An introduction to open research

Maximising the visibility of your work

Impact is underpinned by highly cited research (RAND, 2023) and it is crucial to make your profile visible and your research outputs accessible both within academia and outside.

To make your work visible and accessible, you should:

Keep your online profile up to date and read this guide to creating a personal website.

Make your research outputs open access. Upload your research to LSE Research Online, the institutional repository for LSE, which will host any research produced by LSE staff, including articles, working papers, books, book chapters, reports, discussion papers, research blogs and datasets.

The Library will arrange open access for you where possible, including payment of any fees. Read more about open access publishing and the LSE Library's support.

You should also consider making your research data freely available for discovery and reuse. Increasingly this is a condition of research grants. Read more about open data and the LSE Library's support.

Make more of your research outputs by writing short accessible summaries – you could publish these as blogs on the LSE Blogs platform (and read our guide to academic blogging). Consider other dissemination opportunities, including for example LSE’s online research magazine, Research for the World.

Get involved in other central LSE research mobilization initiatives, from our annual Festival to our award-winning podcast series.

Think about your presence on social media. X (formerly Twitter) or LinkedIn can be a good way to build a wide network if you post regularly and follow relevant colleagues, sources and practitioners. Look for other opportunities to contribute to LSE’s popular blogs, for example linking your research and expertise with contemporary topics of debate, or perhaps offering to write a book review on your areas of expertise.

Go beyond your existing academic networks to share your research by attending relevant events (take a look at the LSE Public Lecture Programme, which hosts many prominent thinkers from across the world); linking up with others working in your area, whether at LSE or elsewhere; and letting the Research Engagement and Impact team know about your areas of interest so they can flag up opportunities to engage with businesses, media, policymakers and the wider public.