Frequently asked questions
Below are answers to some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about institutional repositories, open access, IP and copyright, and Manchester eScholar.
On this page,
- Questions about Manchester eScholar
- Questions about institutional repositories
- Questions about open access
- Questions about intellectual property and copyright
- Questions about usage metrics
- Questions about deposit metrics
Questions about Manchester eScholar
- I'm an academic researcher, why should I use Manchester eScholar?
- Who is managing Manchester eScholar?
- Who can I contact for further information?
- Who can deposit work in Manchester eScholar?
- How secure is my content in Manchester eScholar?
- Is there a limit to the size of file I can upload?
- How many files can I upload during one submission?
- What is a "Lite-Cite" submission?
- Can I delete works I have deposited in Manchester eScholar?
- Is my work openly available on the web as soon as I've deposited it in Manchester eScholar?
- Which types of scholarly work can I upload?
- Why should I convert my files to PDF?
- Can somebody else upload my records for me?
- Can I set an embargo for my deposited work?
- Is there a Manchester eScholar deposit license?
- Who can access the content stored in the repository?
- How can other academics search for the works I deposit to Manchester eScholar?
- What is Manchester eScholar API?
Questions about institutional repositories
- What is an institutional repository?
- Which other UK universities have similar research repositories?
Questions about open access
- What does open access mean?
- What does my research funder say about open access?
- Where can I find out more about open access?
- Does my publisher allow me to deposit my published articles in Manchester eScholar?
Questions about intellectual property and copyright
- Who owns the copyright of my work?
- Will I break copyright if I store my work in Manchester eScholar?
- Does Manchester eScholar claim any copyright for the work it stores?
- What is the University of Manchester's policy of intellectual property and copyright?
Questions about usage metrics
- Where do Manchester eScholar source usage metrics from?
- Do the usage metrics represent all usage of my scholarly work?
- What's the difference between a pageview and a download?
- From when did Manchester eScholar begin capturing usage metrics?
- How often are usage metrics updated?
- Do usage metrics include traffic from search engine crawlers?
- How can I increase the usage of my eScholar records?
- Can I see other researcher's usage metrics?
Questions about deposit metrics
I'm an academic researcher, why should I use Manchester eScholar?
Manchester eScholar offers a set of services for you to store, manage, and disseminate your scholarly work on the web. Containing a growing digital record of the research output of the University, Manchester eScholar is a tool for you to promote your work and the work of your colleagues within the University and beyond.
By uploading the copyright-cleared full-text of your scholarly works, or creating records of your works with a hyperlink to the published version, you can build a definitive and secure archive of all your scholarly works. These works can then be displayed in dynamic, customisable publication lists on personal or institutional websites.
Scholarly works deposited in Manchester eScholar will also be exposed to Google and other search engines, as well as being exposed to specialist repository harvesting services. By depositing scholarly work in Manchester eScholar you will increase the visiblity of your research and increase the chances that it will be read and cited by others.
As well as providing services for storing, managing, and disseminating your scholarly work on the web, Manchester eScholar also allows you to satisfy the requirements of your Research Funding Council or charity should it insist that the research that it funds be made openly available in some form.
To make a deposit in Manchster eScholar see
Who is managing Manchester eScholar?
Manchester eScholar is a service provided and maintained by the The University of Manchester Library.
Who can I contact for further information?
For all enquiries contact the Manchester eScholar Support Team at
Manchester eScholar Support Team
The University of Manchester Library
Tel: +44(0)161 275 8728 (internal: x58728)
Email: escholar@manchester.ac.uk (via IT Service Desk)
Who can deposit work in Manchester eScholar?
All University of Manchester staff members and PGR students with a current network username and password can log-in and deposit scholarly work to Manchester eScholar.
How secure is my content in Manchester eScholar?
All content in the repository is stored on secure dual-sited servers. We would always recommend, however, that you store a copy of your deposited works locally as a back-up.
Is there a limit to the size of file I can upload?
Yes.
You can upload files up to 20mb. If your file(s) size exceeds 20mb then you may wish to zip your file(s) using one of the many popular zip utilities available. Zipping a file creates a compressed version of the file that is considerably smaller than the original file. Typically, a 6.5 MB Microsoft Word file would be reduced to 2.5 MB after zipping. If you are not sure which utility to use, most programmes offer a 30-day limited trial period where you can download and try the utility for free.
How many files can I upload during one submission?
Up to three primary files may be attached when submitting a journal article and one primary file for all other content types. Primary files should always contain the full-text of the scholarly work being described in the associated metadata record.
