Managing your Publications & Research Data

Mike Nason
Open Scholarship & Publishing Librarian
UNB Libraries
(2024 Edition, Version 1.0)

Introductions

It's me, Mike! Hello! I hope you're well, despite [gestures broadly] everything.

I'm your Open Scholarship & Publishing Librarian.  

Introductions

My job is about helping you make the results of your research as accessible to the public (or, relevant research communities) as you need them to be, whether that's due to funding mandates, personal interest, or a sort of proactive capitulation.

I am here to help you. It's, like, specifically built into the CBA (16c.02). It is what librarians are for.

research data management
tri-agency oa requirements
open access publishing
scholar profiles
repositories
digital publishing
open educational resources
open infrastructure
persistent identifiers
scholarly publishing
scholarly communications
academic integrity
bad-faith publishers

for the next ~20 minutes, I'm going to take a swing at unpacking some of the bigger issues in modern scholarly publishing in a way that is, I hope, useful.

Let's talk about modern publishing

Publishing has changed quite a bit over the last couple of decades. That sounds like a long time, but when you consider whole generations of researchers and how long people spend in the profession, it's been pretty zippy. I'd like to empower you.

It is, I think, important that you publish with intention.

Publishing used to be relatively straightforward.

Where to publish?

• Is this a good journal?
  • Does it have a good reputation in my field?
  • Will my community of practice read it?
  • Will it be well-cited?
  • Am I in good company?
  • Is this a publisher of good repute?
• A presumption of access...
  • The people who are interested in this research will be able to see it.
  • The best journals in my field are generally available for this research community to read.

Publishing is less and less straightforward.

Some trends include

• Major publishers continue to raise subscription prices above the rate of inflation.
• "Article Processing Charges" (APCs).
• The ease of technology and relative lack of literacy among scholars results in an emerging "bad-faith" publisher boom.
• Pressure to publish – especially for early career researchers – coupled with increased workloads, job precarity, and a profound volume of publishing options, forces errors.

• The proliferation of the Open Access/Open Science movements.
• More organizations and tools present to help evaluate journals (DOAJ, CORE, OASPA... etc.).
• Funders and institutions mandate public access to publicly funded works.
• Ease of technology and interconnectedness of open scholarly infrastructure results in multiple versions of works available in myriad places. Everything is everywhere.

Now, you've got a lot more options but also more criteria.

Let's talk specifically about mandates for a minute.

Where to publish?

How to publish?

What to publish?

Where to publish?

• Is this a good journal?
  • Does it have a good reputation in my field?
  • Will my community of practice read it?
  • Will it be well-cited?
  • Am I in good company?
  • Is this a publisher of good repute?
• A presumption of access...
  • The people who are interested in this research will be able to see it.
  • The best journals in my field are generally available for this research community to read.

Where to publish?

• Is this a real journal?
  • How many retractions does it have? Scandals?
  • Is it "predatory"?
  • Is the journal kind of ok, but the publisher isn't?
  • Are APC fees normal or bad? (The answer is "yes".)
  • Wait, why am I paying for publishing?
• A presumption of access...
  • Is this journal published by someone a whole entire country/state/school stopped working with?
  • How accessible do I want my work to be? For whom?
  • If I share a link, who hits a paywall?

How to publish?

• Open Access?
  • Is this journal open access or not?
  • What does "hybrid OA" mean?
  • Am I under an OA mandate?
  • Why am I paying for publishing?
  • Do I actually need to pay for publishing?
• A presumption of access...
  • What works can we find where?
  • How on top of all this do I need to be?
  • If I share a link, who hits a paywall?
  • How accessible do I want my work to be? For whom?

let's summarize

Is this a good journal? Is this a real journal? Does it have a good reputation in my field? Does it have retractions or other scandals? Does something about it seem predatory? What does "predatory" even really mean? What about the publisher? Does the journal look ok, but the publisher looks sketchy? Will my community of practice read it? Will it be well-cited? Am I in good company? Are APC fees normal or bad? Wait, why am I paying anything to publish in the first place? Doesn't this journal already make a ton of money? Do I want to support them with more money? Can the public read it? Does that matter to me? Is it as accessible to other researchers as I might assume it is? If I share a link, who will hit a paywall? What will it cost others to access it?

