Tip: Explainer on Self-Archiving Postprints

As you may have noticed, I regularly promote "Green open access" on this blog! That is, depositing or self-archiving postprint versions of scholarly articles in a repository, or sharing postprints via a personal website or academic network. While most journal publishers have given the go-ahead to authors to archive postprints, the policies they stipulate for what is allowed can be quite confusing. This in turn may serve as a disincentive for authors to undertake self-archiving, even though it is a cost-free way to provide open access to one's research.

So in this post, I wanted to provide a general overview of some of these policies as well as examples of postprints that adhere to them. This is not a comprehensive listing: I only cover a handful of largest publishers and I do not provide info on funder requirements. (For more complete information, check out the Sherpa Romeo database.)

Essentially, self-archiving policies dictate where postprints can be deposited (in a repository? on a website?) and when the full-texts of postprints can be accessed (immediately or after an embargo period has passed?). Both location and time are inter-linked, as you will see below.

1) Where: Depositing postprints in institutional or subject repositories

The following policies apply to both types of repositories but the examples I provide are all for institutional repositories. I rarely come across forced migration-related postprints deposited in subject repositories. 

A. When: These journal publishers DO NOT impose embargoes; postprints can be made publicly available immediately after an article has been accepted:

Cambridge Univ. Press [policy]:

- Example: "Relocation and Dislocation: Civilian, Refugee, and Military Movement as Factors in the Disintegration of Postwar China, 1945–49," Itinerario: Journal of Imperial and Global Interactions, vol. 46, spec. issue no. 2 (2022) [article first published online 29 Sept. 2022; postprint deposited on 1 Aug. 2021]

Sage Publications [policy]:

- Example 1: "Missing the Global Turn: Italy, the 1951 Refugee Convention, and the Belated Removal of the Geographical Limitation," European History Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 2 (2023) [article first published online 6 April 2023; postprint deposited 29 March 2023]

- Example 2: "The Travail and Feasibility of Returning Home of Gwoza Women in New Kuchingoro Internally Displaced Persons Camp, Nigeria," Journal of Asian and African Studies, OnlineFirst, 8 April 2022 [article first published online 8 April 2022; postprint deposited 26 July 2022]

B. When: These journal publishers DO NOT impose embargoes; postprints can be made publicly available immediately after an article has been published online:

Brill [policy]:

- Example: "The Rights Hero: Serious Games for Human Rights Education and Integration of Migrant and Refugee Children in Europe," International Journal of Children's Rights, vol. 30, no. 1 (Feb. 2022) [article first published online 14 Feb. 2022; postprint deposited 8 Dec. 2022)

Emerald [policy]:

- Example: "'Help goes around in a circle': young unaccompanied refugees’ engagement in interpersonal relationships and its significance for resilience," International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 15, no. 4 (2019) [article first published online 17 Sept. 2019; postprint deposited 27 April 2020)

C. When: These journal publishers DO impose embargoes, the length of which may vary by journal and by funder requirements:

Elsevier - embargo periods range from 0-36 months [policy]:

- Example: "Sometimes it is the little things: A meta-analysis of individual and contextual determinants of attitudes toward immigration (2009–2019)," International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol. 87 (March 2022) [postprint]

- Note: Access to the full-text is embargoed for 24 months from the online publication date, i.e., until 29 Jan. 2024.

Oxford Univ. Press - while embargo periods range from 6-24 months, all four refugee-/migration-related titles require embargoes of 24 months [policy]:

- Example 1: "What Difference do Mayors Make? The Role of Municipal Authorities in Turkey and Lebanon’s Response to Syrian Refugees," Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 34, no. 1 (March 2021) [postprint] 

- Note: Access to the full-text was embargoed for 24 months from the online publication date, i.e., until 30 March 2022.

- Example 2: "'Littered with Logos!': An Investigation into the Relationship between Water Provision, Humanitarian Branding, Donor Accountability, and Self-Reliance in Ugandan Refugee Settlements," Refugee Survey Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 4 (Dec. 2021) [postprint]

- Note: Access to the full-text is embargoed for 24 months from the online publication date, i.e., until 18 Oct. 2023.