Up to ten related files may be attached to a record. An example of content contained in related files may be supplementary graphs or images associated with the full text contained within the primary file(s).
You may add/remove files that you have attached any time after submission through the edit interfaces.
What is a "Lite-Cite" submission?
A "Lite-Cite" submission is a quick way of depositing your scholarly content to Manchester eScholar.
Only a brief description of your scholarly work is required for a "Lite-Cite" submission. This may include the title, author, year, publication...etc. preferably in the form of a standard citation format for display on personal and organisational publication lists.
Whilst a "Lite-Cite" submission is the quickest way to deposit works to Manchester eScholar the visibility of the record on the web is reduced as these types of submissions are not given a unique abstract page.
Can I delete works I have deposited in Manchester eScholar?
No record stored within Manchester eScholar may be deleted by an individual member of staff. Individuals can remove the relationship between themselves and a record but this does not delete the record. Records in their entirety cannot be deleted from Manchester eScholar due to the fact that a record may belong to more than one staff member of the University at any given time.
Should a record belong to no members of University staff then repository administrators will review whether to continue storing the record.
Individual files which are attached to records may be deleted by the record's owner at any time.
Is my work openly available on the web as soon as I've deposited it in Manchester eScholar?
When you deposit scholarly work to Manchester eScholar and set it as visible the uniquely generated URL for that work will go live immediately. This means that anybody with access to the World Wide Web will be able to freely access your work.
Newly deposited visible content will also be exposed to external search services like Google and repository harvesting services like OAIster as soon as they are deposited.
Which types of scholarly work can I upload?
Manchester eScholar supports the submission of 16 main types of scholarly outputs. If you have a scholarly output which the repository does not accomodate then contact the Manchester eScholar support team. See contact us.
Why should I convert my files to PDF?
PDFs are commonly used to distribute documents online because it allows readers on different platforms (e.g. Windows, Mac and UNIX) to view files as originally intended by the author. Any type of file that can be printed can be converted into a Portable Document File (PDF), this includes all Microsoft Office documents, text and image files.
For further information see,
Can somebody else upload my records for me?
Yes.
For further information, see our guide to degelated management.
Can I set an embargo for my deposited work?
Yes.
When submitting full-text files you can restrict other users' access to those files by setting the record as hidden.
Some publishers stipulate that authors may make the full text of their journal articles freely and openly available after a pre-defined period of time following its publication. The ability to set flexible embargo periods to suit your requirements is an upcoming feature of Manchester eScholar.
Is there a Manchester eScholar deposit license?
Yes.
Before you confirm a submission to Manchester eScholar you will be provided a link to a Deposit License. The key purpose of a Deposit License is to reassure the depositor that Manchester eScholar is not claiming undue rights in their work, to provide Manchester eScholar the rights to manage and re-use the submitted work as appropriate, and to reduce Manchester eScholar's liability if a submitted work is found to infringe copyright.
For further information read the deposit license.
Who can access the content stored in the repository?
If your deposited content has been made visible then it will be available to anybody who has access to the internet and World Wide Web.
If your deposited content has been made hidden then only yourself and relevant University administrators will have access for management and preservation purposes.
How can other academics search for the works I deposit to Manchester eScholar?
Manchester eScholar, along with most other institutional repositories, exposes its contents to Google and other search engines. It also exposes its contents to specialist repository harvesting services such as OIAster. Academics from other institutions will be able to find your work through these services and by searching Manchester eScholar directly.
What is an institutional repository?
In simple terms an institutional repository is a place to store digital copies of scholarly work and make these materials freely and easily accessible.
For an academic researcher it is a place to store, manage and disseminate their work via the World Wide Web. The work can include publications in peer-reviewed journals, books and book-sections, technical reports, working papers, monographs, conference presentations, audio and visual materials or any other research content that has some scholarly value.
A librarian might consider a repository as somewhere to catalogue, preserve and archive digital materials for posterity. This includes enabling easy access to these materials via a simple persistent web address.
A research manager might view a repository as a barometer of an organisations research productivity and health. They might use the repository to inform on strategic planning.
An IT professional might consider a repository as a type of digital asset management (DAM) system. They might see the system as hardware, software and processes for the ingestion, annotation, cataloging, storage and retrieval of digital materials.
An organisation might see its repository as a record of its intellectual assets. The organisation would use the repository to help meet research council requirements, improve its reputation and demonstrate to its employees that their work is valued.