Is this journal open access? What does "hybrid OA" mean? Am I under some kind of mandate that requires me to share this work? Again, why am I paying for publishing? Do I need to? Does it matter to me which versions of the work are available? Does it matter to me where those versions are available? Why are you doing this to me? Do I have funding or support to open up an article via APC? What about my research data; where does that go? Does it all have to be open, or just some of it? Does it even have to be open? What am I allowed to share and where? What happens if I ignore the OA policy? Like, do I actually have to do this? Does any of this even actually matter?

How on top of all this do I need to be?

Great! That's it?! no problem. easy peasey, lemon squeezy. excellent! thanks! It couldn't be more simple, really. whew!

These decisions are non-trivial 
and, probably, overwhelming!

But, remember! you have agency.

Where and how you share your research affects the "impact" your work has on your research community and the public.

publish with intention.

publishing with intention.

If you'll indulge an editorial for a second... I'm going to be framing this next section in the context of open access. That's because most of the problems you experience while trying to figure out what a publisher is about to do to you and your work comes from that publisher or journal's response to the open access movement. I believe in open access. It is a public good. But, open access champions have lost significant ground to very, very large and very, very rich publishers who have managed to turn the movement from a potential threat to their profit margins into a hugely lucrative revenue stream.

In short, what's happened is that major publishers have seen open access mandates and, in response, converted a number of journals to "gold open access" where you have to pay an APC to publish. Or, they have a "hybrid" journal where you have to pay to open an article up while that journal still collects subscription fees. They are playing at open access, at $3500+ an article.

This sucks for a lot of reasons. One is that it means researchers are being asked to pay for publishing when they're already doing all the labour of research, authoring, peer-review, and editorial (a reminder that publishers don't pay you for this work, they are middlemen). Another is that they often obfuscate your options, so it isn't clear if you have other paths. Another still is that this conflict between access to knowledge and raw profit has become more work for you, a person who already has too much work.

A result of this is that you probably feel like open access requires you to spend money. Or that open access means having to pay an APC. This isn't true! But it does mean you'll have to pivot from thinking about this after submission to thinking about this before submission.

So, with this in mind, let's talk about open access and publishers.

Open Access Types

Broadly speaking, you'll hear a handful of terms thrown around in this space. I'm going to focus on four of them, and then go into a little more detail.

They're listed from least problematic to most.

Doesn't Cost You Money to Publish

• Diamond Open Access
• Subscribe to Open
• Hybrid Open Access via...
  • Green Open Access*

Does Cost You Money to Publish

• Gold Open Access
• Hybrid Open Access for immediate OA or if self-archiving isn't possible.

Publisher Types

Because OA has come down to money, it's useful to remember that types of open access are often tethered to the financial model of the publisher.

Not for Profit Publishing

• Diamond Open Access
• Gold Open Access
• Green Open Access*
• Closed/Private Access

For Profit Publishing

• Gold Open Access
• Hybrid Open Access
• Green Open Access*
• Closed/Private Access

Diamond 💎

Diamond Open Access is the platonic ideal of OA. A Diamond OA journal has no publishing fees and no subscription fees. Instead, they have found some alternative funding model to support their operational costs.

• no author processing charges
• no subscription fee
• alternative funding for costs
• highly likely you'll retain copyright of your manuscript

Subscribe to open

“Subscribe to Open” (S2O) is a pragmatic approach for converting subscription journals to open access—free and immediate online availability of research—without reliance on either article processing charges (APCs) or altruism.

S2O relies on existing library subscription procurement processes. The model provides a realistic and immediate route to opening a vast body of research output that would otherwise remain gated.

