Institutional Repository Services

Journals

Georgia Southern Commons is proud to host eighteen University-related journals and proceedings. In addition to providing a permanent open-access archive for these publications, Georgia Southern Commons supports collecting, evaluating, and selecting submitted manuscripts with options for single and double-blind peer review.

The Georgia Southern Commons Team is excited to partner with journal sponsors in our commitment to open-access scholarly publication. For more information about hosting your journal in Georgia Southern Commons, contact the Georgia Southern Commons Team for an initial consultation.

Journal Hosting Overview

See this slideshow overview about journal hosting in Georgia Southern Commons, or request a presentation by the Georgia Southern Commons Team.

Memorandum of Understanding

All journal-related services are provided free of charge; however, we do ask that journal sponsors agree to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as a condition of hosting their publication in Georgia Southern Commons. During journal setup, the Georgia Southern Commons Team will review the terms of the MOU and make any needed revisions.

Georgia Southern Commons Journal Setup Form

During journal setup, the Georgia Southern Commons Team will guide you through completion of the Georgia Southern Commons Journal Setup Form. Once this form is complete, we will create and begin to configure your journal site. Journal sites can be ready to start collecting manuscripts in as little as two weeks.

Copyright and Reuse Licensing Considerations for Journals

The Georgia Southern Commons Team strongly recommends use of Creative Commons licenses with hosted journals. During journal setup, the Georgia Southern Commons Team will help you develop copyright and reuse policies that fit the needs of your journal, authors, and content creators. For existing journals, we are happy to review your policies at any time.

Reviewer Tools for Editors — Similarity Check

Georgia Southern Commons supports use of Similarity Check, a multi-publisher initiative to selectively screen article submissions for originality. Similarity Check uses the iThenticate software, which checks submissions against millions of published research papers (the Similarity Check database), documents on the web, and other relevant sources. These submitted papers are not retained in the Similarity Check system after they have been checked. Read more at Crossref's Similarity Check & Researchers page.

International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSNs)

All eligible journals hosted with Georgia Southern Commons receive an ISSN registered with the Library of Congress. The Georgia Southern Commons Team handles ISSN registration and management for our hosted journals.

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)

All eligible articles hosted with Georgia Southern Commons receive Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) deposited with Crossref to ensure discoverability and ease of citation, and to support 3rd-party indexing. The Georgia Southern Commons Team handles DOI registration and management for our hosted journals.

3rd-Party Indexing

The Georgia Southern Commons Team actively supports 3rd-party indexing of all eligible journals.

As of fall 2020, six journals hosted by Georgia Southern Commons are indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and four are indexed in the ERIC database. Additionally, several journals are indexed by EBSCO, ProQuest, Taylor & Francis, De Gruyter Saur, and MathSciNet. As they become eligible, the Georgia Southern Commons Team submits all journals for inclusion in the DOAJ and supports indexing in appropriate disciplinary indexes. All hosted journal content is indexed by Google and Google Scholar within two weeks following publication. 

For more about the DOAJ and its importance for our journals, see this short video:

Registration in Sherpa Romeo

Eligible journals are registered with Sherpa Romeo, which is an online index that aggregates and analyses publisher copyright and open access policies and provides summaries on a journal-by-journal basis. Every registered publisher or journal is carefully reviewed and analysed by Sherpa Romeo's specialist team. The policy information provided through this service primarily aims to serve the academic research community. Since the service launched over 15 years ago, publisher policies and the open access sector have changed a lot. Open access policy can be complex and varies by geographical location, the institution, and the various routes to open access — all of which impacts how and where researchers can publish their scholarship. Benefits of registration include:

• Third-party indexers (e.g., EBSCO, ProQuest, ERIC) are more likely to index our journals, increasing their discoverability and use.
• Inclusion allows our journals to apply for special statuses with third-party indexers which further increases their scholarly profile (e.g., DOAJ Seal of Approval).
• Researchers are more likely to discover our journals as potential outlets for their research.
• Journal editors are better able to recruit quality research for publication in our journals.

See our publisher profile and registered journals here: https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publisher/62638

Digital Archiving & Copyright Deposit

For eligible journals, all articles are preserved using CLOCKSS, a leading preservation archive that guarantees persistent access to journal content for the very long term.

Also, under the mandatory deposit provision of copyright law (17 U.S.C. section 407), all works published in the United States must be deposited with the U.S. Copyright Office for use by the Library of Congress. By complying with this requirement, the University Libraries and Georgia Southern University actively participate in the Library of Congress’ mission to "acquire, protect, and preserve works that support American innovation, knowledge, and creativity." If requested by the U.S. Copyright Office, the Georgia Southern Commons Team manages all deposits.

Removing or Modifying Works in Georgia Southern Commons

The Georgia Southern University Libraries make every effort to ensure that all works submitted to Georgia Southern Commons are archived and disseminated in accordance with United States copyright law, University policy, and the wishes of content creators. The Georgia Southern Commons Team does not have the authority to alter the content of any works published in the institutional repository. 

If for any reason you believe that a work included in Georgia Southern Commons should be removed or modified, please contact the Georgia Southern Commons Team at digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu. A member of the Georgia Southern Commons Team will contact you as soon as possible during regular business hours.

Liaison & Presenter Tools

For help, contact the Georgia Southern Commons Team at digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu. A member of the Georgia Southern Commons Team will respond as soon as possible during regular business hours.