search

Advanced search is available from the home page or from the Quick links menu at the right of the screen. Enter search terms into one or more of the following fields:

• Title/Abstract/Keywords/Authors/Editors - all these fields are searched
• Authors/Editors - both fields are searched
• Full-text

Results can be filtered by Item Type and Peer-review status. Results can be sorted alphabetically by Title or Author, or by Date.

Format results

Search results can be formatted ready for import into your own reference management software. Select an Export format from the drop-down menu at the top of the Results screen. Formats include:

• Endnote
• BibTeX
• Reference Manager

Choose 'Save As' from your web browser menu to save your results to a file on your PC or laptop.

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Keep up-to-date

New content is added regularly to DRO, both records and full-text files. Web 2.0 tools are a good way to discover what's new.

Twitter

Each new item added to DRO generates a tweet

a short message - 140 characters long - containing most of the item's title and a link to its full DRO record. Sign-up to Twitter, then follow us at DROdurham.

RSS feeds

Each new item added to DRO generates a feed

a short summary of the item, giving publication details and a link to its full DRO record. Feeds can be read using your web browser or email programs like Google Reader. Select the orange RSS button on the home page to subscribe to feeds about all new items. Or select the orange RSS button on the Results screen - after you have conducted a search - to view feeds which match your search terms. Use to monitor papers by a particular author or research topic.

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Policies

• Use policy

Provides details of who can deposit items in DRO. In brief, only Durham University-based researchers. Also, how DRO content should be used by readers. In brief, only for non-commercial, personal study.

• Take-down policy

Describes the procedure to follow if you own the copyright for an item in DRO, but have not given permission for its deposit. In brief, send an email to us with details of the item.

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FAQ

Why would I use DRO rather than my own Library's resources ?

• DRO may contain papers not available via your Library's journal and e-book subscriptions. In fact, part of the reason for setting up institutional repositories was to address what is known as 'the crisis in scholarly communication'. 'The crisis' refers to the problems researchers face trying to access scholarly literature relevant to their research, in particular, journal articles. Above-inflation journal price rises over a number of years, coupled with huge increases in the amount of papers written, has meant that no research institution, however prosperous, can afford access to all resources of potential interest to their academics.

What content am I searching in DRO?

• Journal articles, book chapter and conference papers written by Durham University researchers. DRO also collects 'grey literature', documents produced outside the conventional publishing system. Examples: working papers and technical reports.

How do I cite repository papers ?

• The convention is to cite the published version and add the URL of the repository copy, and date when accessed. For example:

Crang, M (2002). 'Between places : producing hubs, flows, and networks', Environment and planning A, 34 (4), pp. 569-574. Available at: http://dro.dur.ac.uk/5151/ ; Accessed 7 September 2010.

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