• no author processing charges
• S2O journals are open access
• publisher/journal funding maintained by subscriptions
• likely you'll retain copyright of your manuscript

Green 💚

Green OA is more of a method for providing access to a version of a work that was not published in an OA venue. It is also often referred to as self-archiving.

A journal wouldn't identify as "green". Instead, you would meet a mandate requirement or facilitate open access by self-archiving a version of the work that is not the final, version of record.

• a method for open access that avoids author processing charges
• access to the version you self-archive is free for readers

• is an option for the majority of hybrid OA journals
• likely also an option for more traditional publishers who are subscription-only

Green 💚

If you post a preprint to a preprint server, that's green OA.

If you post an accepted manuscript (the version of a work after peer review and before copyediting/layout), that's green OA.

If you publish in any venue where your work is OA and you don't have to pay money for that to happen, that's green OA.

Green OA is a bit of a compromise.

• no cost for the author, but...
• more work for the author to keep track of article versions and deposit to repositories
• releasing a less polished version of the article may be objectionable (hugely dependent on discipline and publishing cultures)
• it's also not always an option!

Self-Archiving 👀

I've used the phrase a lot in this presentation. Self-archiving is when you take a version of your work and make it available in a repository (institutional or disciplinary).

Usually, this isn't the final version of record. It's typically the "accepted manuscript", which is the version after peer review but before copy editing.

Self-archiving is usually cost free, but even paid journals allow for it. The idea is not just facilitating OA in one location, but multiple. This increases access.

If you give me an accepted manuscript to self-archive in our institutional repository, this will meet your Tri-Agency OA requirements. Assuming, of course, it's permissible by that journal.

Gold 💰

Gold OA is when you have to pay an APC to publish your work in a journal.

Gold OA journals are always free for users to read, and most of their funding for operations come from author processing charges.

PLOS is a good example of a Gold OA publisher (PLOS is also a nonprofit).

• typically requires an APC*
• you are more likely to retain copyright
• free for readers
• often allow self-archiving, but you still need to pay $$

• however, some gold OA titles have negotiated deals with institutions where a blanket fee is paid and then APCs are waived.

Hybrid 💚💰

Hybrid OA is increasingly common. These are journals that operate like traditional subscription journals that also offer the possibility paying an APC to facilitate immediate open access.

Hybrid OA is controversial, in particular, because these journals collect both subscription revenue and APC revenue. This is "double dipping".

• an APC for immediate OA
• delayed OA via self-archiving

• these journals will likely to offer APC discounts for immediate OA.
• they are also the most likely to allow self-archiving options, so you don't need to pay anything.

It is absolutely worth asking yourself if you want to support a specific publisher or journal.

Often we hear the phrase, "there's no ethical consumption under capitalism". But there is, i think, a case to be made for ethical publishing in academia.

other considerations

does this need to be open?

If you're not under mandate, and you're confident that you don't need to worry about your audience affording access to your work, then probably not.

It would be cool if it was, but I get it.

However, you do still need to ask the following:

• Are you under institutional, provincial, or federal mandate?
• Is a co-author under institutional, provincial, or federal mandate?
• Are you in a position to assert your own agency regarding your choice of publishers or is someone of repute telling you that these are the important journals, and you don't feel like you have much of a choice?

does this need to be open right now?

You can often choose a green route to open access, unless you're publishing with a "gold oa" journal.

This route often comes with a 12-month embargo. And, sometimes, you want your work to be released more quickly than that. In some cases, you might want to pay an APC just to get immediate open access.

And so:

• Are you under institutional, provincial, or federal mandate?
• Is this article time sensitive for specific communities (ie. COVID research)?
• Would immediate public access work better for you?

Can't someone cover my APC?

SOMETIMES.

Because of UNB Libraries' membership in national, consortial bargaining efforts with major publishers, we are sometimes able to leverage APC agreements with publishers.

Even still, it's rarely as simple as just saying "this publisher yes, this publisher no". There's often caveats.

But! You can visit our APC Guide for a list of all eligible publishers we have agreements with.

It's worth noting that some of these agreements will fully waive APCs, but just as frequently they are merely discounts.

