how to upload an article on researchgate

Scholarly Publications: Creating and Maintaining a ResearchGate Profile

• Getting Started
• Editing your Profile

Adding publications to your ResearchGate profile

Academic journal copyright policies.

• Adding Full Text

If you have questions you may find the following ResearchGate link helpful.

How to add research (researchgate.net)

If you are using a mobile device, you can also view a PDF version of this guide with screenshots .

In general, authors who publish articles in academic journals are required to sign a copyright transfer agreement, which grants the journal's publisher copyright for the article.  This limits whether the full text of an article can be posted on sites like ResearchGate (citations for any article may be posted anywhere, including RG).  

The guide below contains a chart with guidelines detailing whether articles from specific journals may be posted on ResearchGate.

• Scholarly Publications: Posting Journal Articles Online by Heather Enderle Last Updated May 20, 2021 159 views this year
• << Previous: Editing your Profile
• Next: Adding Full Text >>
• Last Updated: Apr 4, 2023 9:51 AM
• URL: https://darden.libguides.com/researchgate

Darden Camp Library, First Floor, 100 Darden Blvd., Darden Business School, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903 Mailing Address: Darden Camp Library, PO Box 6550, Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550  Google Map with Darden Library Email: [email protected]    Phone: (434) 924-7321   FAX: (434) 924-3533

Darden Portal   |  Darden Homepage   |  UVA Homepage

Lydon and O'Leary libraries will be closing at 2:00pm on Wednesday, July 3rd , and will be closed on Thursday, July 4th . If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] .

• University of Massachusetts Lowell
• University Libraries

ResearchGate

• Publications
• Sending Invitations
• ResearchGate Profile
• Question & Answer

How do I edit my publication’s details?

• Go to the publication’s ResearchGate page
• Click Edit on the toolbar below your publication’s title and abstract
• Make the necessary changes
• Click Save changes.

Quick Links

• Join ResearchGate (free)
• ResearchGate Help
• ResearchGate News
• ResearchGate Recruiting

Publications  is one of the most useful features on ResearchGate: whether you are adding your research (Journal articles, conference papers, and more), looking for research in your field, or simply downloading other researcher’s work. This research guide contains some useful tips on about adding or editing publication on ResearchGate. 

Two Ways to Add Publications

1. To add your unpublished work to your profile: 

Step 1:  After you are logged in to ResearchGate, go to your profile  Step 2:  Click on Add unpublished work in the top right-hand corner  Step 3:  Upload the file and enter the title, authors, and a description of your research  Step 4:  Click on Add to profile.

Second way to add a publication:

 Step 1: Once you are logged in to  ResearchGate , go on the top-left corner, and click on publications

Step 2:  Click on Add your publications in the right-hand corner  Step 3:   Upload the file and enter the title, authors, and a description of your research  Step 4:  Click on Add to profile.

Category of research

• Journal Articles
• Conference Papers
• All other Research

Another way to add your journal articles to your profile is by searching it on the ResearchGate database:

Step 1: On your profile page, click on Add your publications in the top right-hand corner

Step 2:  Select Journal articles 

Step 3:  Select Author match to be shown any author profiles matching your name

Step 4:  Confirm authorship of your research by clicking Yes next to anything you authored

Step 5:  Click Save to add your publications to your profile.

You can also add your own journal articles if you can‘t find on the ResearchGate database:

Step 3: Enter the title of the journal article you want to add to your profile

Step 4: Upload a full-text version of your article (optional)

Step 5: Click Continue

Step 6: Enter applicable details such as the authors, journal name, and publication date

Step 7: Click Finish to add your article to your profile.

To add research you presented at a conference to your profile:

Step 1: On your profile, click on add your publications in the top right-hand corner

Step 2:  Select Conference papers in the box that appears

Step 3 : Click Select file to find and upload your research (optional)

Step 4:  Enter the title of your research and click Continue

Step 5:  Enter details such as the authors and the conference name and date

Step 6: Click Finish to add your research to your profile.

To add other types of research to your profile (book, thesis, chapter, and more):

Step 1: Go to your profile, and click on add your publications in the top right-hand corner

Step 2:  Select all other research in the box that appears

Step 3: Select the type of research you are adding 

Step 4: Click Select file to find and upload your research (optional)

Step 5:  Enter the title of your research and click Continue

Step 6:  Enter any applicable details about your research

Step 7: Click Finish to add your research to your profile.