Springer - embargo periods are either 6 or 12 months [policy]:

- Example: "Hope Springs Eternal: Exploring the Early Settlement Experiences of Highly Educated Eritrean Refugees in the UK," Journal of International Migration and Integration, vol. 23, no. 3 (Sept. 2022) [postprint]

- Note: Access to the full-text was embargoed for 12 months from the online publication date, i.e., until 2 Sept. 2022.

Taylor & Francis - embargo periods appear to be either 12 or 18 months [policy]: 

- Example 1: "'Protection' on my own terms: human smuggling and unaccompanied Syrian minors," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 49, no. 13 (2023) [postprint]

- Note: Access to the full-text is embargoed for 18 months from the online publication date, i.e., until 22 Dec. 2023.

- Example 2: "Conceptualization of Health and Social Vulnerability of Marginalized Populations During Covid-19 Using Quantitative Scoring Approach," Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, vol. 20, no. 1 (2022) [postprint]

- Note: Access to the full-text was embargoed for 12 months from the online publication date, i.e., until 24 Feb. 2022.

Wiley - embargo periods are either 12 months (STM journals) or 24 months (SSH journals) [policy]:

- Example 1: "From Zero to Hero? An Analysis of the Human Rights Protections within the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM)," International Migration, vol. 57, no. 6 (Dec. 2019) [postprint]

- Note: Access to the full-text was embargoed for 12 months from the online publication date, i.e., until 15 July 2020.

- Example 2: "Gender-based violence before, during and after cyclones: slow violence and layered disasters," Disasters, vol. 45, no. 4 (2019) [postprint]

- Note: Access to the full-text was embargoed for 24 months from the online publication date, i.e., until 14 May 2022. 

2) Where: Sharing postprints on personal websites

Most of the a/m journal publishers that impose embargoes on postprints deposited in repositories actually allow authors to share those same postprints on their personal websites immediately! Unfortunately, I don't have many examples of these since it's much more difficult to "discover" scholarly materials that have been posted on websites. For this reason, I would highly recommend that authors who proceed with the website option also upload their postprints to a repository. Even if there is an embargo period, the metadata provided will help make the item more visible to search engines and the repository's preservation practices will ensure stable access over the long-term.

A. When: Journal publishers that allow immediate posting after an article has been accepted include:  Cambridge Univ. Press; Elsevier; Sage; Springer

B. When: Journal publishers that allow immediate posting after an article has been published online include: Brill; Emerald; Oxford Univ. Press; Taylor & Francis

C. When: Journal publishers that impose an embargo for posting on author websites include: Wiley

3) Other policies

Given the number of journal publishers and the wide variety of policies, it is always worth checking Sherpa Romeo for the specifics. I am often surprised by what I find there! Here are some examples:

A. Where: Sharing postprints via Academia.edu and/or ResearchGate

Most self-archiving policies bar authors from sharing postprints via these two academic social networks. However, there are exceptions: For example, the American Psychological Association (APA) allows authors to post their accepted manuscripts on these ASNs immediately after acceptance, while the Academy of Management (AOM) and Taylor & Francis give permission for postprints to be shared on these platforms after a journal's embargo period has ended. For details, see the Sherpa Romeo records for Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy (published by the APA), Academy of Management Perspectives (published by AOM), and the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (published by Taylor & Francis).

B. What: Publisher's PDF/Version of Record (VoR)

The majority of journal publishers expressly prohibit sharing the final version of a journal article that is published online. But again, there are exceptions: The University of Pennsylvania Press allows authors to deposit the publisher's PDF/VoR in repositories and on personal websites after a 12-month embargo period (see this article published in Humanity Journal), while the University of California Press gives authors permission to immediately share a copy of the publisher's PDF/VoR via both repositories and personal websites (see this article published in Current History)!

I hope this post will encourage more authors to embrace Green open access! As you can see from the a/m examples, self-archiving is an accepted and legitimate practice, and there are multiple established avenues for you to use to share your research, over a range of time periods.