We are always happy to help you sort this out!

Decisions, Decisions

I don't want to spend money to publish! A flowchart.

Selecting for Open Access

gold-oa journal

unb has apc waiver

free

$

unb has apc discount

no apc support

$$

hybrid journal

unb has apc waiver

free

$$

unb has apc discount

no self-archiving

free

allows self-archiving

$

no apc support

require immediate oa

I don't want to spend money to publish! Another flowchart.

Selecting for Open Access

diamond oa

subscribe to open

free

NO matter what you choose, you may well be able to self-archive your work.

This is my way of saying it would be super cool if you always did it when possible.

Finding Publisher Policies

Publishers don't love to be up front with their open access options. Sometimes you have to dig. SHERPA/RoMEO is a tool that lets you search for publisher policies to learn what rights for a specific journal will be.

If you don't have time for this or maybe want to check a handful of publications, you can contact us with this handy publishing support form, and we'll get back to you after evaluating.

SHERPA/RoMEO
A database of collected publisher policies, most easily searched by using a journal's ISSN.

Publishing Support Form
Tell us a little about your funding situation and the journals you're considering, and we can tell you if there's APC discounts available and/or what your options are for OA.

If your rights are ever ambiguous or if a journal’s policy is missing from SHERPA/RoMEO, we can help! Please contact me (mnason@unb.ca) or the copyright office at UNB Libraries (copyright@unb.ca) for assistance.

If you choose to house your preprints or accepted manuscripts in UNB Scholar, you can send them directly to me (mnason@unb.ca) or contact the liaison librarian assigned to your department/faculty.

We can absolutely help with

• Unpacking your options.
• Avoiding APCs.
• Interpreting publisher policies.
• Self-archiving with UNB Scholar.
• Self-archiving in other repositories.
• Evaluating past publications for oa compliance and potential self-archiving opportunities.
• Providing RDM advice.
• Sessions/workshops/literacy.

Again, I will happily refer to the CBA. I am contractually here to help you. It's, like, specifically built into the job (16c.02). It is what librarians are for.

I am always happy to discuss...

research data management
tri-agency oa requirements
open access publishing
scholar profiles
repositories
digital publishing
open educational resources
open infrastructure
persistent identifiers
scholarly publishing
scholarly communications
toppling capitalism

dataverse
open journal systems
navigating apcs
orcid support
evaluating journals
publishing literacy
metadata literacy
data management plans
"predatory publishers"
student journals
open science/scholarship
taking back scholarship from publishers

Bookmarkables and contacts (Publishing)

UNB Libraries Supporting OA
Documentation and general support.

UNB Libraries APC Discounts
Guides to APC Discounts for UNB.
 

UNB Scholar Research Repository
Deposit your work! Self-archive!
 

UNB Scholar Deposit Form
Send us your publications.

UNB Libraries Publishing Support Form
We can help sort out policies/options.

SHERPA/RoMEO
Check publisher policies.

Meeting Tri-Agency Requirements
My deck for ORS grant workshops.

Think, Check, Submit 
A resource for evaluating publishers.

Bookmarkables and Contacts (Research Data)

Publishing Support Folks
Mike Nason
Cat Gracey
Joanne Smyth
Julie Morris
James MacKenzie

UNB Libraries RDM Services 
Research Data Management help.

Data Management Planning
DMP support and documentation.

Contact Me Directly
mnason@unb.ca

UNB Scholar Inquiries
unb.scholar@unb.ca

Bookmarkables and Contacts (Research Data)

RDM Support Folks

Tatiana Zaraiskaya
Siobhan Hanratty
James MacKenzie
Mike Nason

UNB Libraries RDM Services 
Research Data Management help.

Data Management Planning
DMP support and documentation.

Contact Me Directly
mnason@unb.ca

RDM Services Contact
rdm.services@unb.ca

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you want to talk about publishing stuff.

Librarians love nothing more than the acknowledgement of their existence.

Thanks. Questions?

mnason@unb.ca
lib.unb.ca/openaccess