Frequently Asked Questions

Content Inclusion Guidelines

• What research output types are included in the repository?
• Can research outputs be included prior to publication (i.e. in-press publications)?
• What objects are included in the repository?
• How far back does the repository go?
• Who can contribute content?
• Does the repository only include outputs produced while an author was affiliated with RMIT when the work was produced?
• What won't be included in the repository?

About the Repository Collection

• What is RMIT the Research Repository?
• Are the documents in the RMIT Research Repository citable?
• How is the quality of the documents in the RMIT Research Repository assured?
• How can I use RSS feeds?
• How do I search for my own research?
• Can I create an RSS feed that contains a list of my research?
• Where are the documents in the RMIT Research Repository indexed? Where else can I find them?

Search and Browse

• How can I search?
• Does a search cover full texts?
• Can I search for people by first AND last name?
• Can I change the way the results display?
• Which browse options are offered?

Contribute

• Why should I contribute my research to the RMIT Research Repository?
• Why should I deposit work here when my papers are already archived by the online journals in which they are published?
• Who can contribute content?
• What version of my work can be deposited?
• How can I have my research added?

Copyright

• Is the copyright of the publication hosted in the RMIT Research Repository transferred to RMIT?
• If the research has already been published by another publisher, may it still be published in the RMIT Research Repository?

Statistics

• How does RMIT research repository calculate statistics?
• Can I get figures on how often my papers are being downloaded?
• Where are my download statistics?

• What research output types are included in the repository?
  Currently, the repository includes the four established HERDC categories: Books, Book Chapters, refereed Journal Articles and refereed Conference Papers. This should be broadened to include the additional, non-traditional research outputs determined by the ERA as eligible, such as exhibitions and recorded creative works.

• Can research outputs be included prior to publication (i.e. in-press publications)?
  It would be advantageous to authors to include in-press journal articles, as the earlier that the articles are made available, the sooner they can begin to be used, cited etc. In practice this would mean that, once accepted, the article should be recorded and made available through the repository. Records will likely need to be manually updated once the articles are published, in order to provide full bibliographic details for citation.

• What objects are included in the repository?
  Ideally, records should have full-text objects attached, in order to make the content as broadly available as possible. This full-text object should be either the PDF produced by the publisher or other official version, the accepted manuscript, or the version originally submitted for publication. Working within the guidelines established by publishers, the version of the object that will be included should be sought in the following order of priority:
  
  • Published version
  • Accepted manuscript, post peer-review (also referred to as 'post-print')
  • Submitted manuscript, pre peer review, but after acceptance (also referred to as 'pre-print')
    

  NB: Most publishers permit the accepted manuscript to be hosted, so this version would comprise most of the content.

• How far back does the repository go?
  Research Master contains HERDC data from 1998 onwards but data quality for 1998/1999 is poor. To date, data cleanup has focussed on journal records and conference papers from major society publishers that are from 2002 onwards; this year was selected based on the ERA reporting period. Although initial population of the repository should continue to focus on records and full-text content from 2002 onwards, there should be no restrictions on the year of publication. Allowing older publications will enable researchers to have complete profiles in the repository and aid in long-term data curation.

• Who can contribute content?
  All current staff members of RMIT can contribute their research outputs. Under both HERDC and ERA guidelines, RMIT affiliation and meeting the criteria for that particular research output, are the critical elements. This means that outputs generated by VET and general staff may also be included as appropriate. Such publications will be included in the repository.

• Does the repository only include outputs produced while an author was affiliated with RMIT when the work was produced?
  For ERA all research outputs of an author affiliated with RMIT at the ERA census date, even if produced elsewhere, are to be reported. These past outputs do not necessarily need to be recorded in the repository, but doing so would provide researchers the benefit of a complete publication profile in the repository. Therefore, research outputs produced prior to an author joining RMIT should be included in the repository if requested by the author, provided that the author was a staff member affiliated with RMIT on the ERA reference date.

• What won't be included in the repository?
  
