Reporting on Scientific Output

Information on Reporting, Reporting Requirements, and Guidelines from the Helmholtz Association

KIT Library collects and curates all KIT publications relevant to reporting. The central tool is the institutional KITopen Repository. The publication lists and statistical analyses for KIT reports are compiled based on data from KITopen. 

Central Reporting Requirement for Publications at KIT

Memorandum on Reporting Publications at KIT

Basic Information

Does the reporting requirement apply to the entire KIT?
Yes. All scientific publications affiliated with KIT must be reported to the KITopen repository. Institutes, programs, and other organizational units may additionally introduce further reporting requirements at their own levels.
What exactly is covered by the reporting requirement?
It covers all scientific publications associated with or affiliated to KIT. Specifically, this includes submitting the bibliographic details of journal articles, conference proceedings, book chapters, books, and research reports to KIT Library. The corresponding full texts of the publications must be submitted to KITopen in the form of PDF files, provided that they are not already available via Open Access through other channels and may be republished for legal reasons.
What is not subject to the reporting requirement?
Presentations, student papers, doctorates, and habilitation theses are not subject to this requirement. The regulations of the doctoral and habilitation regulations apply in these cases. However, these publications may still be listed or published in KITopen at any time.
Is the reporting requirement legally binding?
No sanctions will be imposed if the bibliographic data is not reported or the corresponding full-text documents are not submitted to KIT Library.
Does KIT acquire rights to the publications of KIT researchers through the reporting requirement?
No, KIT does not secure any publication rights for these works. Freedom of research and teaching is respected. The Innovation and Relations Management (IRM) business unit must be consulted regarding matters requiring special protection.

Information on the Implementation of the Reporting Requirement

How are publications reported and recorded in KITopen?

KIT Library routinely reviews KIT publications in reference databases (including Web of Science and Scopus). Therefore, most of your publications are usually already recorded. Please report any missing publications to us via email or by entering them yourself in the KITopen repository. For legal reasons, you must upload full-text versions yourself.

Tip: KITopen shows you, at a glance, all research information and media items included in the repository. We recommend keeping this research profile up to date. You’ll then benefit from several KITopen services and can also reuse your information in other research networks.

Go to KITopen Depositing & Publishing (log in with a valid KIT account). You will then have the following options:

  1. Verify that your own media files are correctly assigned
  2. Upload and record your own media
  3. Updating your own media with additional research information
  4. Linking your research profile to international standards
  5. Using our services for HGF reporting
How are my publication submissions processed?
KIT Library offers a centralized service for publication registration. If you send us relevant lists, the following priority order applies to their processing:
  1. Bibliographic data for the years directly relevant to the report (the last three years of publication).
  2. Full texts from the years immediately relevant to the report (the last three years of publication) with available publication options (e.g., Creative Commons licenses, journal articles with an open-access publishing policy), but only if it has been agreed that the full-text upload will be performed by KIT Library.
  3. Bibliographic data for publications from 2010 onward (KIT reporting period).
  4. All remaining bibliographic data from the reference lists.

Additional full-text documents must be imported by the researchers themselves or by designated personnel at the institutes (as agreed).

Delivery of full texts—how does KIT Library support me with this?
Not every full text needs to be submitted to KIT Library, as many publications have already been made available via Open Access through other channels. KIT Library regularly searches for these and records the full texts in KITopen.
What does “submission of full-text articles in accordance with the Helmholtz Association’s Open Access Policy and KIT’s guidelines” mean?
The Helmholtz Association requires its researchers to make the publication available in Open Access either in the publisher’s layout (“publisher’s version”) or as the “final draft” (“peer-reviewed manuscript” or “postprint”). Some publishers only allow this with specific publication delays (“embargoes”). When uploading the respective full-text types to KITopen, legal options for secondary publication and any embargo requirements are displayed for publisher publications.
What should I do if I no longer have the file for the postprint or peer-reviewed manuscript?
No problem: We offer a special service for this. Please send us the final PDF for further processing by KIT Library.
How legally compliant is secondary publication in the central KITopen repository?
KIT Library trusts that you will exercise your authors’ rights responsibly when publishing. If you are unsure about your legal options for publisher-published works, you will receive guidance via a “traffic light” indicator in the upload dialog.
  • For journal articles, open-access initiatives and recent case law have made it possible for you to republish your article in a legally compliant manner under certain conditions (“green light”).
  • For conference proceedings and book chapters, the “green light” indicates the minimum requirements set by the Helmholtz Association.
  • To ensure legal compliance, KIT Library requests additional information regarding individual publication rights negotiated with the publisher in the event of a “yellow” or “red” traffic light.
As a researcher, do I have to do everything myself?
KIT Library offers the option of having publications recorded and full texts uploaded centrally by designated staff members at the institutes to reduce the workload for researchers. Please contact us: Team KITopen

Open Access as an Indicator for HGF Reporting at KIT

KIT encourages its researchers to make their articles available via Open Access, both through its Open Access policy and through the Open Access component of the central publication reporting requirement.
In addition, the proportion of a Helmholtz institution’s research output that is Open Access serves as an indicator in the Helmholtz Association’s reporting, for example in Program-oriented Funding (PoF) and center progress reports.

How do I enter my publication’s POF number in KITopen?
The “PoF Structure” field captures the primary project number for HGF reporting:
  • Entering the 6-digit project number is required.
  • This field may be filled in for the first time by any KITopen user. Once an entry has been made, changes can only be made within the PoF structure.
  • Cross-program changes may generally only be made after consultation with the respective program managers. You can also submit a change request directly from KITopen. Depending on the program managers’ decision, the field will either be made available for new entries or not.
  • The program managers are responsible for the content; they verify the field entries and finalize them for HGF reporting. A green checkmark appears in the results list, visible to everyone.
Can I search for a specific PoF number in the “Recording & Publication” section of KITopen data recording?
When you select a program or topic, you’ll see all publications whose project number begins with the selected PoF structure.
  • Search across all substructures: Publications for the selected PoF structure are displayed regardless of the PoF period.
  • Search across all PoF periods: The search form offers several options for searching by PoF structure.
  • The search options can be combined: Publications related to the selected PoF structure are displayed regardless of the service category.
  • Search across all performance categories: Publications associated with the entered project number are searched for in both the “PoF structure” attribute and the “additional PoF structures” attribute.
  • Search also in “Additional PoF Structures”: Publications associated with the entered project number are searched for only in the “Additional PoF Structures” attribute.
Important information for program managers
For publications assigned to your own program, you have extended permissions for administration of the “PoF Structure” field:
  • You can delete the content of the “PoF Structure” field.
  • You can modify the contents of the “PoF Structure” field.
  • Cross-program changes may only be made after consulting with you.
  • You will also receive requests via email from KITopen regarding this matter. If you wish to approve the request, you must delete the previous PoF structure and inform the applicant and, if applicable, the KIT Library that a new entry can now be made in this field.
  • As soon as the discussion regarding the correct assignment of PoF structures is concluded and binding agreements have been reached with SEK and the HGF, you should “finalize” the field for your program in KITopen. Once this is done, changes within the program will no longer be possible without consulting you. However, you can unlock this status again. In the long term, the finalization process is intended to ensure that the metrics from KITopen are reliable for research reports.

Reporting

Kontakt per E-Mail an: reporting∂bibliothek.kit.edu

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Contact us by phone at +49 721 608-41337 or by email at: KITopen∂bibliothek.kit.edu

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