ETDs and the Publishing Landscape 

Gail McMillanDirector, Digital Research and Scholarship Services

Professor, University Libraries, Virginia Tech

UCSB, May 5, 2014

“Comprehensive Study of National ETD Practices.” Gail McMillan, Shannon Stark, and Martin Halbert. US ETD Association Conference, Claremont, CA, July 24, 2013.

“Do Open Access Electronic Theses and Dissertations Diminish Publishing Opportunities in the Sciences?” Marisa L. Ramirez, Gail McMillan, Joan T. Dalton, Ann Hanlon, Heather S. Smith, Chelsea Kern. Accepted for publication by College & Research Libraries, anticipated publication date: Jan. 1, 2014. Preprint: http://crl.acrl.org/content/early/2013/09/20/crl13-524.abstract?sid=6bdd5bb4-a0da-48ef-829f-10923ded4183

“Do Open Access Electronic Theses and Dissertations Diminish Publishing Opportunities in the Social Sciences and Humanities? Findings from a 2011 Survey of Academic Publishers.” Marisa L. Ramirez, Joan T. Dalton, Gail McMillan, Max Read, and Nancy H. Seamans. College & Research Libraries, July 2013, 368-380. http://crl.acrl.org/content/74/4

Earlier (2000-2003) publications about publishers attitudes towards ETDs: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/copyright/cprtetd.html

2013 Comprehensive Study of ETD Practices

• 161 institutions 73% US 27% International

• 93% have ETD programs• 69% mandatory ETD submission

• Will be a repeated every two years

Are surveyed institution’s ETDs publically available?

All are OA

Some are OA

None are OA

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

I'nat'l US

Do surveyed institutions temporarily limit ETDs to university-only access?

No

Yes

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

I'nat'l US

Why do surveyed institutions limit ETDs to university-only access?

Authors

Publishing

Patent

Facu

lty

Copyrigh

t

Creatve

Works

Uncomforta

bleOther

Sensiti

ve/co

nfidential

Mandate

/Polic

y0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%

US I'nat'l

Do surveyed institutions embargo ETDs?“withholding an ETD from all access”

None embargoed

Some embargoed

All embargoed

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

I'nat'l US

How long do surveyed institutions embargo ETDs?

< 1 year

> 1 year

Permanently

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

I'nat'l US

Why do surveyed institutions embargo ETDs?

Copyrigh

t

Creative

works

Facu

lty co

ncerns

Sensiti

ve/co

nfidentiali

ty

Patent c

oncerns

Publishing i

ssues

Authors' w

ishes

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

US I'nat'l

2011-2012 Publishers’ SurveysThe Primary Research Question

Which of the following statements best reflects the editorial policy or practice governing your enterprise?

Manuscripts that are revisions derived from openly accessible electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) are…Always welcome for submission.

Considered on a case-by-case basis.

Considered ONLY IF the contents and conclusions in the manuscript are substantially different from the ETD.

Considered ONLY IF the ETD has access limited to the campus or institution where it was completed.

Not considered under any circumstances. Other (please elaborate)

2011 Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities ETD Survey

• 75 (12% of 615) social sciences and arts and humanities journal editors

• 53 (40% of 131) AAUP press directors

• 17% response rate (128/764)

SoSci/Arts/Hum publishers’ responses to “Manuscripts which are revisions derived from openly accessible ETDs are...”

sible ETDs are… SoSci/Arts/Hum Journal and Press Responses: “Manuscripts which are revisions derived from openly accessible ETDs are...”

Other

Never

If restricted

If very different

Case-by-case

Always welcome

5%

7%

7%

27%

44%

10%

9%

3%

0%

6%

17%

66%

Uni. Presses SoSci/Hum Journals

“We normally consider theses or dissertations for publication only if the author is willing to revise them for a broader audience; this is our practice regardless of the availability of an ETD.”

“All essays go through extensive review and revision process, so even if the starting point is out there, the final product is not.”

“A chapter of a thesis or dissertation will virtually never be suitable as an article in my journal. Authors will often have to contextualize their discussion and explain the implications of their conclusions. And authors will often find that, after completing a dissertation, they are able to refine the argumentation a bit as well.”

“The editorial review and publication process entails substantial refinement and revision of works that originate as part of doctoral work and thus we do not consider raw dissertations as competing with the works eventually published under our imprint.”

Comments: Social Sciences/Humanities Survey

“We do not consider the dissertation to be the equivalent of a book. It is student work; a book is professional work.”

“Dissertations have never counted as publications… A pdf of an unpublished work is still an unpublished work.”

“Prior availability through an IR is not usually the deciding factor. We are more interested in the quality of the work, how well it fits with our list, and whether it deserves wider dissemination and promotion.”

“The American Psychological Association, which publishes over 40 journals across psychology, has an official policy that theses/dissertations, even if archived at a university site, are not counted as prior publication.”

