Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Spectrum FAQ

1. What is Spectrum?
2. How does depositing in Spectrum increase research impact?
3. How much use do items in Spectrum get?
4. Who can deposit?
5. What can be deposited?
6. How can a Concordia author deposit?
7. Can retrospective or only new items be deposited?
8. What about research that is not in an electronic format?
9. Can material with an unusual file type or file size be deposited?
10. What if a publication is already deposited somewhere else?
11. Can a published article be deposited in Spectrum?
12. What is the difference between a "pre-print," a "post-print" and a “published version”?
13. What if a publisher does not allow self-archiving?
14. What about a publication that has multiple authors?
15. Who holds copyright on items in Spectrum?
16. How will the material be used?
17. What is the Spectrum Concordia University Research Repository Non-Exclusive License? What is the Spectrum: Concordia University Research Repository ("Spectrum") Non-Exclusive License for Electronic Theses?
18. Is it possible to assign a Creative Commons license to a work in Spectrum?
19. What about plagiarism?
20. How long are things accessible?
21. Who can help me?

1. What is Spectrum?
   

   Spectrum is Concordia’s research repository where Concordia authors can deposit a digital copy of their research publications. Anyone in the world with access to the Web can visit Spectrum and read the publications. Authors may deposit copies of research articles, conference papers, book chapters, images, PowerPoint presentations, or other materials that reflect research activity. Most journal publishers allow deposit of a copy of an article in a repository. Doing so increases readership and will likely result in more impact for Concordia authors’ research.
   
   Each publication stored in Spectrum will have its own lasting web address. Spectrum is regularly crawled by Google and Google Scholar, so work will be findable in these search engines.
   
   
   

2. How does depositing in Spectrum increase research impact?
   

   Research repositories benefit faculty members by bringing about broader dissemination, increased use and enhanced professional visibility of their scholarly research.
   
   When work reaches a wider audience, it often leads to an increase in citations. According to Peter Suber, open access to research publications increases the audience for a work far beyond the audience of any priced journal, even the most prestigious or popular journal. Studies in many fields show a correlation between open access and citation-count increases from 50% to 250%. See http://opcit.eprints.org/oacitation-biblio.html
   
   
   

3. How much use do items in Spectrum get?
   

   Spectrum provides download statistics for each item. At the bottom of the page for each and every item, Spectrum shows how many times the full-text document has been downloaded.
   
   
   

4. Who can deposit?
   

   Spectrum is a repository for research produced by Concordia researchers. Published and peer-reviewed materials can be deposited.  Additionally, Concordia theses and dissertations are housed in Spectrum. Research publications by students may also be considered for deposit.
   
   A Concordia NetName is required to deposit publications in Spectrum.
   
   
   

5. What can be deposited?
   

   Spectrum is a record of research activity. It is a venue for journal articles, conference papers or presentations and other scholarly creations. Spectrum’s software can support a variety of digital file formats. Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, images and media files may be deposited. Questions about what can be deposited in Spectrum may be sent to lib-spectrum@concordia.ca
   
   
   

6. How can a Concordia author deposit?
   

   Spectrum’s software is designed for authors to deposit their work by uploading the document itself to the repository and filling out a form with basic information about the publication. The deposit process can be completed in minutes. It is possible for a departmental, graduate or research assistant with a Concordia NetName to deposit on an author’s behalf. The Library can assist as well. Once research material has been deposited, a verification process by Spectrum editors ensures the accuracy of the publication information.
   
   
   

7. Can retrospective or only new items be deposited?
   

   Any scholarly material can be deposited in Spectrum. It may be easier to begin with more recent research.
   
   
   

8. What about research that is not in an electronic format?
   

   Since Spectrum is a digital repository, electronic versions of articles and other publications must be uploaded. Contact Spectrum (lib-spectrum@concordia.ca) to discuss the deposit of a print version of a publication.
   
   
   

9. Can material with an unusual file type or file size be deposited?
   

   File size limitations and recommended file formats for preservation and access are listed in the Spectrum Guidelines.
   
   
   

10. What if a publication is already deposited somewhere else?
    

    Publications can be deposited in multiple repositories.
    
    

    What if it’s already on a web page?
    Spectrum does not replace personal homepages, but deposit within the repository has advantages over homepages. For example, unless an author controls the website, there is no guarantee that it will be available in the future. There is no need to remove work from an existing website. Depositing a copy of a paper in Spectrum creates an additional access point. A link to an existing web site can be inserted in Spectrum. During the submission process, add the URL in the "Additional URLs" field.
    
    What if it’s already in an OA archive such as “arXiv.org”?
    It is very easy to obtain a publication that has already been deposited in an open access archive and then deposit it again into Spectrum.

