A comprehensive list of journal self-archiving policies for Palaeontology and PaleorXiv
“This shouldn’t take too long..” said this idiot last week.
As part of the development of PaleorXiv, I’ve now built a comprehensive database of self-archiving policies for journals that publish Palaeontological research.
The different columns represent different ‘stages’ of manuscript publication at which you can self-archive for free:
- Preprint: Version of a research paper prior to peer review.
- Postprint: Version of a research paper subsequent to peer review, but before any type-setting or copy-editing by the publisher.
- VOR: Version of Record, the final, published record of a research paper.
Remember, this is all free, legal, often mandated, and incredibly simple.
Why?
Well, Sherpa/Romeo was actually quite incomplete, sometimes quite clunky, and has journals scattered all over the place. A full version of the new database I have developed is maintained here, and can be edited by anyone. If a journal is missing, message me to include it (you don’t want to be left out!), or simply add the data in yourself. Easy.
Unfortunately, many journals do not have explicit self-archiving policies. To help with this, I’ve contacted the Editors and Editorial Boards of around 100 journals in the database to request either clarification or publication of their self-archiving policies.
As such, this is now the most comprehensive discipline-specific resource (that I know of) to display all self-archiving policies in one readily accessible place. As such, I hope it will be an invaluable resource for Palaeontologists to help make their research Open Access.
No, but why?
Oh. Because if we, as a community, embrace massive-scale self-archiving of our work, we can move towards making total Open Access in our field a reality. And at zero cost to authors, leveling the playing field for us all. That’s definitely something worth aiming for.
What else needs adding to this resource? Would you find it beneficial if, for example, it contained APC costs for all journals to compare? What about licensing information?
As always, let me know! I’m not building this for me, I’m building it for you all. As such, your feedback is vital and required to make this to work.
Further reading
- The PaleorXiv formal Submission Guidelines, which were discussed briefly here.
- PaleorXiv: Now open for submissions!
- A more useful infographic on 100% legal, free Open Access
- Why Unpaywall will be a game changer
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