Frequently Asked Questions


How do I deposit my scholarly publications?

Submissions can be made directly by the individual or via the community administrator. If the collection allows direct submission, you will want to have the submission’s title, an abstract, the publication date, and the electronic version of your submission available.

Log in
Starting at http://scholarworks.uvm.edu, click on Submit Research, located at the bottom of the left column. From the list in the center of the page, click on the Faculty Publications link for your College or School (e.g. College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications). Click on "Log in with your UVM account" and use your UVM NetID. You will be taken to the submission agreement.

Read and Accept the Submission Agreement
The terms of the agreement grant the University of Vermont a non-exclusive license to preserve and distribute the work you are depositing. In addition, you confirm that you are not infringing on copyright by making this work available online. Check the box and click Continue to move on to the Submission Form.

Complete the Submission Form
Only the Title, Author, and Publication Date fields are required. The complete list of fields includes:

Title
Authors. Include their affiliated institutions.
Document type. The default is Article.
Keywords
Disciplines. Choices are: Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Business, Education, Engineering, Law, Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Abstract
Comments. May be used to cite and link to the published version of an article
Recommended Citation. To override the citation format automatically created by ScholarWorks.
Upload File from your computer. Browse your computer for the file to attach. Please attach only Word or PDF files here.
Publication Status. Indicate if this submission previously published. If so, the system will create an OpenURL for published articles.
Additional files. If you check this box ScholarWorks will present another screen (after you click on Submit) where you can upload image, video, or data files

Click on Submit
Upload additional files as desired.

Availability
Your submission will be delivered to the administrator of the collection to which you are submitting. The administrator will check over your submission and approve it. This can take up to a week. You will receive an email when your submission is approved and has appeared in UVM ScholarWorks.

I want to deposit into a collection that doesn’t exist. How do I proceed?

UVM ScholarWorks contains collections that have been requested by UVM faculty, staff, and students. Email to request that a collection be created for your department, institute, lab, or other UVM entity. Student collections must be sponsored by a UVM faculty member.

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I don't have electronic versions of old working papers that I'd like to include in the repository. Is it okay to scan the printed page to a PDF file?

Yes--scanning printed pages is a great way to create PDF files for inclusion in the repository. There are two ways to scan a page: using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or scanning the page as an image. Making OCR scans requires careful proofreading and loses the original formatting of the documents. Image scans cannot be searched. The best solution takes advantage of both of these methods. Many software applications allow for the OCR capture of image scans. When documents are scanned this way, users see the image scan but search the full-text of the document. This is the preferred method for scanning documents for the repository.

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When I copy and paste abstracts into the Submit form, some formatted text reverts to plain text. What's going on?

When copying abstracts from a word processing file or a PDF file, and pasting the text into the submission form, you are taking text from an environment that supports fonts and text style changes. Because the abstract is intended to be presented on the web, text styles must be specified using HTML codes.

If submitting an abstract in HTML format, please be sure to select the corresponding option on the submission form.

The following HTML tags are recognized by the system and may be used to format an abstract (use lowercase tags):

How to include HTML tags

HTML tags
<p> - paragraph
<p>This is the first paragraph.</p>
<p>This is the second paragraph.</p>

This is the first paragraph.

This is the second paragraph.

<br /> - line break
<p>This is a line of text with a linebreak here. <br /> This is text after</p>

This is a line of text with a linebreak here.
This is text after

<strong> - strong/bold
<strong>bold text</strong>

bold text

<em> - italics/emphasis
<em>italicized text</em>

italicized text

<sub> - subscript
Text with <sub>subscript</sub>

Text with subscript

<sup> - superscript
Text with <sup>superscript</sup>

Text with superscript

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How do I include accents and special characters in the abstracts and titles?

The repository software supports the worldwide character set (Unicode, utf-8). Accents, symbols, and other special characters may be copied and pasted into the abstract or title field from a word processing file or typed in directly. Windows users may also use the Character Map to insert these characters. Macintosh users may use the Character Palette (available via Edit > Special Characters in the Finder).

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How do I revise a submission?

To revise a submission that has been posted to the repository, contact the repository administrator with the new version.

