Bradford Scholars FAQs

Below you will find some of the frequently asked questions about institutional repositories in general and Bradford Scholars in particular. Please get in touch with the repository team via openaccess@bradford.ac.uk if you cannot find an answer to a question you have either about our repository or Open Access.

Question 1 - Why should I deposit in Bradford Scholars?

Bradford Scholars is not a publishing mechanism nor is it a substitute for e.g. peer-reviewed journals. It is in place to showcase and manage the University's scholarly content. Most journals are still only accessible via costly subscriptions. A repository opens access to all users and removes barriers from scholarly communication.

By depositing in an open access repository you can:

• reach a wider audience by showcasing your research;
• increase the citation rates and impact of your work;
• be easily located via search engines like GoogleScholar  and other specialised scholarly search services like CORE;
• provide permanent identifiers for your work and 
• link to your publications from any web page.

It is also a requirement by UKRI and the Office for Students that publicly funded research is made openly accessible to the general public. The Open Access policies of these two funding agencies may be viewed online. Further information about OA policy compliance is also available on the Library's OA pages.

Question 2 - How do I deposit a paper in Bradford Scholars?

Depositing your work is straightforward. This is done via the Research Information System (RIS).

1) Log into your RIS profile.

2) Go to the Outputs tab from the top toolbar.

3) Select 'Add Publications' from the left-hand menu.

4) Click on 'Manually Add Publication' from the middle box at the bottom of the page.

5) Fill in the web form. Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are obligatory. If you don't know e.g. the volume number for a journal paper yet, just type in 'not known'.

6) Click on 'save' at the bottom of the page.

7) You are now taken to the page listing all your publications.

8) Scroll to the section for the type of paper you submitted. E.g. journal paper.

9) Click on the book symbol in the 'actions' column next to the item you just added.

10) Click on 'Choose File' to add the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) which is the peer-reviewed, corrected version of your paper. This can be Word or PDF. It is not the final published version with publisher formatting and branding that you see once the paper is published. MOre than one file can be sent per submission.

11) Click on 'Upload'.

12) Click on 'Submit to Repository'.

13) Answer the questions about copyright, the version of your paper and include notes if applicable.

14) Click on 'Send to Repository' at the bottom of the page.

You will be notified by email once the paper has been processed by the repository team. Contact RIS@bradford.ac.uk if you have any problems using the RIS. The repository team can only assist with queries relating to a paper in Bradford Scholars, or help with copyright and AAM version questions at openaccess@bradford.ac.uk. 

Tips

If you have claimed a publication in RIS offered to you from Scopus or Web of Science, you will still need to send the repository team the full-text file of the paper in question. You would follow the above instructions from number 8 onwards.

Question 3 - Who can make a deposit in Bradford Scholars?

Deposits are accepted from University of Bradford members of staff or authorised delegates. Certain materials will also be accepted from MPhil and PhD students. See the section for What can and should be deposited.

Question 4 - What can and should be deposited?

Bradford Scholars showcases the University of Bradford scholarly output. Thus, items must have at least one author or creator from the University of Bradford. Exceptions include conference proceedings from events organised at the University where the papers might not be authored by local members of staff. The range of material types accepted reflects the range of research and publication activities taking place at the institution.

• books and book chapters
• conference papers
• journal articles
• patents
• Presentations
• research reports
• theses
• working papers

Scholarly works of enduring value will be accepted to Bradford Scholars. We trust depositors to have a sense of what this encompasses, and understand that any deposits will be visible to the wider scholarly community. There is certain amount of "process" to go through while depositing, so it is likely you will only deposit items that are of good quality and worth flagging up to the world.

Deposited items must not breach copyright. See the section on Copyright and self-archiving to learn more about your rights as an author. It is worth noting that although authors are required to sign away copyright to published works, the right to self-archive is often retained. The publishers also tend to grant authors the right to self-archive on application.

Question 5 - If I haven't kept a copy of my paper, can I add a citation of my work without the file?

Bradford Scholars aims to showcase research conducted at the University of Bradford by offering access to the full-text of research materials. However, if a member of staff cannot for copyright or other reasons deposit the actual paper, the repository is willing to accept citations only. If a contributor is not certain about the copyright restrictions on their work(s), Bradford Scholars staff will assist in determining the copyright status of a paper sent to the repository.

Question 6 - Which file formats are supported?

A wide range of file formats are supported on Bradford Scholars which is based on DSpace software. A statement of supported file formats is available online.

Question 7 - My paper is about to be published in a commercial journal. Can I submit it to Bradford Scholars before it gets published?

Yes, you can submit your peer-reviewed accepted manuscript, provided that the publisher permits it. Check your publisher's policy on this at the ROMeO website. Bradford Scholars staff can also help to check publishers' self-archiving policies for you. Contact us via email at openaccess@bradford.ac.uk. 

Question 8 - Which version of my paper should I deposit?

