Research Repository Policies

Metadata Policy

for information describing items in the Repository

1. Anyone may access the metadata free of charge.
2. The metadata may be re-used in any medium without prior permission for not-for-profit purposes and re-sold commercially provided the OAI Identifier or a link to the original metadata record are given.

Data Policy

for full-text and other full data items

1. Access to some or all full items is controlled.
2. Copies of full items generally can be:
   • reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium
   • for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.
   provided:
   • the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given
   • a hyperlink and/or URL are given for the original metadata page
   • the content is not changed in any way
3. Full items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holders.
4. Some full items are individually tagged with different rights permissions and conditions.
5. This Repository is not the publisher; it is merely the online archive.
6. Mention of the University of Essex Research Repository is appreciated but not mandatory.

Content Policy

for types of document & data set held

1. This is an institutional or departmental Repository.
2. The University of Essex Research Repository is restricted to:
   • Journal articles
   • Bibliographic references
   • Conference and workshop papers
   • Theses and dissertations
   • Unpublished reports and working papers
   • Books, chapters and sections
3. Deposited items may include:
   • working drafts
   • submitted versions (as sent to journals for peer-review)
   • accepted versions (author's final peer-reviewed drafts)
   • published versions (publisher-created files)
4. Items are individually tagged with:
   • their version type and date.
   • their peer-review status.
   • their publication status.
5. Principal Languages: English

Submission Policy

concerning depositors, quality & copyright

1. Items may only be deposited by accredited members of the institution, or their delegated agents.
2. The administrator only vets items for the eligibility of authors/depositors, relevance to the scope of the University of Essex Research Repository, and the exclusion of spam
3. The validity and authenticity of the content of submissions is the sole responsibility of the depositor.
4. Items can be deposited at any time, but will not be made publicly visible until any publishers' or funders' embargo period has expired.
5. Any copyright violations are entirely the responsibility of the authors/depositors.
6. If the University of Essex Research Repository receives proof of copyright violation, the relevant item will be removed immediately.

Preservation Policy

1. Items will be retained indefinitely.
2. The University of Essex Research Repository will try to ensure continued readability and accessibility.
   • Items will be migrated to new file formats where necessary.
   • Where possible, software emulations will be provided to access un-migrated formats.
   • It may not be possible to guarantee the readability of some unusual file formats.
3. The University of Essex Research Repository regularly backs up its files according to current best practice.
4. The original bit stream is retained for all items, in addition to any upgraded formats.
5. Items may not normally be removed from the University of Essex Research Repository.
6. Acceptable reasons for withdrawal include:
   • Journal publishers' rules
   • Proven copyright violation or plagiarism
   • Legal requirements and proven violations
   • National Security
   • Falsified research
7. Withdrawn items are not deleted per se, but are removed from public view.
8. Withdrawn items' identifiers/URLs are retained indefinitely.
9. URLs will continue to point to 'tombstone' citations, to avoid broken links and to retain item histories.
10. Changes to deposited items are not permitted.
11. Errata and corrigenda lists may be included with the original record if required.
12. If necessary, an updated version may be deposited.
13. In the event of the University of Essex Research Repository being closed down, the database will be transferred to another appropriate archive.

Takedown Policy

• The University of Essex safeguards the inadvertent inclusion of infringing material by undertaking to remove any work that is found to violate the intellectual property rights of a third party. Any claims or statements regarding Copyright ownership or other legal agreements made by authors in the process of upload will be taken at face value by the repository staff.
• If a takedown request or complaint is received from the owner, of intellectual property rights vested in a work held on the University of Essex Repository, or their representative, claiming infringement of those rights, the infringing work will be immediately removed from public view pending investigation by the University of Essex Repository Steering Group.
• Bibliographic metadata will remain on the repository as a permanent trace. If there is proof of copyright violation then the research paper/work in question will immediately be removed from public view.
• Complaints should be sent in writing, to: Institutional Repository Manager, Research & Enterprise Office, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ or by email to: repository@essex.ac.uk