  • Theses, as they will be stored in ADT
  • Working and technical papers
  • Raw research data
  • Learning objects
  • Software, images etc that are not otherwise classified as research output

  Inclusion of items in the repository is at the discretion of the Research Committee.

• What is the RMIT Research Repository?
  RMIT Research Repository provides free, searchable access to RMIT University research publications. The aim of the repository is to increase the exposure and impact of the research output of RMIT University staff by gathering it together and making it available to the world. RMIT Research Repository contains both detailed records and the electronic full text of peer-reviewed published articles and conference papers, books and book chapters, as well as other forms of research produced by RMIT staff.

• Are the documents in the RMIT Research Repository citable?
  Documents in the RMIT Research Repository are equivalent or equal to the conventionally published document and are therefore citable. Please use the citation shown in the document record.

• How is the quality of the documents in the RMIT Research Repository assured?
  The content of the RMIT Research Repository consists of published, peer-reviewed research articles and conference papers, commercially published books and book chapters, as well as other verified research outputs.

• How can I use RSS feeds?
  RSS makes it possible for users to subscribe to content from a website, or to integrate content from a website into another web page. You can subscribe to an RSS feed of the result list of any search query that you conduct, so that you receive notification of matches to your query as new records are added to the repository.

• How do I search for my own research?
  On the 'Browse' tab, select the 'by Author Name' option and use the A-Z listing to navigate to your surname and first initial. Alternatively, on the Advanced Search tab, enter your name in the Author field. When the list of results appears, click on your name in one of the records. This will bring up all records in the repository for which you are listed as an author.

• Can I create an RSS feed that contains a list of my research?
  Yes, you can create an RSS feed of your publications that are part of the repository. This can be used to populate your personal web page or your profile in social networking services such as Facebook, using an RSS application. At this stage, the feed cannot be used to update your RMIT staff page, due to limitations in the types of content that can be incorporated into the RMIT website.

• Where are the documents in the RMIT Research Repository indexed? Where else can I find them?
  The documents in the RMIT Research Repository are indexed by internet search engines such as Google, as well as by the aggregators Australian Research Online and OAIster.

• How can I search?
  There are two ways that you can search:
  • Simple search: on the home page, in the 'Quick Search RMIT Research Repository' box. Any terms entered here will search across these fields: Title, Abstract and Keywords
  • Advanced search: on the Search tab, use this form to restrict a search to one or more of the specific fields shown, such as author, title, publisher etc
  
  The Boolean operators 'AND' and 'OR' can be activated using the dropdown menu at the bottom of the form. In addition, there are several operators available:
  
  • Phrase: use double quote marks to search for a phrase e.g. "Murray cod"
  • Truncation: use an asterisk to find variants on a word stem e.g. nitr* will find nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite etc
  • Wildcards for character substitution: use an asterisk find terms with any number of characters between letters, e.g. f*ly will find family, fully, firstly etc. Use a question mark to substitute only one character between letters e.g. b?ts will find bits, bats, byts etc
  Note that you cannot use either the * or ? symbols as the first character of a search.

• Does a search cover full texts
  No, the search features only search the data in the records for each publication, not the attached text.

• Can I search for people by first AND last name?
  Not at the moment. Once you identify the author you are looking for using their surname, click on their name to bring up all records in which they are listed as an author.

• Can I change the way the results display?
  You can sort the result lists by title, publication date (year) and by the number of views or file downloads. All methods of sorting can also be listed in ascending or descending order. You can also export the results as an Excel file, in XML or as an RSS feed. An Endnote-compatible export format is currently being developed and should be available by mid 2009.

