Digital Commons@pvamu.edu: ETD Access restricted and permission

If you are a contributor to Digital Commons, you have access to readership statistics for your published items. In order to access these reports, you must create an account in Digital Commons. To create an account, go to Digital Commons and click on My Account --> Create a new account. You must use the same email address your works are connected to.

You will be able to see:

• How many downloads your item has
• Institutions people are affiliated with who looked at your item.
• What countries people are looking at your content from.
• Much more

For detailed information, see the instructions from bepress, the creator of Digital Commons.

• Resources to build your page
• Navigating real-time usage statistics
• Create your SelectedWorks Profile

Digital Commons offers you a selection of access restrictions for submitting your thesis work: (Graduate School Have to Approve)

1. Open Access. Your thesis will be discoverable via Google and other search engines. Open Access serves the scholarly community by sharing your research with others around the world; exemplifying the nature of graduate work done at PVAMU.

2. Restricted for six month ; then Open Access. Delay release of the entire work for six month from date of graduate for publication or other proprietary purposes. After six month , release for worldwide Internet access.

3. Restricted for one year; then Open Access. Delay release of the entire work for one year from date of graduate for publication or other proprietary purposes. After one year, release for worldwide Internet access.

4. Restricted for two years; then Open Access. Delay release of the entire work for two years from date of graduation for publication or other proprietary purposes. After two years, release for worldwide Internet access.

4. Access restricted to PVAMU only. Allow access only on the PVAMU campus and to current PVAMU community members via PV DigitalCommons. Note: Consistent with past practice, the thesis will also be available to other libraries via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

Please note: A Closed Access Thesis means that the full-text of your thesis will not be available online. A digital preservation copy will be maintained by the University Archives. Access will not be allowed to your thesis without first requiring written permission from you, the author. Please note, however, that your thesis will still have a metadata record in Digital Commons indicating that a thesis exists for you, but with only your name, year, and title of thesis.

Will this hurt my chance of publication?

Studies have shown that most publishers do not consider online posting to be prior publication,
and some publishers have explicitly stated that making work openly available helps students get discovered.

What if there is more than one author?

All authors are displayed in the metadata record. However, access to the thesis is determined by the individual with the most restrictive access. For example, if three students contributed to the thesis and two allow for immediate open access, but the third wants an embargo for 2 years, the item will be embargoed for 2 years.

Why isn't my thesis in Digital Commons yet?

While you are submitting your thesis in a digital format, it still requires a person to "catalog" or complete the metadata in preparation for uploading the actual file.

Check SHERPA/RoMEO to see if you are allowed to include pre-prints and post-prints of articles after submission. SHERPA/RoMEO lists publisher policies.

Check Wikipedia's List of Academic Journals by Preprint Policy if:

• You want to post a draft or description of your research in a "pre-print server before you submit an article.
• You want to know if the publisher consider it prior publication?

This Wikipedia page summarizes the policies of some publishers and journals. Check the journal website to confirm the current policy.

See also Harrison W. Inefuku's "Pre-Print, Post-Print or Offprint? A guide to publication versions, permissions and the digital repository."