• << Previous: ResearchGate Profile
• Next: Question & Answer >>
• Last Updated: Oct 31, 2022 1:50 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uml.edu/c.php?g=334810

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Is it legal to add your publications to ResearchGate?

I recently created a profile on ResearchGate . And to add your publications list it requires you to upload the paper. Is it legal to upload published journal articles on public servers, where everyone can download it for free?

• publications
• social-media

• 13 it requires you to upload the paper — Actually, the software only requires you to upload a PDF file. If you're worried about legality of uploading a paper, you can always upload a substitute PDF file containing the sentence "This paper is available from the publisher at (url/DOI)." –  JeffE Commented Aug 30, 2015 at 18:37
• 11 You don't even have to upload your papers. Or did they change anything in the past couple of days? –  choener Commented Aug 30, 2015 at 21:05
• 6 Don't use researchgate at all. They are spammers & There are only students there, no experts. And everybody uses Google Scholar to search, so simply upload it on your personal home page / institutional repository if permitted by the license agreement. –  Has QUIT--Anony-Mousse Commented Oct 3, 2016 at 16:58
• 1 @nxkryptor Are you going to select one answer among the ones having been published? –  Vicent Commented Nov 2, 2016 at 9:25
• 2 @Anony-Mousse in my field, plenty of senior scholars are on ResearchGate, and it's the first place many people look for things. –  Flyto Commented Dec 15, 2016 at 7:45

6 Answers 6

First of all, as far as I know, ResearchGate does not require uploading PDF files in order to add your research work to your profile in this website. However, it is very important to explore the possibility of uploading them, as it gives more visibility to your research and makes it available to more people. That is why I think your question is very interesting.

As @AnonymousMathematician and @gawdzilla already said, it all depends on the policy and agreements established by the publisher. You should ask the publisher. Period.

Now, I want to add some extra information about the alternatives we have to share our research without breaking any publishing agreement or rule.

Normally, there are several versions of a paper till it gets finally published:

a. The editor version : This is the final version of the paper, as it is published in the journal, with all the copyright stuff and so on. It is the final PDF , let us say, the one you normally keep as a record of your research.

b. The author version : This normally refers to an accepted version of the manuscript. It is the version that is finally qualified by the reviewers and accepted to publish by the editor. It is just your manuscript, just raw text (and tables and figures and so on), not usually formatted with the final journal style. Sometimes it is also called a postprint version .

c. A preprint version: It is also a sort of author version, but it usually refers to the submitted manuscript version before the reviewers do their job. It is the first (submitted) version of your manuscript.

So, in fact, I've listed them in a sort of reverse chronological order. :D

Now, if you want to make your research as visible and accessible as possible in ResearchGate (or other scientific social networks such as Academia.edu , etc.), which possibilities do you have? Let us see:

• You can upload the final (editor) version of your paper, as long as the publisher allows you to do that, but I do not think this happens very often. [Actually, there are some journals that follow an open-access policy, meaning that the authors keep the copyright of their work. But, anyway, you have to follow and stick to the final publishing agreement and see if you are allowed to distribute your paper by yourself, etc.]

If not, you do have other options:

You can upload the author version. You should also check with the publisher if you are allowed to do so. Sometimes there is an embargo or vesting period and, after that period, you are allowed to publish or distribute the author version of your paper on your own.

You can upload the preprint version. Publishers normally allow authors to publish or distribute preprints of their manuscripts, normally as technical reports. Anyway, you should ask the publisher, just in case.

If none of the above options apply, then you always have the option of adding this text at the end of the 'abstract' field in the ResearchGate record for your paper:

[ Full text available at http://... ]

Now, I want to add some practical examples from my own experience. Hope it helps.

In my case, I usually publish the preprint version of my papers as technical reports in the official repository of my university department . It is a quite common practice among some researchers in my field. Among other benefits, it prevents evil reviewers or editors to copy or plagiarise your research. Anyway, as I told you above, you should check with the publisher whether you are allowed to do so or not.

Now, this is an example of case (3): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273349919_Optimal_Design_of_Pre-control_Plans , which contains a preprint version of this article that was already published as a technical report.