Which other UK universities have similar research repositories?
The world-wide development and use of institutional repositories has grown significantly in the last few years. At the time of writing (Sept 2012), there were around 1,800 institutional repositories world-wide, of which over 200 are located in the UK. All of the twenty Russell Group universities have established institutional repositories.
For an up-to-date listing of global repositories visit the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR).
What does Open Access mean?
Open Access (OA) scholarly works are digital, online, free of charge and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. There are generally two ways to make scholarly works OA; open access publishing and open access self-archiving.
Open Access publishing is the publication of scholarly works which is available to all potential users without financial or other barriers. This can involve the publisher charging an OA fee which is usually paid by the researcher's institution or Research Funding Council. This form of OA is referred to as 'Gold OA'.
OA journals are indexed by the Directory of Open Access Journals.
Open access self-archiving is a deposit of scholarly works in an online repository or personal website which allows unrestricted access to anybody with access to the World Wide Web. Authors must read carefully any copyright agreements that they have signed if the works they are depositing have been previously published. Different publishers have different self-archiving policies. This form of OA is referred to as 'Green OA'.
Publisher's self-archiving and copyright policies can be searched using the SHERPA/RoMEO service.
What does my research funder say about Open Access?
All of the UK Research Councils, and many of the Research Funding Charities, have made Open Access deposit of research outputs a condition of funding. Researcher funders are adopting this proactive stance to ensure that their funded research is as widely disseminated as possible. SHERPA JULIET summarises funder's policies.
Where can I find out more about Open Access?
To find out more or to simply stay abreast of the rapidly changing Open Access landscape visit Related Blogs and Websites.
Does my publisher allow me to deposit my published articles in Manchester eScholar?
The large majority of publishers do allow for authors to self-archive a version of their journal article to a publicly available repository.
During the submission of a journal article to Manchester eScholar authors are given the opportunity to attach the following versions of the paper:
- Pre-peer review
- Post-peer review (non-publisher's document)
- Post-peer review (publisher's document)
To look-up which version of the article your publisher allows you to self-archive we recommend the SHERPA/RoMEO service which lists your publisher's standard copyright transfer agreements. During the publication process you may have negotiated additional rights regarding the IP and copyright of your work and so this service should be used primarily as a guide.
Who owns the copyright of my work?
You and your co-authors do, unless you have assigned or transferred it to someone else. You should also be aware the University of Manchester has a policy on intellectual property and as an employee or student you need to abide by this,
Will I break copyright if I store my work in Manchester eScholar?
No.
If you have signed a copyright agreement with a publisher then you must pay particular attention to the restrictions and conditions the publisher places on the self-archiving of the work in online repositories or on personal websites.
If the publisher allows for no self-archiving of the work whatsoever then you may still deposit the pre-peer reviewed version of the work which does not fall under the conditions and restrictions stipulated in the publisher's copyright agreement.
Does Manchester eScholar claim any copyright for the work it stores?
No.
Manchester eScholar takes no copyright ownership for any items that it holds. It will attempt to preserve the content, maximise its dissemination (for items made visible) and where appropriate improve the records by enhancing the metadata. Manchester eScholar will do this on behalf of individuals and normally with their knowledge.
As part of its Deposit License, Manchester eScholar retains certain rights and obligations. These are designed to enable Manchester eScholar to store, copy and manipulate the digital object(s) created in order to ensure that they can be preserved and where appropriate made available.
What is the University of Manchester's policy of intellectual property and copyright?
The University of Manchester's intellectual property and copyright policy is available to download from Staffnet.
Summarising, ownership of intellectual property created by a University employee automatically belongs to the University (see section 3.4). However, the University waives its rights with regards to ownership of copyright in scholarly work (see section 3.7) except where,
- if an employee creates intellectual property outside of the course of his/her employment with more than incidental use of University resources,
- intellectual property created in the pursuance of sponsored research or other agreement with an outside body will belong to the University and then ownership will be determined according to the terms of such agreement
- in the relation to any item created by an employee whose job description specifically includes the creation of printed or electronic materials,
- where publication of the scholarly work brings the University into disrepute
It is important to note that the University's policy is that all employee's are responsible for ensuring their arrangements with outside bodies do not conflict with their obligations to the University, including the University’s rights of IP ownership. In particular, this applies to any arrangements which an individual makes with a third party publisher in relation to the publication of a piece of scholarly work (see section 3.3).
What is Manchester eScholar API?