Ideally we would like to post the final published version of an author's work on Bradford Scholars. However, few publishers permit the use of their own formatted versions in open access repositories. In most cases, publishers allow authors to post their own final peer-reviewed accepted manuscript in an institutional repository. To find out more about different versions of your work see our section on "What are pre-prints, post-prints and final formatted versions?".

NB! If your paper is going to be published as a Gold OA paper, the final Version of Record may be used in the repository.

Question 9 - What are pre-prints, post-prints and final formatted versions?

The terminology around research work can be confusing. Publishers often speak of pre-prints and post-prints. Traditionally a pre-print denotes a draft of a work prior to peer-review. Post-print is then the peer-reviewed version of the same work after all changes and corrections have been made. This is also the final version that gets sent to the publisher for publication.

You may also find the following definitions helpful:

• Draft - an early version of your work circulated as work-in-progress.
• Submitted Version - the version of your work submitted to a publisher for peer-review.
• Accepted Manuscript - the version of your work that incorporates referee comments and is accepted for publication.
• Published Version or Version of Record - the published version with publisher-created formatting. This is often a PDF.
• Updated Version - a version of your work updated since publication.

There is a lot of information available via the Versions Toolkit developed by the Versions Project. The toolkit summarises itself into these following tips:

1. Think about the way you store and name your personal files from now own.
2. Keep a copy of your own author-created submitted versions and final author-created accepted manuscripts of research publications.
3. Add the date of completion to the first page of any versions of your work, especially your milestone versions.
4. Consider how you want to disseminate your work before signing any agreements with publishers. Keep a copy of any agreements you do sign.

Question 10 - I need to deposit an updated version of my paper. Can I do this?

Bradford Scholars is meant for completed and, in many cases, published materials, not works in progress. However, we do realise that "revisions" do happen and the repository staff can make updated versions of submitted work available in the repository.

Unfortunately, only repository staff are able to log in and alter existing entries in Bradford Scholars. Send repository staff your addendum, corregida and additional materials with notes what you want done with them. Repository staff are able to add a new version to any existing deposit, along with indicators of which is the original paper and which the revised version.

Question 11 - Is it possible to remove an item from Bradford Scholars?

All deposited items are retained in perpetuity. In some cases it will be necessary to withdraw material. Acceptable reasons for withdrawal include:

• Proven copyright violation or plagiarism
• Failure to meet legal requirements and proven violations
• Falsified research

Only repository staff may remove or withdraw items from Bradford Scholars. Contact repository staff via email at openaccess@bradford.ac.uk if you wish to nominate items for removal or withdrawal.

• Withdrawal: the item is no longer visible to Bradford Scholars users and no search engine would be able to retrieve it in a search. The item still exists in the repository and it may be reinstated by repository staff.
• Removal: an item is completely removed and cannot be reinstated.

When an item is either withdrawn or removed, a "tombstone" remains in place. This means that if someone types in the persistent identifier or "handle" of a withdrawn/removed item, they would get a message giving the reason why an item is no longer available and the email address of repository staff.

Question 12 - Who can I contact if I need help?

For feedback, comments and all help on using Bradford Scholars, contact repository staff at openaccess@bradford.ac.uk.

Question 13 - Am I breaking copyright if my work is deposited in Bradford Scholars?

What you can do with your published works depends on the kind of agreement you signed with your publisher. These agreements vary from one publisher to another and may be copyright agreements or exclusive/non-exclusive publishing licenses. A number of publishers do permit their authors to post copies of their work on institutional repositories without having to ask for specific permission. Occasionally it is even possible to use the publisher's formatted version (often a PDF document) to do this. Mostly, however, authors are allowed to post copies of their own final drafts. If you want to know more about versions see our section on "Which version of my paper should I deposit?".

NB! If your paper is being published as a Gold OA paper, the final formatted version may be used in the repository without seeking separate permission from the publisher.

Question 14 - How can I check if my publisher allows self-archiving?

The SHERPA Project's ROMeO database will assist all authors in checking whether their publishers permit self-archiving.

Information regarding the copyright status of published works may be attained in a number of ways:

• Check the copyright agreement you signed with the publisher when you got your work published.
• If you do not have a copy of the agreement or it does not cover self-archiving issues, you can use a tool called ROMeO. ROMeO is an online database of publisher policies on self-archiving. The database lists publisher copyright and self-archiving policies in an alphabetical order. Although not all publishers are included it is a good starting point. It is worth noting that publishers sometimes change their policies.
• Publishers' own websites sometimes provide information on copyright and self-archiving.
• If you cannot find information on publishers' copyright and self-archiving policies, contact repository staff at openaccess@bradford.ac.uk for help. Occasionally it is necessary to get in touch with the publisher to request self-archiving permission and the repository staff can do this on your behalf.

Question 15 - What should academics do if their publisher doesn't allow authors to retain copyright or self-archive?

