According to the the Association of College and Research Libraries, scholarly publishing has moved from formal publication of discoveries to open dissemination of scholarly research, particularly through new technological platforms.
Author Rights
A librarian can help you understand your rights as an author. When you create a piece of work, whether it be creative or academic, you become the exclusive copyright holder for that work. You can then decide what to do with that copyright.When you are accepted for publication, many publishers will require authors/creators to sign publishing agreements that transfer some or all of their copyright to the publisher. Although the author/creator is still attributed, they are no longer able to share their work as they see fit, including in course packs or with other scholars and/or creators.
Negotiating
If a work is accepted for publication, the publisher will likely require you to sign an agreement that transfers some or all of your copyright to the publisher. Many of these agreements are negotiable, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) has provided a pre-written addendum for authors to attach to contracts in order to retain some of their rights. For more information on the SPARC Author Addendum, please visit the SPARC website.
Choosing a Journal
Deciding which journal to publish in depends on your field of study, your desired audience and reach, and your intended purpose. You also must consider the journal's reputability, partly governed by something called Journal Impact Factor (JIF or sometimes just IF). Many institutions use IF as part of the evaluation process for promotion and tenure. Currently, SAIT does not formally use IF as a way to evaluate faculty on their scholarly activity contributions.
If you receive funding for your project through grants or other sources, you may be required to publish Open Access. Check out our page on Open Access Publishing to learn more.
For more information on copyright at SAIT, please contact the Copyright Officer.
Fit refers to how well your article fits within the journal's scope.
Impact refers to impact factor.
Reputability refers to how prestigious the journal is; in general, journals with lower acceptance rates are more prestigious.