Transcript 2011-2013 ETD Survey Data

ETDs and the Publishing Landscape
Gail McMillan
Director, 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-a0da48ef-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?
I'nat'l
US
None are OA
Some are OA
All are OA
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Do surveyed institutions temporarily limit
ETDs to university-only access?
I'nat'l
US
Yes
No
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Why do surveyed institutions limit
ETDs to university-only access?
US
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
I'nat'l
Do surveyed institutions embargo ETDs?
“withholding an ETD from all access”
I'nat'l
US
All embargoed
Some embargoed
None embargoed
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
How long do surveyed institutions embargo
ETDs?
I'nat'l
US
Permanently
> 1 year
< 1 year
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Why do surveyed institutions
embargo ETDs?
US
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
I'nat'l
2011-2012 Publishers’ Surveys
The 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...”
SoSci/Arts/Hum Journal and Press Responses: “Manuscripts
are…
which are revisionssible
derivedETDs
from openly
accessible ETDs are...”
Uni. Presses
Always welcome
10%
66%
Case-by-case
44%
If very different
If restricted
Never
Other
SoSci/Hum Journals
27%
7% 0
7% 3%
5%
9%
17%
6%
Comments: Social Sciences/Humanities Survey
“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.”
New Concerns about ETDs
• 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.
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 limited
1%
Other
7%
Always welcome
52%
If different
8%
Not considered
13%
Case-by-case
19%
Comments: Science Editors’ Surveys
“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.”
ETD Policies of Science vs. Hum/SoSci Journals
Always welcome
Case-by-case
Not considered
If different
Other
If access limited
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Publishers’ ETD Policies 2011/2012
Uni. Presses
Always welcome
10%
66%
Case-by-case
44%
If very different
If restricted
Never
SoSci/Hum Journals
27%
7%1%
0
7%3% 13%
Other 5% 9% 7%
52%
17%
6% 8%
Science Journals
19%
2002 and 2011 SoSci/Hum Journal Policies
2001 Seamans SoSci
Always welcome
33%
Case-by-case
29%
If substantially revised
6% 7% 6%
43%
Under no circumstances 2% 10% 3%
27%
2011 SoSci/Hum Journals
33%
If access limited 0%
1%
Other
2002 Holt Hum
7%
9%
66%
17%
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 Virginia
Statement 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
Based on the data
from editors/publishers’ surveys
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.
THANK YOU!
ETDs and the Publishing Landscape
Gail McMillan
Director, Digital Research and Scholarship Services
Professor, University Libraries, Virginia Tech
UCSB, May 5, 2014