Indeed, some publishers do not look kindly on open archiving. In some cases there is not much that can be done beyond informing the publisher in question about the benefits of Open Access, and the fact that a number of publishers permit self-archiving. It might even be worth pointing them to the ROMeO database to show what other publishers are permitting. It is up to individual authors whether to back down from working with publishers that do not permit self-archiving and publish with their preferred publisher. Naturally, a high priority must be given to getting published. This may be crucial especially for new authors at the beginning of their careers. More established authors may wish to take a firmer stand and decline to publish on terms they find unacceptable. However, many publishers will discuss copyright agreements with authors, and may give self-archiving permission if approached directly. Repository staff can contact publishers for you to request permission to deposit specific works in Bradford Scholars.

Question 16 - Which publishers allow authors to self-archive?

Information regarding the copyright status of published works may be attained in a number of ways:

• Check the copyright agreement you signed with the publisher when you got your work published.
• If you do not have a copy of the agreement or it does not cover self-archiving issues, you can use a tool called ROMeO. ROMeO is an online database of publisher policies on self-archiving. The database lists publisher copyright and self-archiving policies in an alphabetical order. Although not all publishers are included it is a good starting point. It is worth noting that publishers sometimes change their policies.
• Publishers' own websites sometimes provide information on copyright and self-archiving.
• If you cannot find information on publishers' copyright and self-archiving policies, contact repository staff at openaccess@bradford.ac.uk for help. Occasionally it is necessary to get in touch with the publisher to request self-archiving permission and the repository staff can do this on your behalf.

Question 17 - Can I do anything to retain copyright in my published work?

The issue of retaining some re-use rights comes up at the point of signing a publisher's copyright agreement prior to getting your work published. The rights you retain will depend on the wording of this agreement. If you are not content with the clauses in the agreement pertaining to your author rights, you may bring this up with the publisher and negotiate more favourable terms.

Question 18 - I haven't kept a copy of my paper, can it be scanned or downloaded from the publication?

You will need to check if the publisher allows the use of e.g. their published PDF version of your work. Repository staff are able to assist in determining whether scanning from print journals or downloading from publisher's web site is permitted. In some cases, publishers need to be contacted directly to seek permission. If you need assistance with copyright checks and/or scanning your work from print versions of journals get in touch with repository staff via email at openaccess@bradford.ac.uk.

NB! The paper might be published as a Gold OA paper already, so you may be able to download a copy and have it hosted in Bradford Scholars without seeking permission from publisher.

Question 19 - Who can see my work on Bradford Scholars?

Bradford Scholars is an Open Access online repository. Access is free to anybody on the web.

Question 20 - How can people locate my work?

Material in Bradford Scholars may be found in a number of ways:

• by searching the Bradford Scholars repository itself by author name, work title, keywords and item type etc.
• through using search engines that crawl repository content. 
• by using specialist search engines that harvest repository content. One of these is CORE.
• through links on your personal or departmental web pages.
• by giving the persistent identifiers or "handles" of your works to colleagues and scholars around the world.

Question 21- Is there a link between my departmental/personal web page and Bradford Scholars?

All depositing authors may place links on their personal pages whether privately hosted or on departmental web sites to their full-text research publications or other items in Bradford Scholars. This can be done by using the "handle" URL. If you already offer full-text research papers on your own web pages consider the following benefits of depositing in Bradford Scholars:

• your research may be more visible on the web by search engines like Google Chrome. Content from repositories is usually placed higher on search engine hit lists than entries on personal web pages, thus making your work more visible.
• Specialist search engines like CORE will be able to locate your content.
• Bradford Scholars will take care of long-term maintenance of your works centrally even in the event of you moving institutions. This includes hardware and software migrations to guarantee longevity and readability.
• Bradford Scholars grants a permanent indentifier or "handle" to all deposited items to enable people to find your work at all times.

Question 22 - Can records be downloaded from Bradford Scholars?

Yes. You can download records from Bradford Scholars into EndNote, or download files individually to view off-line. Contact the repository staff at openaccess@bradford.ac.uk to find out more.

Question 23 - What are the "handle" URLs?

Each item deposited in Bradford Scholars is given a unique and unchangeable URL, such as http://hdl.handle.net/1010/234, known as a "handle". To make sure the URLs do not break even thought the files themselves may have to be physically moved from one storage area to another, all of the URLs point to Handle.net. This is a service provided by the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI). The Handle.net service redirects users to the current location of the file.

Question 24 - Will Bradford Scholars retain my work indefinitely?

Content submitted to Bradford Scholars will be retained in perpetuity during the life time of the repository. Only in special cases would individual items be removed from the repository. See the section on "Is it possible to remove an item from Bradford Scholars?" for removal reasons.

Question 25 - How secure is the service?

The standard University of Bradford security measures for online services are in place. Bradford Scholars is backed up each night.

Question 26 - Is my work more likely to get plagiarised if it's openly accessible?

Plagiarism is a major concern to people posting material on the open web. However, your work once in an institutional repository is no more likely to be plagiarised than it is in a commercial online journal. All content loaded to Bradford Scholars is given a date stamp which will assist, if necessary, in establishing prior intellectual ownership. In addition current technological developments allow publishers as well as institutions map new articles against the whole of the web to see if any of the offered content is plagiarised from existing works.