Translating the resources created by the DIAMAS project is crucial for promoting the adoption of the Diamond Open Access Standard (DOAS) across diverse communities. By offering resources in multiple languages, DIAMAS ensures that a broader audience can access and benefit from its tools and guidance. In this blog post, we will present the collaborative effort to translate the DIAMAS Toolsuite and Guidelines using an innovative and collaborative translation tool.
DIAMAS Toolsuite and Guidelines
To promote the adoption and implementation of the Diamond Open Access Standard (DOAS), the project team developed the DIAMAS Toolsuite and Guidelines, published in October 2024 on a dedicated web platform (https://toolsuite.diamas.org). Through these resources, already available in four languages, DIAMAS is making a significant contribution to the ongoing development of Diamond OA publishing, ensuring that publishers and service providers have the tools and guidance they need to successfully manage publishing operations. The Toolsuite and Guidelines will be integrated into the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH).
Toolsuite
The Toolsuite is a comprehensive collection of concise, user-friendly articles, structured around the seven core components of DOAS. These articles cover a variety of topics relevant to Diamond OA publishing:
- Funding
- Ownership and governance
- Open Science Practices
- Editorial quality, editorial management and research integrity
- Technical Services Efficiency
- Visibility, indexation, communication, marketing and impact
- Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB)
In addition to the articles, the Toolsuite includes a glossary of terms, keywords (in every article), and frequently asked questions (FAQ). As the project progresses, the Toolsuite will be expanded with additional resources aimed at supporting the sustainability of Diamond OA publishing, as well as with training materials.
Guidelines
The Guidelines are designed to assist Diamond OA publishers and their service providers in implementing the Diamond Open Access Standard. Organized according to the seven core components of the DOAS, the guidelines cover 18 key topics, including:
- Availability of research protocols, methods and software
- Basic editorial information that should be displayed
- Choosing a platform
- Copyright, authors’ rights policy
- Diamond OA policies
- GDPR and personal data
- Gender diversity
- Handling negative research results
- Implementing community-led governance in publishing services
- Marketing, communication and visibility
- Metadata formats and export, identifiers, CRediT tags, bibliographic references, JATS XML or equivalent
- Multilingualism
- Preprints
- Research data sharing policy
- Revenue streams
- Self-archiving policy
- Usage and metrics
- Use of open licenses in open access publishing
Each section of the Guidelines is carefully structured to provide practical advice on implementing and maintaining Diamond OA publishing practices. Both the Toolsuite articles and Guidelines are designed with flexibility in mind. The content is organized in a modular way, which makes it easy to adapt and expand the Guidelines.
All resources in the Toolsuite and Guidelines are tagged with relevant keywords and cross-referenced with other related articles, and external resources. This helps users navigate the platform and find the information they need.
Translation
The DIAMAS Toolsuite and Guidelines are published under the Creative Commons – Attribution (CC BY) licence, which means that anybody can reuse, translate or adapt the texts. However, translating complex guidelines into multiple languages is a significant challenge, as it demands both a strong command of language and a deep understanding of the subject matter. The process can also be time-consuming.
The DIAMAS Toolsuite and Guidelines were written with translation in mind, using clear and simple language and avoiding technical jargon whenever possible. To set an example and encourage translation, we translated the Toolsuite and Guidelines into Spanish, Croatian, and Portuguese for the initial release. While the translation of the Guidelines into multiple European languages was a project requirement, the translation of the Toolsuite web pages and articles into additional languages was not mandatory. Nevertheless, to maintain consistency across all project resources, it was agreed that the Toolsuite should be translated into the same languages as the Guidelines.
The MONDAECUS Translation Service
To manage the translation process efficiently, the DIAMAS team turned to MONDAECUS, an innovative online platform developed by the University of Coimbra. MONDAECUS supports machine translation, collaborative work and simultaneous input from multiple translators.
What is MONDAECUS?
MONDAECUS seeks to overcome linguistic barriers in scholarly communication and promote multilingualism as a valuable asset for advancing science and knowledge transfer. Through collaborative translation, it introduces a human dimension to machine translation, ensuring sensitivity to diverse linguistic contexts. The platform provides a multilingual online network for the exchange of ideas across disciplines, thereby fostering collaboration and communication. Although primarily intended for researchers, teachers, translators, publishers and students, MONDAECUS is open to all users.
Home page: https://mondaecus.com
Prior to fully adopting MONDAECUS for translation, the DIAMAS team tested its functionality and workflows to assess whether the service could handle the task within the set time frame while also ensuring translation quality.
Collaborative Translation Process
At the time when the Guidelines were translated, MONDAECUS was in the alpha testing phase. It was decided that use of the platform would be mutually beneficial to both the DIAMAS project and the MONDAECUS development team. Project partners contributing to the translation were organised into teams, with a lead author assigned to each language. The translation teams were organized into groups. Multiple authors were able to contribute to different sections of the guidelines simultaneously. This collaborative approach ensured that the final drafts were reviewed collectively, maintaining consistency and quality across all translations.
Throughout the translation process, the MONDAECUS development team played an active role, addressing minor technical issues identified by the translators and providing ongoing support.
The DIAMAS team also contributed valuable feedback on the platform’s functionalities, identifying areas for improvement, which will be incorporated into future updates of the service. For example, a memory record feature could enable translations to store frequently corrected terms and idioms across different languages and contexts, while the ability to track changes – by marking modifications in both the original text and the translated version – would enhance translators’ efficiency. Finally, users would benefit from more flexible export options, such as multiple formats that preserve both formatting and hyperlinks.
Benefits of Community-Driven Collaboration
The translation process exemplifies the power of collaborative, community-driven efforts. By using the MONDAECUS platform, the DIAMAS team was able to handle the complexity of multilingual translation efficiently, while also contributing to the ongoing development of the platform. This collaboration shows how shared resources, expertise, and feedback can help create high-quality multilingual content.