Publication & Access

SciTube publishes peer-reviewed research through professionally produced research animations designed to make complex findings more accessible to wider audiences.

Published SciTube animations are freely available online and provide clear routes to the original scholarly publication, contributing researchers, supporting institutions and, where available, associated research funding.

 

Publication

Each SciTube research animation is published through the SciTube platform as an individual research communication output.

Publication normally includes:

  • a dedicated SciTube publication page
  • the completed research animation
  • contributing researcher information
  • institutional affiliations
  • publication date
  • a SciTube Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
  • reference to the original peer-reviewed scholarly publication
  • relevant research funding acknowledgements where available
  • inclusion within a relevant annual SciTube Special Edition
  • dissemination through SciTube channels

Publication and dissemination form part of the standard SciTube service.

 

Open Access

SciTube research animations are made immediately and freely available online.

There are no subscription, registration or pay-per-view charges for viewing published SciTube research animations.

This enables researchers, students, professionals, policymakers, educators and members of the public to access the research communication regardless of institutional affiliation.

 

Digital Object Identifiers

Each published SciTube research animation is registered with Crossref and assigned its own Digital Object Identifier (DOI).

The DOI provides a persistent identifier for the SciTube publication and can be used for citation, linking, institutional records and research reporting.

The DOI resolves to the individual SciTube publication page and remains the preferred persistent link to the animation.

 

Connection to the Original Research

SciTube communicates research that has already undergone scholarly peer review.

The original scholarly publication is referenced alongside the SciTube animation, including its DOI where available.

SciTube animations are intended to support discovery and understanding of the research rather than replace the scholarly publication itself.

The animation provides an accessible starting point, while viewers are given a clear route back to the underlying peer-reviewed research.

 

Special Editions

Published SciTube research animations are included within relevant annual Special Editions.

Special Editions bring together research around shared themes and provide an additional route for audiences to discover related work.

Animations are published individually as they are completed. Special Editions remain open throughout the year and receive additional collective dissemination when the Edition reaches its maximum number of animations or the annual publication cycle closes.

Inclusion within a Special Edition does not replace the individual SciTube publication or DOI.

 

Author and Institutional Use

The commissioning author and organisation are free to use and reuse their completed SciTube animation across their own activities and communications.

This includes use on:

  • university and institutional websites
  • research and project websites
  • conferences and events
  • presentations
  • teaching and education
  • public engagement activities
  • research impact activities
  • grant and project reporting
  • funding applications
  • professional and social media
  • internal and external communications
  • commercial and professional activities

Authors and commissioning organisations are not restricted by the Creative Commons licence applied to the publicly available SciTube publication. That licence governs reuse by third parties.

Where institutional approval, branding or communications requirements apply, SciTube is happy to accommodate appropriate institutional review during production.

 

Licensing and Third-Party Reuse

SciTube publications are normally made publicly available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0).

This allows third parties to access, share and redistribute the published material for non-commercial purposes, provided appropriate attribution is given.

The licence supports wider sharing of research communication while protecting authors and commissioning organisations against unauthorised commercial exploitation of work they have funded.

The Creative Commons licence does not limit the commissioning author or organisation’s own rights to use their completed animation.

 

Research, Funding and Institutional Attribution

SciTube aims to make the provenance of the research behind every animation clear.

Where available, publication pages identify:

  • contributing researchers
  • supporting universities and research institutions
  • the original peer-reviewed scholarly publication
  • relevant research funders
  • associated research programmes or collaborations
  • the relevant SciTube Special Edition

This helps audiences understand where the research originated and provides clear routes for further exploration.

 

Public Access and Public Value

SciTube is designed to help research travel beyond the specialist audiences who may encounter it through academic journals alone.

Published animations are freely available to the public, helping researchers and institutions make their work understandable to students, professionals, policymakers, communities and wider public audiences.

Much academic research is supported wholly or partly through public funding. Making the purpose, findings and potential value of that research easier for non-specialists to understand can help demonstrate the wider value of investment in research and the institutions that undertake it.

Clear public communication can also support greater awareness, engagement and trust in research, helping researchers and institutions demonstrate impact and make the case for continued investment in their work.

SciTube animations are intended to provide a starting point for that engagement, with clear routes from the accessible animation back to the original peer-reviewed publication, researchers, institution and relevant funding information.

 

Dissemination

Publication through SciTube includes dissemination through SciTube channels, including YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Bluesky.

Each research animation is promoted individually, while inclusion within a Special Edition provides an additional opportunity for collective dissemination alongside related research.

The purpose of dissemination is to extend discovery beyond the audiences that may encounter the original scholarly publication through conventional academic channels and to help research reach professional, educational, policy and public audiences.

 

Accessibility

SciTube aims to make published research communication accessible to audiences beyond specialist academic communities.

Research animations are produced with clear narration and captions, and publication pages provide contextual information about the research and its scholarly source.

Accessibility features and available formats may vary according to the individual project.

 

Long-Term Access

Published SciTube research animations remain available through the SciTube Library and their relevant Special Edition archive.

DOIs provide persistent references to individual SciTube publications and support continued discovery and citation even where website structures or URLs change over time.

 

Corrections and Changes

Where a material error is identified or the status of the underlying scholarly research changes, SciTube may correct, annotate, update or remove a publication where appropriate.

Further information about scientific accuracy, author review, research integrity and corrections is available in our Editorial Standards.

 

Further Information

For questions relating to publication, access, licensing, DOI registration or institutional use of SciTube research animations, please contact SciTube at info@sciencediffusion.com 

 

Last updated: August 2026