Researchers can make their research Open Access by depositing a copy of their journal article into espace. The journal version suitable for public access in espace is often dependent on the journal publishing model selected by the author(s). 

Generally this is a choice between: 

• Open accessing publishing  - published articles made freely available to everyone, subject to specific licence conditions.  Payment is generally through author or funder payment of an Article Processing Charge. 
• Traditional subscription publishing  - published articles made available to institutions and individuals through subscription fees or pay per view arrangements.

Published via open access model

• Researchers can upload the published version or enter the DOI or URL when completing the espace Deposit Process.
• Generally the published version can only be displayed in espace if the author has retained copyright or published their research under a Creative Commons licence. 

Published journal articles will look similar to the following example:

Published via the traditional subscription model

• Researchers are encouraged to check their publisher agreement for the journal version suitable for self-archiving in an institutional repository.
• Alternatively, Sherpa Romeo provides a summary of publisher's policies, including what version of an article can be deposited to espace, and any conditions that are attached to that deposit (e.g. embargo period).
• Researchers looking to simplify the espace Deposit Process, can deposit the accepted version.
• The accepted version, also known as the author’s accepted manuscript, is the final version that has undergone peer review and been accepted for publication but has not yet been copy-edited and formatted for publication. The accepted version may be a Word document or a PDF.

Accepted versions (accepted manuscripts) will look similar to the following example:

Prior to making full text of a published work available, the espace team checks to ensure the deposited version complies with publisher policies such as embargo periods, and copyright provisions. 

Note: different provisions apply to reuse of journal articles in Higher Degree Research (HDR) theses. For more information refer to Coyright and theses.

Researchers are encouraged to save a copy of the final accepted version of their journal article once it has been accepted for publication.  With the shift to article submissions via journal online portals, publishers increasingly expect the corresponding author to retain their own copy of the accepted version suitable for self-archiving in an institutional respository.

It may also be possible to obtain a copy of the accepted version of a publication via the journal's online submission portal.

Step 1: Identify the journal's online submission portal

From the journal’s website, locate the “Submit Your Paper” or similar option. This will generally direct you to log into the journal’s online submission portal. Note the type of online submission portal. For example:

Editorial Manager               

ScholarOne Manuscripts    

Step 2: Identify the corresponding author

The corresponding author is traditionally responsible for overseeing the online publishing process with the journal and has access to the online submission portal.

Step 3: Obtain a copy of the accepted version from the journal’s online submission portal

If you are the corresponding author simply follow the instructions for the appropriate submission portal below to locate and download a copy of the accepted version.

If you are not the corresponding author, please contact and request they download a copy of the accepted version, using the appropriate submission portal instructions.

Instructions to obtain the accepted manuscript version are available for the following online submission systems: 

If your journal accepts manuscript submissions via email or uses a bespoke submission portal, please contact your journal’s editor to request a copy of the accepted manuscript suitable for author self-archiving in espace.

Step 4: Upload the accepted manuscript to espace via Elements

For detailed instructions on depositing to espace via Elements refer to: 

• Curtin's Elements Publications Manual, located under Help in Elements
• The 2-minute video: espace Deposit Process

Image attribution: Dr Melodie Garnier from https://unlockingresearch-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=1872

The submitted version

• The version of the article before peer review or editing, as submitted by an author to the journal.
• The submitted version is also know as Author's Original Manuscript (AOM), Pre-print, Author's first draft.
• As the submitted version has not yet undergone peer review, this version of the article is not suitable for deposit to espace.

The accepted version

• The version of the article that has undergone peer review, incorporated referee comments, final author revisions and been accepted for publication, but has not yet been copy-edited and formatted for publication.
• The accepted version is also known as the Author's Accepted Manuscript (AAM), Post-print, Author's final draft.
• For journal articles published under the traditional subscription model, it is the accepted version that most publishers permit researcher to deposit to espace.

The published version

• The version of the article that has been peer reviewed, edited, formatted and typeset.  It includes citation details, tagging and indexing by the publisher.
• The published version is also knownas the Version of Record (VOR) or the Final publshed version.
• Generally, the published version can only be displayed in espace if the author has retained copyright or published their research under a Creative Commons licence. 

For further information on Journal article version terms refer to: 

• The 3-minute Video: Understanding journal article versions 

Sherpa Romeo is a searchable database of publisher's policies regarding the self-archiving of journal articles on the web and in Open Access repositories.  Each entry provides a summary of the publisher's policy, including what version of an article can be deposited, where it can be deposited, and any conditions that are attached to that deposit (e.g. embargo period).

For further information on navigating Sherpa Romeo refer to: 

• The 6-minute Video: Introduction to Sherpa Romeo.