Research4Life provides a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that equips existing and future users of the Research4Life programmes (Hinari, AGORA, OARE, ARDI and GOALI) with the knowledge and skills required to access and use the platform efficiently. The Elsevier Foundation and FAO funded the development of the Research4Life MOOC. The course is regularly delivered throughout the year.

Please check Research4Life MOOC page or subscribe to Research4Life mailing list to hear about upcoming courses.

The target audience for this MOOC is aligned with Research4Life’s eligibility criteria. Eligible institutions include: national universities, professional schools (in medicine, agriculture, pharmacy, public health, socio-legal studies, engineering, etc.), research institutes, teaching hospitals and healthcare centers, government offices, national libraries, agricultural extension centers and local non-governmental organizations.

The Research4Life MOOC follows a modular structure, which allows participants to study their area of interest throughout a five-week period. The course covers topics relevant across all Research4Life programmes, such as the scholarly communication landscape, information literacy skills, advocacy and capacity development strategies. Additionally, it provides discipline-specific information for Hinari, AGORA, OARE, ARDI and GOALI.

Unit 1: Scholarly communication and Research4Life: This module provides an overview on scholarly communication, the publishing landscape, key concepts about Research4Life including the details about the partnership,, programmes’ coverage, eligibility criteria, and registration. Lessons included in this module are:

• Lesson 1.1: Scientific landscape
• Lesson 1.2: Research assessment and bibliometrics
• Lesson 1.3: Research4Life

Unit 2: Discovery and re-use of scholarly literature: This module covers key concepts of information literacy skills and competencies, including academic ethics, licensing and academic collaboration tools. Lessons included in this module are:

• Lesson 2.1: Identifying information sources
• Lesson 2.2: Using information resources
• Lesson 2.3: Intellectual property and copyright - Ethics and plagiarism
• Lesson 2.4: Citing, reference management and collaboration tools

Unit 3: Discipline-specific browsing and searching: This module describes the five Research4Life programmes (Hinari, AGORA, OARE, ARDI, GOALI) in detail, including how to conduct discipline specific search, an introduction to Summon to search across programmes and the bibliometric analysis tools: Scopus and Dimensions, which are provided within Research4Life. Lessons included in this module are:

• Lesson 3.1: Hinari: Research in Health
• Lesson 3.2: AGORA: Research in agriculture
• Lesson 3.3: OARE: Research in the Environment
• Lesson 3.4: ARDI: Research for Development and Innovation
• Lesson 3.5: GOALI: Research for Global Justice
• Lesson 3.6: Search across Research4Life programmes
• Lesson 3.7: Citation databases

Unit 4: Additional discipline-specific resources: This module focuses on additional discipline-specific resources and services in the five main disciplines of the Research4Life programmes. Lessons included in this module are:

• Lesson 4.1: Health
• Lesson 4.2: Agriculture, forestry, fisheries, climate, food security, related biological and environmental sciences
• Lesson 4.3: Environment
• Lesson 4.4. Development and innovation
• Lesson 4.5. Global justice
• Lesson 4.6. Interdisciplinary resources

Unit 5: Advocate on Research4Life and Facilitate Capacity Development: This module teaches you how to design advocacy strategies to address decision makers and upper management. It also guides you on how to train local groups on how to use Research4Life. Lessons included in this module are:

• Lesson 5.1: Research4Life Advocacy Toolkit
• Lesson 5.2: Training Your Audience on How to Use Research4Life