Comments: Social Sciences/Humanities Survey

• ETDs make author anonymity difficult. “Easy to determine who the author is and thus

undermines the strength and reliability of peer review. This could, ultimately, disadvantage young scholars.”

• “I never thought about it until just now”…• “We ask authors to stop distribution of their ETD

when we agree to publish their REVISED material.”

• ETDs include already published articles.

New Concerns about ETDs

2012 Science Journal Editors’ ETD Survey

• 27.9% response rate 53 original SurveyMonkey respondents 28 non-respondents phone interviews

• 17% response rate for 2011 SoSci/Hum survey 1 follow-up email

Science editors reported that manuscripts which are revisions derived from openly accessible ETDs are…

If access limited1%

Other7%

If different8%

Not considered13%

Case-by-case 19%

Always welcome51%

“A peer-reviewed publication that comes out of a dissertation or thesis should not only be encouraged but is crucially important for the scholar's development and advancement of scientific knowledge.”

“Our journal has essentially ignored any potential conflict arising from publication of ETDs, because the situation is really not different from the days of hard copy thesis holdings by University libraries. They … are simply more easily available now…”

“It is our job to archive and publish the best research. Thus we are quite happy to publish material which otherwise would sit languishing on an online archive.”

Comments: Science Editors’ Surveys

“While we recognise theses as legitimate and citeable publications, they are considered gray literature because they do not go through blind external peer review and are not published in a recognized peer reviewed outlet. They are not considered prepublication...”

“Work which has not been published in archival peer reviewed journals is considered appropriate for submission, even if it is accessible elsewhere.”

Comments: Science Editors’ Surveys

ETD Policies of Science vs. Hum/SoSci Journals

If access limited

Other

If different

Not considered

Case-by-case

Always welcome

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Publishers’ ETD Policies 2011/2012

Other

Never

If restricted

If very different

Case-by-case

Always welcome

5%

7%

7%

27%

44%

10%

9%

3%

0%

6%

17%

66%

7%

13%

1%

8%

19%

52%

Uni. Presses SoSci/Hum Journals Science Journals

2002 and 2011 SoSci/Hum Journal Policies

Other

Under no circumstances

If access limited

If substantially revised

Case-by-case

Always welcome

27%

2%

0%

6%

29%

33%

7%

10%

7%

43%

33%

9%

3%

1%

6%

17%

66%

2001 Seamans SoSci 2002 Holt Hum 2011 SoSci/Hum Journals

Additional Data

• 2000: 166 VT graduate alumni surveyed 29% had published None encountered problems with publishers

• 2010: McCutcheon Dissertation Angela M. McCutcheon, “Impact of Publishers’ Policy on ETD Distribution Options

within the United States” (PhD diss., Ohio University), 139. http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=ohiou1273584209

1.8% of graduate alumni reported publisher rejections

• 2011: ProQuest .2% of 70,000 requested access to their ETDs be

removed

Virginia Tech’s Mission Statement

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a public land-grant university serving the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world community. The discovery and dissemination of new knowledge are central to its mission. Through its focus on teaching and learning, research and discovery, and outreach and engagement, the university creates, conveys, and applies knowledge to expand personal growth and opportunity, advance social and community development, foster economic competitiveness, and improve the quality of life.

http://www.president.vt.edu/mission_vision/mission.html

University of VirginiaStatement of Purpose

The central purpose of the University of Virginia is to enrich the mind by stimulating and sustaining a spirit of free inquiry directed to understanding the nature of the universe and the role of mankind in it. Activities designed to quicken, discipline, and enlarge the intellectual and creative capacities, as well as the aesthetic and ethical awareness, of the members of the University and to record, preserve, and disseminate the results of intellectual discovery and creative endeavor serve this purpose. In fulfilling it, the University places the highest priority on achieving eminence as a center of higher learning.

UCSB’s MISSION STATEMENT

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Because teaching and research go hand in hand at UC Santa Barbara, our students are full participants in an educational journey of discovery that stimulates independent thought, critical reasoning, and creativity. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. Our commitment to public service is manifested through the creation and distribution of knowledge that advances the well-being of our state, nation, and world. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration, opportunity, and advantage from the beauty and resources of UC Santa Barbara's extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

http://www.ucsb.edu/campus/mission.shtml

Submit works based on your ETDs.• Most publishers will consider them.

89% SoSci/Humanities; 80% Sciences Harvard Press acquisitions editor: “If you can’t

find it, you can’t sign it.”

• Quality is the publishers’ main concern.• Adapt them for the new readership.• Peer review is radically different.

Based on the data from editors/publishers’ surveys

THANK YOU!

ETDs and the Publishing Landscape 

Gail McMillanDirector, Digital Research and Scholarship Services

Professor, University Libraries, Virginia Tech

UCSB, May 5, 2014