Publishing & Digital Repositories

How do I know I'm publishing in a quality journal?

When it comes to publishing your work, evaluating the quality of the journals is essential, regardless of them being Open Access or not. For that, it's important to be aware of different quality indicators and available tools to make sure that you find the best journal for your work. Consider the aspects below compiled by the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA) when assessing an open access publisher. Click here for a full list with detailed explanations. 

1. Peer review process

2. Editorial team/contact for information

3. Author fees

4. Copyright

5. Journal's website 

6. Direct marketing

Identifying Quality Journals

Check out the resources below if you're in doubt about the reliability of a journal or publisher. You can also consult the DOAJ database to verify a journal's reputation.

• Beall's List of Potential Predatory Journals and Publishers 

• Predatory Reports

• The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker

Quality Open Access Journal Resources

Think Check Submit: Identify Trusted Publishers for Your Research (OASPA)

• Authors Alliance: Legal Pathways to Open Access (New!)

White papers addressing Federal public access policy, updating the SPARC Author Addendum, and studying and making recommendations on institutional intellectual property policies.

• Authors Alliance: The NIH Public Access Policy: Q&A for Authors
  
  This is a resource from the Authors Alliance providing information and guidance for researchers navigating publisher agreements – many of which still contain year-long embargo provisions that conflict with the new NIH policy.
  
  

• Sherpa Romeo

Sherpa Romeo is an online resource that aggregates and analyses publisher open access policies from around the world and provides summaries of publisher copyright and open access archiving policies on a journal-by-journal basis.

• SPARC Author Rights

SPARC resource designed to help authors develop a contract addendum to attach to their publishing agreements.

• SPARC Guide for Complying with Federal Public Access and Publisher Policies (New!)
  
  SPARC guide to help authors consider potential actions they might take at different stages of the funding lifecycle, along with additional resources they might find helpful.

The law carves out a set of exceptions to owner rights that allow the public to use works while they are under copyright protection. These are the exceptions:

• Section 107         Fair Use

• Section 108         Library copying and ILL

• Section 109(a)    First sale

• Section 110(1)    Display and perform works in f2f classroom teaching

• Section 110(2)    Display and perform works in distance learning 

• Section 121         Special formats for the blind or otherwise disabled

Title 17 Section 106 U.S. Copyright Law gives authors the following set of rights for a time-limited duration

§ 106 . Exclusive rights in copyrighted works38

Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:

• Reproduce

• Distribute

• Create derivative works 

• Display work publicly

• Perform work publicly

• Perform work publicly by digital audio transmission (sound recordings)

Criteria for copyright protection in the United States must meet the following conditions, and is easier to obtain relative to copyright protection in other countries. Upon fixing a work in a tangible medium of expression, the law confers authorip status as your work must be:

• Minimally Creative

• Original

• Fixed in a tangible medium

Copyright formality (registering with the Copyright Office)

• © Notice & registration was dropped for works published after 

• March 1, 1989 – they receive automatic copyright protection

Registration with the US Copyright Office is not necessary for copyright protection, but gives a stronger case if filing an infringement case is anticipated

Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:

1. literary works

2. musical works, including any accompanying words

3. dramatic works, including any accompanying music

4. pantomimes and choreographic works

5. pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works

6. motion pictures and other audiovisual works

7. sound recordings

8. architectural works

Copyright law does not protect s such as facts, ideas, raw data. Section 102 of the Copyright Law provides a detailed list of things that copyright does not protect:

§ 102  (b)

In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.

How long does copyright protection last?

The general rule (there are many exceptions): life time of the author + 70 years (US works, published or unpublished).

General Copyright Resources

• Timeline of Copyright in the U.S. (Association of Research Libraries)

• United States Copyright Office

• University Copyright Office, Purdue University

• Know your Copyrights

• Seeking copyright status and permissions (from Copyright Advisory Office, Columbia University)

• ARL Code of Best Practices in Fair Use For Academic and Research Libraries

UGA Copyright Resources

• Fair Use in the classroom

• University System of Georgia Copyright Policy

• UGA Office of Legal Affairs

• UGA System Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Policy