Sydney eScholarship Guidelines
These guidelines outline how Sydney eScholarship users can use the repository to share their research outputs and how takedown requests are managed.
Contents
Submission criteria and information
File size and preferred formats
Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)
Removing items from Sydney eScholarship
Submission criteria and information
With the exception of Higher Degree by Research theses, Sydney eScholarship is a self-submission repository. Outputs (including journal articles, books, conferences papers, creative works and data) need to be submitted to the repository by the authors or creators of works, or by someone acting on their behalf. Submissions are made directly through the repository website.
Outputs submitted must:
- Meet one of more of the mission statements
- Be authored or co-authored by a staff member, Higher Degree by Research student, or affiliate of the University of Sydney during their time at the University, or be created by an institute or centre affiliated with the University of Sydney.
- Select work by non-Higher Degree by Research students may also be accepted in the repository; however the appropriate faculty/school/department must:
- provide written endorsement for the submission of the work
- if it is an honours thesis, verify it was marked first-class
- Non-University authored outputs relating to events sponsored by the University may also be included in the repository. Repository administrators must be contacted to submit these outputs.
- Be a completed research output or in a state where sharing is beneficial to scholarly research
- Be made permanently available
Examples of acceptable outputs:
- Journal articles
- Theses
- Conference papers
- Books
- Book chapters
- Interviews that support research findings
- Exhibitions
- Artwork
- Research reports
- Datasets
- Journals published by the University of Sydney
Sydney eScholarship will not accept items that don’t align with the mission and requirements of the repository. Examples of items that are not acceptable for submission to Sydney eScholarship include, but are not limited to:
- Records that belong in the University Records Management System, Records Online or the University Archives, including administrative documents and annual reports
- Educational outputs, e.g. assignments, teaching material
- University ephemera
- Personal archives
Note: in some cases, the above items have been submitted to the repository as there has been a historical agreement reached between repository administrators and the relevant area of the University.
Submission-specific information
Honours theses
Honours theses submitted to Sydney eScholarship require attached documentation from the appropriate faculty/school/department demonstrating that the paper has been marked first-class.
Postgraduate coursework theses
Postgraduate coursework theses submitted to Sydney eScholarship require attached documentation demonstrating that the relevant faculty/school/department supports that the thesis should be made available in the repository.
Higher Degree by Research theses
The Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC) manages the submission of current Higher Degree by Research (HDR) theses to Sydney eScholarship. HDRAC staff will submit a thesis on behalf of the author using information provided by the student in the theses lodgement form to complete the submission.
The version of the thesis submitted to the repository must be a direct equivalent of the final thesis that was approved for the award of the degree. No emendation of the content of the thesis is allowed before it is submitted to the repository. Minor variations in formatting that have resulted due to conversion to a digital format are acceptable.
Research data
Research data and materials can only be made available in the repository in accordance with the University’s Research Code of Conduct 2023, Research Data Management Policy 2014, Research Data Management Procedures 2015, Recordkeeping Policy 2017, Privacy Policy 2017 and Privacy Procedures 2023.
If your submission contains any data collected from humans or privately-owned animals, contact Research Integrity and Ethics for guidance before making this submission. Any data related to human participants must have all identifying information removed from the dataset before it is submitted to the repository to ensure that the identities of the data subjects cannot be ascertained by others (ie. data must be pseudonymised or anonymised) and you must also check the scope of the participant consent form to ensure that participants consented to their data being made available open access in a de-identified form.
Metadata record only submissions
Sydney eScholarship allows the submission of metadata only records (records without attached files). Metadata only records will usually link to an external location where the item is hosted. Metadata only records will only be accepted for items that fit into the criteria listed under submission criteria and information.
Embargoes
Some research outputs cannot be made available until after an embargo period has passed, for example due to publisher restrictions or because the author wishes to commercialise some aspect of the research. These outputs can be submitted to the repository prior to the end of the embargo period. When submitting, an end date for the embargo must be supplied. During the embargo period a record describing the work will be made publicly available, but the attached files will not be accessible. At the end of the embargo period, restrictions to the attached files will be automatically lifted.
Embargoes for Higher Degree Research theses require prior approval, please see futher information for this on the Current Students section of the website.
Note: items that can never be made available are not allowed in the Sydney eScholarship repository. See submission criteria and information for the full list of submission requirements.
Terms and conditions
When you submit a paper, thesis, report or data (document) to the University’s institutional repository you agree to the following terms and conditions:
- I am the author (or co-author) of the document being deposited, it is my original work and I own all copyrights in the document other than those covered by the written permission referred to in clause 3. If I am not the author (or co-author) of the document, I am authorised in writing by the author (or co-author) to make this submission on their behalf.
- Where the document is research data, I am the custodian of the data. If I am co-custodian, I am authorised in writing by the other custodians to make this submission.
- I have written permission of each co-author, external sponsor, exclusive licensee, copyright owner or data custodian of the document (including any third-party material or data contained in the document) to make the material publicly available. I agree to promptly provide those consents to the University on request.
- To the best of my knowledge, the document does not contain any defamatory, misleading or deceptive, offensive or other unlawful matter; does not disclose personal information without the written consent of the individual concerned and/or the personal information has been pseudonymised or anonymised; and does not disclose the confidential information of a third party.
- I grant the University a perpetual, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, world-wide, free licence to reproduce, adapt, publish, communicate and distribute the document in any medium or format (now or hereafter known) and permit others to use the document (and any third-party material contained in the document) for research or study, and any other purpose permitted by an applicable exception under copyright law.
