Skip to Main Content

Publishing Your Research

A guide to help researchers understand the academic publishing process, choose where to publish, retain their rights, and explore digital and open access options.

Author Rights and Publishing Agreements

Understanding your rights as an author is essential to ensuring your research remains accessible, reusable, and compliant with funder or institutional requirements. This page provides tools and guidance to help you retain key rights, understand common publishing agreements, and make informed decisions about copyright and licensing.

Know Your Rights as an Author

When you publish a scholarly article, you are typically asked to sign a publishing agreement. This contract determines who holds the copyright, how your work can be shared or reused, and what rights (if any) you retain.

Common Author Rights to Consider:

  • Reuse your own work in teaching, future publications, or course materials
  • Share a copy on your personal website or in an institutional repository
  • Comply with public access or funder mandates (e.g., NIH, NSF, private foundations)

Tip: Always read the agreement carefully. Just because a journal is reputable doesn’t mean it automatically supports author-friendly practices.

Modify the Agreement: Use the SPARC Author Addendum

If a publisher’s standard contract is too restrictive, you can request changes.

SPARC Author Addendum

  • A legal tool you can attach to a publishing agreement

  • Helps you retain rights to:

    • Share your article online
    • Use it in future works
    • Comply with funder requirements

  • Developed by SPARC and Creative Commons

How to Use It:

  • Complete the SPARC Author Addendum form.
  • Submit it with your publishing agreement.
  • If the publisher declines, use it as a starting point for negotiation.

Copyright, Licensing, and Open Access

Copyright vs. License

  • Copyright: A bundle of rights automatically granted to you when you create original work.
  • License: A way of giving others permission to use your work under specific terms (e.g., Creative Commons).

Open Access Options

Open access journals often ask authors to retain copyright and grant the publisher a non-exclusive license to distribute the work. You can also choose a Creative Commons (CC) license to specify how your work can be used.

Recommended Reading:

Tools and Resources