Manchester eScholar API is an application programming interface that enables technical developers to access content and services directly and without using native websites. This API is currently under development. The API will expose content using standard protocols, such as OAI-PMH, OAI-ORE, SWORD-API and Restful services. Prior to its launch and in the meantime, if you are interested in using the API and/or wish to make a suggestions or contribution, then please do contact us.
Where do Manchester eScholar source usage metrics from?
Manchester eScholar sources usage information from Google Analytics, a free service offered by Google.
Google Analytics provides extremely detailed statistics about the global visitors to a website. Manchester eScholar takes continually updated information from Google Analytics reporting the number of times individual Manchester eScholar abstract pages are visited and the number of times attached full-text file(s) are downloaded. This information is then stored locally to be displayed in a useful and contextualised way.
When selecting which information to capture from Google Analytics particular emphasis was placed on helping authors to answer the following three questions:
- Which of my eScholar records are people looking at?
- Who is looking at my eScholar records?
- How are people finding my eScholar records?
Do the usage metrics represent all usage of my scholarly work?
Usage metrics display information about vistors who have viewed the unique abstract page of a Manchester eScholar scholarly work record and/or downloaded an attached full-text file. The metrics do not display information about usage of the same publication available from other external sources (e.g. downloads from a journal publisher's websites, or pageviews from another Open Access repository).
Usage metrics may, however, be indicative of broader usage beyond that of the scholarly work record available via Manchester eScholar.
What's the difference between a pageview and a download?
A pageview is counted every time the abstract page of a Manchester eScholar scholarly work record is viewed on the web.
A download is counted every time a full-text file or supplementary related file attached to a Manchester eScholar scholarly work record is opened and/or saved.
From when did Manchester eScholar begin capturing usage metrics?
Manchester eScholar began capturing and storing usage information in August 2011. Consequently, all usage information associated with individual Manchester eScholar scholarly work records begins from this month.
How often are usage metrics updated?
Manchester eScholar captures usage data on an automatic nightly schedule. On the recommendation of Google, usage data is captured up to two days ago to allow for differences in international time-zones and to ensure that all usage information against a given date is complete.
Do usage metrics include traffic from search engine crawlers?
No.
Traffic from popular search engine crawler has been excluded from the usage data that is captured.
How can I increase the usage of my eScholar records?
There are many factors contributing to the usage of individual Manchester eScholar scholarly work records. Some are outside of the control of the author. For example, there may only be a small number of individuals active in the author's research area and so an excellent paper may only ever attract a small number of downloads.
There are however some things that can be done to increase the likelihood that your eScholar records are used:
- Manchester eScholar scholarly work records with access levels set to 'hidden' are not made available to view and download and hence cannot attract any usage. To ensure that your records are available to view and download set the access level to 'visible'.
- Attach a copyright cleared version of the scholarly work's full-text and/or supplementary research information e.g. datasets, images. This ensures alternative and free access for potential readers who are unable to access the subscription-based publisher's version.
- Provide full and accurate bibliographic information for your scholarly work. The quality of the metadata can affect the position of your Manchester eScholar records in external search engine results.
Can I see other researcher's usage metrics?
Yes if you are researcher at the University of Manchester.
Usage metrics associated with all scholarly work records in Manchester eScholar are available to view via the My eScholar service. Access to My eScholar is restricted to current University of Manchester staff and postgraduate research students.
Once logged in to My eScholar click to expand the 'View metrics' section, here a button called 'Choose a researcher' allows users to select from an A-Z of University researchers. Click on a researcher's name to view the usage metrics associated with all Manchester eScholar scholarly work records belonging to that researcher.
Summary usage metrics associated with individual Manchester eScholar scholarly work records are also displayed on each record's publicly viewable abstract page.
What is a deposit?
A deposit is recorded each time a new scholarly work record is added to Manchester eScholar. A deposit is counted whether the scholarly work has a copyright cleared version of the full-text attached or contains only a metadata record describing the work.
How often are the deposit metrics updated?
All Manchester eScholar deposit metrics are updated hourly.
How can I use the deposit metrics?
Deposits metrics are independent of other metrics. Consequently, scholarly work records are displayed irrespective of whether there is citation or usage metric data recorded for the record. This provides a convenient overview of the entire deposit activity of all current researchers at the University.
Deposit metrics can be used to view the number of scholarly work records a researcher has deposited to Manchester eScholar and how many of those records have a copyright cleared version of the full-text attached. Where the depositor has set the access level of a record to 'Hidden' only the year of publication is displayed, the title of the record is hidden.