And here you have an example of case (4): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45101373_Predicting_the_duration_of_chemotherapy-induced_neutropenia_new_scores_and_validation , which contains the abstract for this article I have coauthored. I will upload the author version in February 2017, when the 36-month embargo period finishes, according to the publisher rules. [Well, it is not actually an example of case (4), as you can see a full version of a preprint in this ResearchGate record. But the preprint is quite different from the final version in this case, so when I am allowed to upload the author version, it will replace the current preprint version.]

As a final remark, please, notice that it is not technically the same publish a research paper than just disseminate , distribute or propagate it. However, I have used them as synonyms in this answer, as sometimes it makes no real difference in the context of your question. [Actually, I think (I am not sure of this) that what you do in ResearchGate when you upload an author or a preprint version of a paper you have coauthored is not techincally publishing it...]

Hope it helps. Any comments to this answer will be welcomed. It is always good to learn new things... :)

• 1 @nxkryptor This should be the correct answer. –  Astor Florida Commented Jul 14, 2016 at 9:36

Is it legal to upload published journal articles on public servers, where everyone can download it for free?

It depends on the publishing agreement you signed, which should specify which rights the authors and the publisher hold. The allocation of rights depends on the journal (and the field you are working in), and sometimes there are modifications or addenda for a specific paper.

You should keep copies of the publishing agreements for your papers, precisely so you can refer to them at times like this. If you don't have them, you can get an approximation by looking on the journal's website to see what their current policies are. The policies could have changed over time (and in principle the publisher could still enforce a stricter policy you agreed to in the past), but it's probably safe to post a paper online if the publisher allows it as part of the current publishing agreement. If you're feeling nervous, you could always ask the publisher whether you could follow the terms of the current publishing agreement for your paper that was published long ago.

• 6 You can check on Sherpa/Romeo the standard policy of most publishers, even if it does not replace completely checking what you signed. –  Benoît Kloeckner Commented Aug 31, 2015 at 13:04
• 1 Researchgate recently added a binding arbitration clause to their terms of service, taking effect 1 Dec 2017. I stronger encourage people to delete their accounts. –  daaxix Commented Nov 8, 2017 at 11:32

As mentioned in the other answers, it depends on your contract with your publisher.

http://www.howcanishareit.com/ indicates given a DOI whether a paper may be shared on ResearchGate or similar websites:

Also, as Benoît Kloeckner mentions in a comment, the RoMEO Journals database contains thousands of journals, labeled with their archiving policy ( preprint / postprint /publisher's version):

Except of the database:

Of course, your contract is the reference, whereas those two resources are just approximations.

PS: ResearchGate has quite a bad reputation due to its spam/impersonation/etc. tendencies e.g. see Should I send a "cease-and-desist" letter to ResearchGate?

In most cases, is not legal at all. Normally you should only post the author version or post-print which is an accepted version of the manuscript. And always respect the embargo period (12-24 months...) Anyway, you should always check your Copyright Transfer Agreement. In many cases it's legal to post the author version in your institutional repository but not in ResearchGate

I've attended publishing talks from publishers. As advised by some above, it is necessary to check with the publisher for publishing guidelines.

Usually, you have to wait for the paper to be published. Then, if the publisher allows, you can upload your manuscript copy.

BUT do always check with the publisher in question to avoid violating any terms.

When you published your paper, you did transfer the copyright to the publisher. You did have to at least agree to, or even sign the "Copyright transfer form". It is a legal contract, and it governs your rights, depending on the publisher/journal policy.

Different publishers have different (default) policies regarding the rights, retained by the authors (I am talking here about Springer, Elsevier, IEEE, etc.) Some of them allow you the publication of your paper on your page, but not on specialized sites (like Researchgate), since those are their direct competition. Some of them allow you only the publication of final submitted manuscript, before publisher's editing was applied, on your web page, etc.

Please read the copyright policy of individual journal or even better, publisher. In case of conference papers, it depends on the publisher of the proceedings - if the organizers did publish the proceedings themselves without the external publishing house, ask them (but usually they will be fine with publication elsewhere).

So, to sum up:

1) Read what you signed when you submitted your paper to the journal/conference - the "Copyright transfer form" 2) if 1) is impractical or impossible, check the copyright policy of the journal/proceedings publisher. 3) As a last resort, ask the publisher.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged publications journals copyright social-media ..

• Featured on Meta
• Bringing clarity to status tag usage on meta sites
• We've made changes to our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy - July 2024
• Announcing a change to the data-dump process

Hot Network Questions

• How old were Phineas and Ferb? What year was it?
• In the US, can I buy iPhone and Android phones and claim them as expense?
• Is this misleading "convenience fee" legal?
• Is sudoku only one puzzle?
• Are there any virtues in virtue ethics that cannot be plausibly grounded in more fundamental utilitarian principles?
• The hat-check problem
• How would Earth's plants change in this speculated Earth-like planet?
• Does the overall mAh of the battery add up when batteries are parallel?
• Why name the staves in LilyPond's "published" "Solo piano" template?
• How to add a segment to an Excel radar plot
• Seven different digits are placed in a row. The products of the first 3, middle 3 and last 3 are all equal. What is the middle digit?
• Ethics application: secondary analysis of anonymous data without "future use" consent
• How to find intersecting linear equations between two lists?
• Is it possible for a company to dilute my shares to the point they are insignificant
• How does a closed-cycle rocket engine keep the chamber pressure from stalling the pump turbine?
• How soon to fire rude and chaotic PhD student?
• block-structure matrix
• What prevents applications from misusing private keys?
• Travel to UK with temporary passport as EU citizen
• python stats.spearmanr and R cor.test(method='spearman') don't return the same p-value?
• Reference request: "Higher order eigentuples" as generalized eigenvectors?
• \includegraphics not reading \newcommand
• Calling get_GeodesicArea from ogr2ogr
• Would weightlessness (i.e. in thrill rides, planes, skydiving, etc.) be different on a Flat Earth?

Unfortunately we don't fully support your browser. If you have the option to, please upgrade to a newer version or use Mozilla Firefox , Microsoft Edge , Google Chrome , or Safari 14 or newer. If you are unable to, and need support, please send us your feedback .

We'd appreciate your feedback. Tell us what you think! opens in new tab/window

Sharing and hosting policy FAQs

Introduction.

These FAQs are based on feedback from researchers and the wider academic community. If you have further questions or feedback, please contact us via the  Permissions Helpdesk Support Center opens in new tab/window .

Download our policy handout opens in new tab/window

Sharing policy

How is elsevier supporting the stm principles on article sharing.

Elsevier supports the  STM Article Sharing Principles opens in new tab/window , alongside other publishers, and we are keen to provide additional clarity for researchers, libraries and also to other hosting platforms about how to share and reuse research published by Elsevier. We have put in place a  sharing policy  and a  hosting policy  to make it easier to understand what researchers can and cannot do in different situations. We are committed to addressing some of the shared challenges the industry faces, for example, by developing technology solutions to facilitate sharing across different platforms.

Is Elsevier listed as a green publisher on SHERPA/Romeo?

Yes, we are listed as a "green" publisher.

How does sharing relate to green open access?

Green open access is the result of making a version of a subscription article available to everyone, following a time delay called an embargo period. Our  sharing policy  gives authors guidelines about how they can do this and also how to share their articles in other ways. For example, they may want to share their latest paper with colleagues, students or other members of an online working group.

How does the sharing policy relate to the rights authors have in the license agreements?

Every author who publishes with us retains  important rights , including the right to share their paper for  personal use , for example, through e-mail to known research colleagues for internal use at their institution. The sharing policy is aligned with these author rights and provides additional explanations around ways authors can share their research, for example, on their institutional repository.

What does private sharing mean?

Private sharing is about the audience, for example, sharing with a colleague or with an invitation-only online group. Mendeley, for example, is one platform that provides support for both private group sharing and public sharing.  Visit the Mendeley Support Center opens in new tab/window  for more details.

What is the difference between the various versions of an article?

Preprint : Author's own write-up of research results and analysis that has not been peer reviewed, nor had any other value added to it by a publisher (such as formatting, copy-editing, technical enhancements, etc.).

Accepted manuscript : The version of an article that has been accepted for publication and which typically includes author-incorporated changes suggested during submission, peer review and editor-author communications. They do not include other publisher value-added contributions such as copy-editing, formatting, machine-readable linking, technical enhancements and, if relevant, pagination.

Published journal article : This is the definitive final record of published research that appears in the journal and embodies all value-adding publisher activities including peer review co-ordination, copy-editing, formatting, pagination (if relevant) and online enrichment.

For information on sharing other article versions, please see below under ‘Can I share Articles in Press?'

Are you asserting copyright over preprints?

No, preprints can be used anytime and anywhere by authors. We encourage authors seeking to publish in Cell Press, The Lancet and some society-owned titles to check the author section on the journal homepage for additional information.

Can I share my manuscript on a preprint server?

In line with our sharing policy, authors can share their preprints anytime and anywhere, and we encourage them to do so. We are also working to automate this process for authors on our own pre-print server,  SSRN opens in new tab/window , through programs such as  First Look opens in new tab/window . Preprint servers typically provide guidance to authors encouraging them to post non-peer reviewed items, rather than accepted manuscripts.

If I want to share the Accepted Manuscript via green open access, how do I find the embargo period information?

You can find the embargo period information for all Elsevier journals on the journal homepage or, alternatively, use our  list of embargo periods opens in new tab/window . The embargo period begins from the date the article is formally published online in its final and fully citable form (i.e., online publication date).

Elsevier has a number of funding body agreements in place to help authors publishing in our journals to comply with their funder or institutional open access policies. Please find more details on  specific open access agreements .

Can an author self-archive (i.e., share their accepted manuscript) in their institutional repository?

Yes. We have removed the need for an institution to have an agreement with us before any systematic posting can take place in its institutional repository. Authors may share accepted manuscripts immediately on their personal websites and blogs, and they can immediately self-archive in their institutional repository, too. We also allow for repositories to use these accepted manuscripts immediately for  internal use  and to support private sharing. After the embargo period opens in new tab/window  passes, manuscripts can be shared publicly, as well.

Do Elsevier’s green open access embargo periods align with many funders' open access policies?

Our journal specific embargo periods are evidence-based and typically range from 12-24 months. There are, however, exceptions which can be both longer and shorter than 12-24 months. Ideally, embargo periods should be set on a title-by-title basis by publishers. We recognize, however, that other stakeholders — in particular, funders — would prefer adjusted embargo lengths. We have worked in partnership with  funding bodies  for many years on open access, and are committed to continued collaboration.

Can I share an Article in Press?

Articles in Press should be treated the same as published journal articles, as per our  sharing  and  hosting  policies. Articles in Press are made available on  ScienceDirect opens in new tab/window  as we finalize the publication process. Articles in Press are not accepted manuscripts and, instead, more closely resemble the final published article.

What are the three stages of Articles in Press?

There are  three stages opens in new tab/window of Articles in Press:

Journal pre-proofs : Versions of an article that have undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability. These versions will undergo ​additional copyediting, typesetting and review before being published in final form.

Uncorrected proofs : Articles that have been copy edited and formatted. They still need to be proof-read and corrected by the author(s).

Corrected proofs : Articles that contain the author(s)' corrections. Final citation details, for example, volume and/or issue number, publication year and page numbers, still need to be added and the text might change before final publication.

When the final published article is made available online, it replaces the Article in Press version, which no longer appears.

Article version labeling clarification

Prior to July 2019, the 'journal pre-proof' was referred to as ‘accepted manuscript’. Since then, the labeling of this version of the article was changed as it was confusing. These versions were not intended to be used for author self-archiving as they are not accepted manuscripts.

We understand the concern that we are perceived to be closing down a route to institutional archiving that previously existed. This was never our intention, as the journal pre-proof was never intended to support institutional archiving — it was a simply a way to surface findings before the final version was posted. We regret that our mislabeling has created this confusion.

We recognize the challenge librarians face in being able to gather accepted manuscripts from their authors. As we continue to develop our own systems to store accepted manuscripts, something that we haven’t done previously, we will continue to reflect on the value-added services we may be able to provide to our customers in this regard.

How do authors apply a user license when posting full text articles?

A  Creative Commons non-commercial license opens in new tab/window  is applied to publicly posted accepted manuscripts to ensure that readers understand how they can reuse the version of article they are accessing. We have provided some easy guidance on how to attach a license .

What is a 'CC license'?

A  Creative Commons opens in new tab/window  (CC) license is an end-user license that provides a simple, standardized way for researchers to give their permission for their work to be shared and used. A license tells readers what they can and can’t do with an article and ensures authors get credit for their work.

Authors publishing gold open access have a choice between two Creative Commons (CC) licenses:  CC-BY  (“Attribution”) and  CC-BY-NC-ND  (“Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives”). Find out  more about the CC licenses opens in new tab/window . Our  licensing page  also provides more details.

Why not let authors choose which CC license to use on their accepted manuscript?

Authors who choose to publish gold open access with Elsevier are offered their choice of two  CC licenses . We don’t offer this choice on self-archived subscription manuscripts and instead use a non-commercial CC-BY-NC-ND license.

Green open access must work in harmony with the pay-to-read (subscription) business model and subscriptions are important for the sustainability of many journals, so the use of a non-commercial CC license is in place as an important safeguard. Surveys show opens in new tab/window that authors often choose NC ND of their own volition.

What does a CC-BY-NC-ND license allow others to do with my work?

This Creative Commons license allows anyone to reuse your accepted manuscript for non-commercial purposes. In general the license permits users to read, print and download it, and redistribute or display it, such as in a repository. Readers can download your article for  text and data mining  purposes, translate it and reuse unaltered portions or extracts (including tables) in other works. Users must give  appropriate credit opens in new tab/window , provide a link to the  CC BY-NC-ND opens in new tab/window  license and indicate if any changes were made, but may not do so in a way that suggests you or the publisher have endorsed the user or their use of your work.

As reuse under this license is only permitted for non-commercial purposes (including non-commercial teaching). Uses such as posting on commercial websites or selling the manuscript are not allowed. Further, since this is a  no derivatives  (ND) license, adaptations of the original work (e.g., translations) cannot be shared with others. If you are unsure, contact the  Permissions Helpdesk opens in new tab/window .

Full details about this license can be found from the  Creative Commons website opens in new tab/window  and also on our  licensing page .

Are authors able to add a CC-BY-NC-ND to their manuscripts on arXiv?

To submit a manuscript in arXiv, the author can either grant arXiv the non-exclusive right to distribute the article or use a CC-BY or CC-BY-NC-SA license ( https://arxiv.org/help/license opens in new tab/window ). Since with CC-BY-NC-ND user license, authors can grant arXiv the right to distribute the paper, accepted articles from Elsevier’s journals can be posted on arXiv within their policy.

What is the contractual language that authors are expected to sign (the publishing agreement) under this policy?

View a sample agreement (PDF) for authors choosing a non-commercial license opens in new tab/window .

How do I link to the published journal article?

It is important to make sure that readers and users can find and cite the final version of your article from  ScienceDirect opens in new tab/window . The way to do this is to include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) link in your posted article. A DOI is a standardized method for identifying an electronic object, and you can easily find your DOI under the title of your article.

To convert a DOI to a Web address, add the following URL to the DOI: https://dx.doi.org/ followed by your DOI number. We recommend you include this information to your title page or header/footer.

Is a dissertation that is deposited in an institutional repository considered a ‘published article’ and therefore a form of 'prior publication'?

No, Elsevier does not view publication as an academic thesis as prior publication. Please note that Cell Press, The Lancet and some society-owned titles have different policies on prior publication.

For further information on Elsevier’s prior publication policy please see:  Policies and Ethics for Journal Authors (Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication) .

What are the platforms I can use to share subscription articles in private work groups?

Elsevier supports sharing of articles in private work groups such as the following applications:

Does the sharing policy apply to researchers employed by a commercial company?

Yes. Corporate researchers may share articles they have written in line with the  sharing policy . Corporate researchers should check the terms of their organization’s license agreements for guidance on how to share other articles access via  ScienceDirect opens in new tab/window  (and other Elsevier platforms).

Hosting policy

Why do you have a hosting policy.

We believe we should be working with other platforms that host content to build best practices and industry standards, so that researchers can share in simple and seamless ways. We support the  STM Article Sharing Principles opens in new tab/window  and have introduced a  hosting policy,  with the aim to give clear guidelines for platforms that wish to aggregate content self-archived by researchers and make it available.

What types of platforms are considered commercial?

In the context of our  hosting policy , commercial use or posting of articles can be defined as follows:

For commercial gain. For example, to receive advertising revenue from the use of the full-text of the article, by providing hosting services to other repositories or to other organizations (including where an otherwise non-commercial site or repository provides a service to other organizations or agencies), or by charging fees for document delivery or access.

To substitute for the services provided directly by the journal. For example: article aggregation, systematic distribution via e-mail lists or share buttons, posting, indexing or linking for promotional/marketing activities by commercial companies for use by customers and/or intended target audience of such companies (e.g., pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals/physician-prescribers).

What is internal institutional use?

This means:

Use by the author's institution for classroom teaching at the institution and for internal training purposes (including distribution of copies, paper or electronic, and use in course-packs and courseware programs, but not in Massive Open Online Courses)

Inclusion of the Article in applications for grant funding

For authors employed by companies, the use by that company for internal training purposes

How can institutional repositories (IRs) host Elsevier-published content?

Our new hosting guidelines make it clear that IRs can host their researchers’:

Gold open access articles

Accepted manuscripts immediately for internal use and for private sharing

Accepted manuscripts publicly, after the journal-specific embargo opens in new tab/window and with a CC-BY-NC-ND license

Metadata and links

Subscription articles for private sharing as per their ScienceDirect agreement

We also have a number of hosting services available for institutional repositories opens in new tab/window .

Is an agreement needed for institutions to use embargoed accepted manuscripts for internal purposes and private sharing?

No. This is one of the ways in which our new policy is more flexible for all repositories than our prior policy.

What do your API-based institutional repository services cost?

The ScienceDirect APIs are free for non-commercial platforms to use — register your interest opens in new tab/window .

How will non-commercial platforms know whether a user is entitled to access the full-text article on Elsevier platforms?

Millions of researchers already have access to  ScienceDirect opens in new tab/window . We have an API which has this information and we are willing to share this with hosting platforms so that they can display the best available version to their users. The process is simple, the platform would need to include the Crossref DOI or the Elsevier article identifier, called PII in the API request. For non-commercial platforms, please contact us via the  Support Hub opens in new tab/window .

ResearchGate

How do copyright checks on researchgate work.

Elsevier and ResearchGate have agreed on a technical solution that enables authors who have published research articles with Elsevier to share their work on the ResearchGate platform in a copyright-compliant way. Automated checks occur instantly at the point of upload, helping researchers to save time. ResearchGate’s copyright check system is a tool that identifies copyrighted content and notifies authors what sharing options are available to them. As authors create publication pages and upload files for their work, their content is automatically checked against ResearchGate’s database of copyright information. If the system finds a match, authors are notified about what sharing options are available to them.

How can I check whether I can share my article publicly on ResearchGate?

What you can share on ResearchGate depends on the selection made by the corresponding author, on behalf of all the authors, about how to publish your article.

If your article was published open access, then you can publicly share the published journal article on ResearchGate. You can check whether your article is open access by searching for it on ScienceDirect opens in new tab/window and checking if it is tagged ‘Open access’ above the article title on the search results or, alternatively, next to the DOI on the article page.

If your article was not published open access, you cannot publicly share the published journal article on ResearchGate. However, you can still upload the published journal article privately . This can be shared with your co-authors and other researchers who specifically request that article on ResearchGate. If you wish to share publicly, you need to use the preprint (the version that was submitted to the journal, before peer review took place).

Further explanation on the difference between the published journal article, accepted manuscript, and preprint can be found here .

I believe my article has been published open access, but it isn’t showing as open access on ScienceDirect. What should I do?

Please first check with the corresponding author about the option they selected for the publication of your article. For an article to be published open access, the corresponding author will typically either need to pay an Article Publishing Charge, or have their charge already covered via an agreement with their institution. If the corresponding author also believes the article should be open access, please email us opens in new tab/window and explain your specific case.

Am I allowed to post the accepted manuscript version on ResearchGate?

If your article was published open access, then you can publicly share the published journal article on ResearchGate, so there is no need to use the accepted manuscript version. You can check whether your article is open access by searching for it on ScienceDirect opens in new tab/window and checking if it is tagged ‘Open access’ above the article title on the search results or, alternatively, next to the DOI on the article page. If your article was not published open access, you cannot publicly share the accepted manuscript version on ResearchGate. However, you can still upload the published journal article or accepted manuscript privately . This can be shared with your co-authors and other researchers who specifically request that article on ResearchGate. If you wish to share publicly on ResearchGate, you need to use the preprint (the version that was submitted to the journal, before peer review took place). If you wish to share the accepted manuscript version publicly, it can be posted immediately on your non-commercial personal homepage or blog, or after an embargo period on a non-commercial hosting platform, such as your institutional repository. The embargo period can be found here opens in new tab/window . You can also share it immediately in your research institute or institutional repository for internal institutional uses. Further explanation on the difference between the published journal article, accepted manuscript, and preprint can be found here .

I believe my article is subject to special copyright conditions. What should I do?

A small number of authors may have circumstances where special copyright conditions apply. If you believe this is the case for your article, please email us opens in new tab/window and explain your specific case.