RoMEO studies 7: creation of a controlled vocabulary to analyse copyright transfer agreements

Abstract

This paper describes the process of creating a controlled vocabulary which can be used to systematically analyse the copyright transfer agreements (CTAs) of journal publishers with regard to self-archiving. The analysis formed the basis of the newly created Copyright Knowledge Bank of publishers' self-archiving policies. Self-archiving terms appearing in publishers' CTAs were identified and classified, with these then being simplified, merged, and discarded to form a definitive list. The controlled vocabulary consists of three categories that describe 'what' can be self-archived, the 'conditions' of self-archiving and the 'restrictions' of self-archiving. Condition terms include specifications such as 'where' an article can be self archived, restriction terms include specifications such as 'when' the article can be self archived. Additional information on any of these terms appears in 'free-text' fields. Although this controlled vocabulary provides an effective way of analysing CTAs, it will need to be continually reviewed and updated in light of any major new additions to the terms used in publishers' copyright and self-archiving policies.

What does ‘green’ open access mean? Tracking twelve years of changes to journal publisher self-archiving policies

“…The growth of embargo periods since the inception of the RoMEO database has been considerable, and, as Jenkins et al (2008: 301) have noted, goes against the ‘spirit and meaning of open access’. Set against a backdrop of ever-increasing paid Gold open access options, it is not surprising that publishers would simultaneously seek to withdraw a free product (immediate open access) that they are also trying to sell through hybrid or gold OA journals.…”

“…One of the earliest activities undertaken by the SHERPA project team was the creation of a controlled vocabulary to define the various publisher positions and (in theory) to aid the future analysis of publishers' open access positions (Jenkins et al, 2008). The controlled vocabulary took the Bethesda definition of open access (Suber et al, 2003) as the foundation for analysing publisher agreements and allocated each publisher a colour according to their adherence to that definition (Jenkins et al, 2007).…”

“…The other aspect of the Bethesda definition that the RoMEO controlled vocabulary took into consideration was the requirement that papers should be deposited immediately to qualify. As Jenkins et al (2008: 301) put it, ‘embargoes are not compatible with the spirit and meaning of OA’. They explain, ‘if a publisher allows the self-archiving of pre-prints, but also stipulates that the post-print can only be self-archived in a year’s time, i.e., after a one year embargo, then that publisher is awarded the “yellow” colour, but not the “blue” or resulting “green” colour’ (Jenkins et al, 2007: 5).…”

RoMEO Studies 8: self‐archiving

“…To this end, self-archiving terms and definitions were identified and put into categories, and a resulting controlled vocabulary developed. This was used to systematically analyse journal publishers' CTAs (Jenkins et al, 2006).…”

“…In order to assign these colours, a logic needs to be applied to the conditions and restrictions specified in the publishers' CTAs. Details of how these publisher policies have been reduced to terms in a controlled vocabulary can be found in RoMEO Studies 7 (Jenkins et al, 2006). This paper describes this logic and how it is used to assign a self-archiving category (colour) to each publisher.…”