    
    

11. Can a published article be deposited in Spectrum?

    
    Check the publisher’s policy on self-archiving at the SHERPA/RoMEO website:
    http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo.php
    
    SHERPA/RoMEO allows authors to search by publisher name, journal name or ISSN. The website gives precise information about self-archiving (which copy to deposit, existence of an embargo period or not, compliance with open access funder mandates, etc.). SHERPA/RoMEO assigns a colour code to the different types of self-archiving policies:
    
    

    RoMEO colour	Archiving policy
    green	can archive pre-print and post-print
    blue	can archive post-print (ie final draft post-refereeing)
    yellow	can archive pre-print (ie pre-refereeing)
    white	archiving not formally supported

    
    If a publisher’s name or journal name does not appear in the SHERPA/RoMEO database, contact the publisher directly.
    
    
    

12. What is the difference between a "pre-print," a "post-print" and a “published version”?
    
    • Pre-print: version of a paper submitted for peer-review to a journal or a conference. This version may then be revised by the author as a result of comments made by reviewers. 
    
    
    
    • Post-print: accepted manuscript version of a paper following a peer-review process. It can be the version of a paper that has been revised by the author or as accepted for publication if no changes were made.
    
    
    
    • Published version: includes the changes made by the publisher when preparing the manuscript for publication. This includes formatting, layout, pagination and changes made as a result of copy-editing. This version is sometimes referred to as the ‘Publisher’s PDF’ or ‘Version of record’. Most publishers do not allow this version to be deposited in a repository.
    
    
    
    

13. What if a publisher does not allow self-archiving?
    

    Authors are encouraged to write to the publisher and request flexibility in self-archiving. Often, a publisher will give permission to deposit in a repository.
    
    Before publishing an article, the SPARC Author’s Addendum is a useful tool to help secure an author’s rights:
    
    

    • The SPARC Canadian Author’s Addendum secures an author’s rights.
      See this explanatory brochure on the subject: http://carl-abrc.ca/uploads/pdfs/EngBrochure.pdf
      
      
    • Authors can submit the SPARC Canadian Author’s Addendum to Publication Agreement:
      Use this form: http://carl-abrc.ca/uploads/pdfs/EngPubAgree.pdf
    
    
    

14. What about a publication that has multiple authors?
    

    Depositing authors are responsible for ensuring that they have permission to deposit a research article in Spectrum, including ensuring that co-authors allow the deposit.
    
    
    

15. Who holds copyright on items in Spectrum?
    

    Concordia University does not claim copyright on anything deposited in Spectrum. Authors who deposit in Spectrum agree to make the work available under the default Spectrum Terms of Access or one of the Creative Commons licenses. Depositing authors agree to grant the University a non-exclusive right to the work available online. Spectrum is a mechanism for disseminating the work of Concordia authors. Much of the work that will be deposited in Spectrum will have already been published elsewhere. Spectrum is an additional venue for making work accessible on the Web.
    
    If an author has transferred copyright to the journal publisher at the time of publication the author will need to determine if the publisher allows deposit in a repository. Use SHERPA/RoMEO’s service (http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/).
    
    
    

16. How will the material be used?
    

    Anything deposited in Spectrum is for personal research or study use only.
    
    Research will be accessible to people at institutions whose libraries may not have subscriptions to all journals in which Concordia authors have been published. Readers will find work in Spectrum when they search Google, Google Scholar or when they visit Spectrum directly. The material deposited in Spectrum will be downloaded, printed, read, used, cited and discussed in the same way as material that is published in journal articles or on a web site.
    
    
    

17. What is the Spectrum Concordia University Research Repository Non-Exclusive License? What is the Spectrum: Concordia University Research Repository ("Spectrum") Non-Exclusive License for Electronic Theses?
    

    Deposit of a work in Spectrum entails agreement to the terms of the Concordia University Research Repository Non-Exclusive License. When depositing a Concordia thesis, the graduate student agrees to the Concordia University Research Repository "Spectrum" Non-Exclusive License for Electronic Theses. Further information on this topic can be found at the Copyright Guide for Thesis preparation.
    
    
    

18. Is it possible to assign a Creative Commons license to a work in Spectrum?
    

    Yes. If an author holds sufficient copyright for the item being deposited in Spectrum, a Creative Commons license can be selected. This is entirely optional. Creative Commons licenses explain to readers and users of the work what uses are permitted.
    
    
    

19. What about plagiarism?
    

    When work is deposited in Spectrum it will be on an official Concordia website, and the name and institutional affiliation will be prominent. The date and time the work was deposited will be visible; authorship of an article or idea is date stamped. Spectrum increases access to research. Work that is widely available is cited more than work which is published only in subscription-based sources.
    
    This disclaimer appears in each Spectrum record:
    “All items in Spectrum are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved.”
    
    
    

20. How long are things accessible?
    

    Spectrum preserves research material and will maintain backup copies for security and preservation. Formats may be migrated, but the content will not change. The University is committed to providing ongoing access to and preservation of the digital publications contained in Spectrum.
    
    
    

21. Who can help me?
    

    Contact Spectrum at lib-spectrum@concordia.ca.