14 December 2020

Tip: Share Articles Published in "Zero Embargo" Journals

(updated Jan. 2024)

As I have noted in previous posts, self-archiving (green OA) is a way for authors to provide open access to their research articles without having to pay the expensive publication fees associated with gold and hybrid open access. However, because some publishers place restrictions on when and where an eprint can be archived or shared, some authors may decide it's not worth the trouble to proceed with the green OA route.  

The good news is that a number of publishers have dispensed with embargoes on postprints altogether and/or have loosened constraints on deposit locations. This post provides information on various journal publishers - APA, Brill, Cambridge Univ. Press, Emerald, Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, SAGE, Univ. of California Press and Univ. of Pennsylvania Press - that have zero embargoes on self-archiving postprints, but you can also consult Sherpa Romeo to check the policies of other journal publishers.

I hope this will encourage forced migration authors to give green OA a try! 

Introduction

The publishers listed below allow (most) postprints to be deposited in an institutional or a non-profit subject repository and/or on an author's personal web site immediately after an article's formal publication. In general, they do not permit sharing postprints on commercial platforms like Academia.edu, ResearchGate or SSRN, although there are some exceptions. (Check their self-archiving policies for more specific details.) For comparative purposes, I have also noted the APCs that each publisher charges for hybrid open access.

American Psychological Association

- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. The article was published on 15 Feb. 2022; the date of the postprint's deposit in the author's IR is not indicated. Note that the APA does allow postprints to be shared via Academic.edu and ResearchGate; it also imposes a 12-month embargo period for some funder sources. 
- APC for hybrid OA = US$3000

Brill 

- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in the European Journal of Migration and Law. The article was published on 30 May 2018 and the postprint was deposited in the author's institutional repository on 29 Aug. 2018.
- APC for hybrid OA = US$2595

Cambridge Univ. Press

- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article Nationalities Papers. The article was published on 12 Aug. 2020; the date of the postprint's deposit in the author's IR is not indicated.
- APC for hybrid OA = US$3255 (may vary by individual journal)

Emerald

- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care. The article was published on 28 Nov. 2019 and the postprint was deposited in the authors' institutional repository on 27 April 2020.
- APC for hybrid OA = US$3638

Johns Hopkins Univ. Press

- Self-archiving policy
- Example: None available so far! Note that JHUP only allows postprints to be deposited in non-commercial institutional repositories. Exceptions for deposits in subject repositories are made based on funder requirements.  
- APC for hybrid OA = not specified

SAGE

- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. The article was published on 16 Dec. 2019 and the postprint was deposited in the authors' institutional repository on 18 Dec. 2019. 
- APC for hybrid OA = US$4000

Univ. of California Press

- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is the publisher PDF of an article in Current History. The article was published on 19 Nov. 2020 and the publisher PDF was deposited in the first author's institutional repository. Note that UC Press allows both the final article version and the postprint version to be deposited in repositories or on an author's personal website at any time.
- APC = Hybrid open access is not offered

Univ. of Pennsylvania Press

- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in Humanity that was deposited in the author's institutional repository. Note that Univ. of Penn. Press also allows the publisher PDF to be deposited in repositories and on an author's personal website after 12 months; here is an example.
- APC = Hybrid open access is not offered

Takeaways for authors

So what does this mean for authors who have published articles with one of the four a/m publishers? First, you can make your work open access without having to pay an APC! If you are affiliated with a university, then the next step is to see if it has established an institutional repository (IR) that accepts postprints (as opposed to just theses and dissertations). You can do this either by contacting your library or checking the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR). 

If indeed you have access to an IR, visit the site and follow the instructions for making a deposit. If you do not have access to an institutional repository, consider using an all-purpose repository like Zenodo to share your work. Once your postprint has been uploaded, share it widely! 

If you are more technically inclined, consider setting up a basic web site using Wix or Weebly. (Side note: Wix has also partnered with TENT to help refugees start small businesses!) 

Finally, if you decide to proceed with this last option, you should know that there are other major journal publishers who will allow you to immediately share your postprint on a personal web site only (i.e., they still maintain embargoes on postprints that are self-archived in repositories). This includes Oxford Univ. Press, Springer and Taylor & Francis. (See this table for more info.)

Related post:

Tagged Tips.

No comments: