Policy Press
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Green (self-archiving) open access policy

We are proud of our positive relationship with the academic community we serve. We wish to see the work of our authors and contributors gaining as wide a readership as possible. We therefore support a publishing model which enables wider access to academic research, while continuing to place value on the publisher’s role in providing the definitive version of authors' work.

We permit authors to archive their contributions to a range of Bristol University Press and Policy Press publications in institutional repositories, on non-commercial websites and in accordance with funder mandates. Our books and journals are fully compliant with funder mandates, please contact [email protected] (journals) or [email protected] (books) with any queries.

This policy varies depending on the type of publication and funding body and consequently different terms and conditions apply as set out below. Our policies are reviewed regularly.

Journals policy

This policy applies to all journals published by Bristol University Press and its imprint Policy Press, except for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies.

Please note: Longitudinal and Life Course Studies has a separate self-archiving policy which can be found in the journal contributor agreement. 

We strongly recommend that authors follow the guidelines laid out by CrossRef Institutional Repositories Committee for standard citations in author postings. Authors may also find CrossRef's Glossary of related terms helpful.

Author's original version

The authors' original version of an article (pre-peer review and editing) may be included on the authors' own non-commercial website or their institution's or funding body's online repository or archive:

  • The article can be shared with colleagues
  • Authors can post an electronic version on their website or employer's website/repository only.

Author's Accepted Manuscript

The authors' final submitted version of an article (post-peer review but pre-copy editing and typesetting) may be included on their institution's or funding body's online repository or archive under the following conditions:

  • It is embargoed for 12 months after publication of the Version of Record in the journal, unless a funder or institution mandates otherwise, and for any commercial repositories or websites (eg academia.edu or ResearchGate),
  • If your funder or institution requires a shorter or zero embargo period, this is acceptable. For example, all AAMs arising from research fully or partially funded by cOAlition S organisations, including UKRI, can be posted in open access repositories at the time of publication without an embargo period.
  • It must be held on a not-for-profit server (ie personal website, institutional server, not-for-profit subject based servers)
  • It must be clearly identified as the author's post-acceptance version and state that it is not to be cited.
  • It must include full referencing and a DOI-based online link to the final published definitive version of scholarly record (currently held on Bristol University Press Digital) with acknowledgement wording as below.
  • Authors are not permitted to post the version of record (the version of the work that appears in the official journal, which includes copy editing, typesetting and branding).

Acknowledgement wording 

"This is a post-peer-review, pre-copy edited version of an article published in [insert name of relevant Bristol University Press/Policy Press journal here]. The definitive publisher-authenticated version [insert complete citation information here] is available online at: [insert DOI link here]"

There is not a requirement for authors to seek permission to post material as long as it complies with these conditions. For any queries about citation wording, please contact [email protected].

Version of record  

The final published version of record (post-copy-editing and -typesetting) may not be deposited or re-published anywhere without seeking the permission of the publisher, unless the article was published via Gold open access and carries a CC-BY (or other Creative Commons) licence, in which case it can be deposited in institutional repositories and on other websites. 

Monograph policy

All authored research monographs can take part in our green open access policy.

After the embargo period, you may place the Author Accepted Manuscript of your monograph, or any chapters from it, in your institutional repository. This is the version of your manuscript, post peer review but pre-copyediting and typesetting. Contact your Editor if you would like to do this and we will supply you with a PDF with the correct acknowledgement wording.

The standard embargo period is 36 months from the publication of the most recent edition. So, if a paperback is published after the hardback edition, the embargo extends to 36 months from the later paperback publication date.

We comply with the UKRI Open Access Policy via both Gold and Green routes and will work with you to ensure compliance with any other applicable funder mandates, please contact your Editor if you have any questions. 

This policy does not apply to textbooks, handbooks, edited collections, critical editions or reference works.

Book chapters

The authors' final submitted version of a chapter (post-peer review but pre-copy editing and typesetting) may be included on their institution's or funding body's online repository or archive under the following conditions:

  • It is embargoed for 12 months after publication of the Version of Record of the book.
  • It must be held on a not-for-profit server (ie personal website, institutional server, not-for-profit subject based servers).
  • It must be clearly identified as the author's post-acceptance version and state that it is not to be cited.
  • It must include full referencing and a DOI-based online link to the final published definitive version of scholarly record (currently held on Bristol University Press Digital) with acknowledgement wording as below.

Authors are not permitted to post the version of record (the version of the work that includes copy editing, typesetting and branding) without seeking the permission of the publisher, unless the chapter was published via Gold open access and carries a CC-BY-NC-ND (or other Creative Commons) licence, in which case it can be deposited in institutional repositories and on other non-commercial websites

Acknowledgement wording 

"This is a post-peer-review, pre-copy edited version of a chapter published in  [insert name of Bristol University Press/Policy Press book here]. The definitive publisher-authenticated version [insert complete citation information here] is available online at: [insert DOI link here]"

Permission

For any other requirements not covered above we require authors to seek permission. Contact [email protected] who will provide you with an acknowledgement and website link.

Please allow up to 4 weeks notice for such requests. Should Bristol University Press or Policy Press decide that materials are posted which do not comply with these requirements, they shall be entitled to request that they be removed.