- The University will use reasonable efforts to make the document publicly available, which it can do by any technological means whether now existing or developed in the future. In most cases, the University is not responsible for any unlawful use of the document by third parties and may elect not to take or defend a legal action.
- The document is subject to the University’s take down process set out at https://sydney.edu.au/disclaimer.html and University policies as amended from time-to-time.
File size and preferred formats
Files that are 5GB and under can be submitted directly to the repository. To submit files larger than 5GB, contact repository administrators.
Submitters should check the recommended file formats guide on the Library’s archive digital content page to ensure they are submitting files in the best format. When a file needs to be submitted in a proprietary or non-open source format, the submitter should provide information about the software needed to open the file as part of the description for the item record.
Repository administrators, where necessary, may change the file format of a submission to ensure the long-term accessibility and preservation of the item.
Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)
The University of Sydney Library can provide DOIs for objects that meet the criteria listed below. To request a DOI for your submission, please enter your request into the administrative notes of your submission.
Note: DOI minting is currently done manually by Library staff, so if you require DOIs for more than 5 items, please contact repository administrators to discuss your request and an appropriate timeframe for delivery.
Criteria
DOIs can be assigned to:
- Research datasets, associated workflows, software and models
- University of Sydney theses
- Previously unpublished publications – reports, unpublished conference papers, creative works, technical standards and specifications. Items available elsewhere online cannot be assigned a DOI from the University of Sydney Library.
The output and record must:
- Be managed by the University Library through the Sydney eScholarship Repository
- Be previously unpublished and/or not available elsewhere online, e.g. ResearchGate, Academia.edu, etc.
- Be persistently available open access
- Be part of the scholarly record
The record must contain a minimum set of information, including:
- Identifier
- Title
- Creator(s)
- Publisher
- Publication year
- Resource type
Intellectual property rights
Sydney eScholarship does not require any transfer of ownership of the intellectual property rights of material submitted to the repository. However, the person making the submission (the author or a co-author, or someone acting on their behalf) must ensure that their submission to the repository:
- Is permitted by any previous publishing agreement entered into for that work, including the publisher’s re-use/open access policy (e.g. for an article published in a journal)
- Is permitted by any other copyright transfer or licensing agreement relating to the work being submitted
- Has been consented to in writing by all other copyright owners if the submission is co-authored or contains any third-party copyright material
All Higher Degree by Research theses must be submitted to Sydney eScholarship. Theses authors can choose to make their thesis open access, so that it is publicly available, or they can choose to limit access to their thesis to University of Sydney staff and students only. Students who wish to make their thesis open access must ensure that they do not make any third-party copyright material available without permission. These authors should take the following actions:
- If their thesis includes published journal articles, the author will need to check and comply with any conditions that the publishers of those articles have for making articles available in an open access electronic thesis. Instructions for how to do this can be found under Making your thesis open access on the Library’s website.
- If their thesis contains any other material for which they are not the copyright holder (e.g. other people’s photographs or figures, etc), the author will need to obtain written permission from all copyright owners to include that material in an open access thesis.
Authors who are unable to obtain these permissions or meet these conditions cannot make their thesis open access, so it will be available to University of Sydney staff and students only. Further information about theses and copyright can be found on the Library’s website.
Questions regarding copyright should be addressed to the repository administrators.
Creating new collections
The Sydney eScholarship repository follows the University structure with collections based around a faculty structure. Collections can also be added for multidisciplinary initiatives or core facilities that do not sit within a faculty and for professional units who have conducted research. Most items submitted to the repository, other than theses, should be able to fit with the collection structure in the following folders:
- Research publications and outputs
- Research tools and resources
Note: if a collection does not contain either or both folders listed above, it is because there is yet to be anything submitted that goes into that folder.
Requests for the creation of folders that differ to the two listed above or for collections that are outside of the organisational structure (e.g. a research group or project) can be made to repository administrators. Factors we will consider in regard to your request include:
- The number of items that will be submitted
- Relation to university research
- If the repository is the most appropriate place for the content
Honours, Masters by Coursework and Higher Degree by Research theses should only be available through the ‘Theses’ collection. Metadata recorded for a thesis should contain the faculty (mandatory), school and department for the thesis.
Removing items from Sydney eScholarship
Note: University of Sydney Higher Degree by Research theses are made available in line with the University of Sydney (Higher Degree by Research) Rule 2011.
Outputs submitted to the repository are expected to be permanently available in the repository. In extenuating circumstances, a file may be supressed from public access however a record of the item must remain openly available in the repository.
The University reserves the right to remove anything that does not meet the mission of the repository, including outputs not created by University affiliates, offensive materials or material that breaches privacy legislation.
Takedown requests
Every effort is made to ensure that items stored within the Sydney eScholarship repository do not infringe Australian law, or put people, organisations or other living creatures at risk. Should you discover any content in Sydney eScholarship that you believe does infringe any law or rights you may possess, please send details to the repository administrators. We would normally expect to respond to your communication within 30 calendar days.
On receipt of your complaint, we will:
- Acknowledge the receipt of your complaint
- Make an initial judgement of the validity of the complaint
- If your complaint is reasonable based on Australian law or the moral and ethical obligations of the University and research, the resource will be removed, or access will be suspended pending verification of the complaint
- If we judge the complaint implausible or incorrect, we will inform you of this and our reasons
- Where necessary we will seek professional legal advice on your complaint
- We will advise the person who deposited the resource about which you are complaining, outline the nature of the complaint and give them the opportunity to refute the complaint
- We will investigate your complaint in full and contact you with the result of this investigation and what action we have taken/will take
- If the investigation finds in your favour, then we will permanently restrict access to the resource, or in extenuating circumstances, remove the items from the repository completely.