If the submission has been submitted, but not yet posted, you may revise it via your My Account page:

  1. Locate the article on your My Account page, and click the title.
  2. Click Revise Submission from the list of options in the left sidebar.
  3. Enter your changes in the Revise Submission form, and click Submit at the bottom of the page to submit your changes. (You only need to modify the portion of the form that corresponds to the changes you wish to make.)

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How can I submit a multi-part file, such as multiple chapters for a book?

Combine all the sections together as one Microsoft Word file or PDF file and submit that.

To make one PDF file from multiple files, open the first PDF file, then choose Document>Insert Pages from Acrobat's menus to insert the second file (indicate it should go after the last page of the first file), and repeat for all documents. The result will be one compound PDF file which may then be submitted.

If you feel that the one large PDF file might be too large for some people to download, we suggest that you submit the consolidated file as the full text of the article, and then upload the separate chapters or sections of the document as Associated Files. These files will appear on the web page alongside the complete document. For more information about uploading associated files, see below.

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Can I post related files (sound clips, data sets, etc.) alongside the published article?

Yes. The bepress system refers to these supplementary items as Associated Files. You will be prompted to submit Associated Files when you upload your submissions. The name of the files you upload will appear on the web site along with your short description of it. Viewers must have the necessary software to open your files; that is not provided by the bepress system.

Please be sure that there are no permissions issues related to use of the associated material. Sometimes, especially with images, you must write a letter seeking permission to use the material before it can be posted.

Also note that where possible, items such as images, charts and tables that are referenced in the document (or otherwise an integral part of the document) should be included directly in the article itself and not posted just as associated files.

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Can I post a reprint from a journal?

Many authors routinely, and unnecessarily, forfeit their rights to their own scholarship, which can have a negative impact on their ability to use their work in the future.

  1. If the publication is already accepted by a publisher (print or online) and you've signed a copyright agreement with them:
    • Identify the publisher and look them up in SHERPA/RoMEO to determine if you can place your work in an institutional repository. This practice is more commonly allowed than you might realize, although some publishers may ask for a temporary embargo on public access.
    • Look for the phrase "self-archive" in the allowable terms of use. ScholarWorks is considered "not-for-profit", and a "not-for-profit publicly accessible" repository.
    • If allowed, find the appropriate version and submit it to UVM ScholarWorks. Some publishers allow the final published PDF to be submitted. You can find this information on the Sherpa/Romeo site. Others might prohibit article pre-prints (pre-refereeing) or insist on a link to the final publisher PDF.
    • Some publishers have special arrangements with UVM, and may grant additional permissions. Talk to your Howe Library liaison or your Dana Medical Library liaison for more information.
  2. If you have not yet signed a copyright transfer agreement with a publisher, consider the following:
    • What might your future needs be for your material? At the very least you might want to reserve your right to use your work in the classroom, distance teaching, and other professional activities.
    • Understand the terms of the agreement before you sign.
    • Negotiate! Publishers are accustomed to authors negotiating and the practice has become very common. Consider adding an amendment (e.g. the SPARC Author Addendum) to the publisher's agreement, or strike through the language in the original agreement that you want to change.
    • Execute the agreement by making sure the correct version is signed by both you and the publisher's representative (be careful of pre-signed boilerplate). Keep a copy for your records.
    • Submit your work and watch its readership increase! *

*Depositing your work in UVM ScholarWorks can increase its visibility since contents are discoverable through Google and Google Scholar. Regular reports of the number of citations generated can heighten its impact and support your case in RPT activities.

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A working paper in our repository site has been published in a slightly revised form in a journal. What should I do?

Many journals do not have any restrictions on working papers that preceded an article, especially if substantial revisions were made. You should check your author agreement with the journal to confirm that there is no problem with leaving the working paper on the site. The repository would constitute noncommercial use.

Assuming the working paper does remain on posted in the repository, it is a good idea to include the citation to the published article on the cover page of the repository working paper. Please contact the repository administrator to request this change.

Can non-UVM affiliated authors submit to UVM ScholarWorks? How do I create an account?

Authors who are not affiliated with UVM can submit qualifying materials. When prompted to log in, look for the Create new account section under For non-UVM users. You’ll need to provide your name and email address and choose a password. ScholarWorks will send a confirmation message. It is possible to change the email address and password later.

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