Frequently Asked Questions

What is PEARL?

PEARL (Plymouth Electronic Archive and Research Library) is the University of Plymouth's open access repository of full text research outputs, including research theses. PEARL showcases the University's research and aims to increase its visibility and impact, enhancing the reputations of both researchers and the University. PEARL supports open access to research, enabling authors to share outputs with other researchers and the general public.

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What is the copyright policy for content in PEARL?

Items in PEARL are protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are deposited to achieve open access and are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author.

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How do I submit my research output to PEARL?

Staff should submit their research via Pure, which replaced Symplectic Elements in June 2024. Guidance for how to submit to Pure, and what to do if you do not have access to Pure, can be found at the RIS Support SharePoint site.

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Why is my research under embargo?

Accepted manuscripts deposited under green open access may be placed under a temporary embargo as mandated by the publisher. If you believe that an embargo has been applied to your work in error, please contact us with full details of your research output.

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A research output I want to access is under embargo - can I request access?

Occasionally, we may be able to grant access to an output which is under embargo. To request access, click the "Request a Copy" button below the download button for the output you are interested in, and fill in the online request form.

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How do I submit my thesis to PEARL?

Current research students should follow these instructions.

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How can I request an embargo extension on my thesis?

Research students wishing to make an embargo extension request for their thesis should refer to guidance here.

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I have found an error with my research output - how do I correct it?

If you have spotted an error with one of your research outputs in PEARL, contact uswith full details of the output, the error, and your proposed change(s).

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Where is the Masters Dissertations collection?

As part of the migration to Digital Commons, the closed-access collection of Masters dissertations submitted by University of Plymouth students has been relocated. Current staff and students can continue to access dissertations via Primo.

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How do I submit to a University of Plymouth journal?

To submit to a University of Plymouth journal, please refer to submission guidance for that specific journal. See a full list of our journals.If you are a member of staff interested in setting up a journal, or in having PEARL host the proceedings of a locally-held conference, please contact your Information Specialist.

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What is the Digital Commons Network?

PEARL is now part of the Digital Commons Network, which brings together open access research from hundreds of international institutions. You can choose to search the whole network by selecting "Digital Commons Network" beneath the search bar.
Research in PEARL is being categorised into Disciplines, enhancing its discoverability through the Digital Commons Network. A research output's Disciplines are displayed under the heading "Included in" on the output's page. If you believe that your research output has been miscategorised, please contact us.

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How do I search PEARL?

Selecting "in PEARL" from the drop down menu beneath the search box will search for research in PEARL; selecting "Digital Commons Network" will search across all Digital Commons Repositories. It matters where you are on the site when you perform your search: making a search from the homepage will search all of PEARL, but making a search from a Faculty of School collection will only search within that collection. You can use the Advanced Search option to search within a specific date range or metadata field (such as title or author), and to sort results by relevance or date. Note that brand new submissions to PEARL will not immediately appear in search results.
You can filter your search results by Discipline (category within the Digital Commons Network), keyword, year, publication (collection in PEARL, such as a specific School), file type, and publication type (most academic research will appear under "Series" and theses under "ETD series", while "Journals" will show articles published in University of Plymouth journals).

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My question isn't answered here.

If your question has not been answered here, current staff can also view guidance for PEARL and Pure at the RIS Support SharePoint site. Information about open access for University of Plymouth researchers is available on the Library Research Support Services website.
For further assistance, you can contact us.

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