• Which browse options are offered?
  There are three options for browsing:
  
  • Subject: records are classified using the Field of Research hierarchy from the Australian & New Zealand Standard Research Classification system. You can navigate the classification system using the hyperlinks offered as you browse through the hierarchy
  • Author name: a list arranged alphabetically by surname allows you to browse all the authors featured in the repository. You can go directly to all surnames starting with a particular letter of the alphabet using the A-Z links across the top of the page
  • Publication type: choose the type of publication you are after and browse the complete list of records that fall within this type

• Why should I contribute my research to the RMIT Research Repository?
  Placing your content in the repository maximises the visibility and accessibility of your research, and hence its usage and impact. Many researchers whose content is hosted in repositories report increased citation rates for their papers, and also increased contact or requests for collaboration from researchers elsewhere who work in similar fields.

  Even if your research papers have been published in online journals, many academics and researchers, particularly those from poorer institutions or from developing countries, will still not be able to access them, due to barriers such as subscription costs and licensing agreements. This means your research may not reach many people who might otherwise be interested in using it and citing it. Its presence in an open repository archive such as RMIT Research Repository guarantees your work can be accessed by anyone, which maximises the impact of your work within the global academic community.

• Why should I deposit work here when my papers are already archived by the online journals in which they are published?
  While many journal publishers are creating online archives of published articles, there is no guarantee that this material will be available and accessible long term. Also, if library subscriptions to journals lapse, there is no guarantee that RMIT researchers will still have access to the materials covered by earlier subscriptions. Also, as those sites reorganise, URLs may change. RMIT Research Repository can guarantee you long-term access and secure storage with permanent URLs for any work deposited.

• Who can contribute content?
  All current staff members of RMIT can contribute their research outputs. You will need to sign and return the Deposit Agreement for authors before we can host your content. The Deposit Agreement outlines what RMIT will and won't do with your content, and only needs to be completed once by each staff member.

• What version of my work can be deposited?
  What version, if any, you are permitted to deposit will vary from publisher to publisher. Publishers generally do not allow authors to deposit publisher-formatted PDFs in repositories; although there are some notable exceptions, such as IEEE. Some major scientific publishers, such as Elsevier and Springer-Verlag, allow authors to deposit the accepted, refereed version of the manuscript, provided we credit the publisher and link to the online version, if any, of the article or paper. Others only permit us to host the pre-refereed version. It is our policy to comply with these publisher deposit conditions and any required acknowledgements.

• How can I have my research added?
  If you have research that you wish to have included, please contact repository staff via email at repository@rmit.edu.au

• Is the copyright of the publication hosted in the RMIT Research Repository transferred to RMIT?
  The copyright stays with the author or publisher, depending on the conditions attached at the time of original publication. RMIT requires only a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use the work in the Repository.

• If the research has already been published by another publisher, may it still be published in the RMIT Research Repository?
  If it is a journal article or conference paper, then probably. Most journal publishers permit either the final accepted version or that which was originally submitted for publication to be hosted, and some permit us to host the published version. It is important that we check the conditions attached to each publication and host the version that is permitted by the publisher. Information about the conditions attached to publication in individual journals or with specific publishers can be found at the SHERPA/RoMEO and OAKList websites. Most publishers do not permit any version of the full text of books or book chapters to be hosted in the repository; however, exceptions may be made if the author has retained copyright of the work. Repository staff are responsible for checking the copyright guidelines for each publisher, and will advise authors of their rights to use their content within those guidelines.

• How does RMIT research repository calculate statistics?
  The download statistics for the repository are designed to quantify genuine human interest in the material within the repository. Generally, each click on a record counts as a download. A 'download' may be of a view of the record's abstract page or it might be a click to open a file attached to that record, e.g. the full-text PDF. Statistics are calculated and updated hourly.
  Abstract views and full downloads are counted separately, and tallies for each are shown for each record. Where a record shows counts for abstract views only, this is generally because the record does not have a full-text file attached.
  Specific types of access are not included in the statistics. These accesses are collected in logs, since logs record all activity to do with records, but are excluded from final counts. There are two main exclusions from counts:
  1. Activity by search engine crawlers, e.g. the Googlebot for Google, and crawlers from other services such as Yahoo!, ninemsn, etc.
  2. Any double clicks emanating from the same person on the same record within the same timeframe for either an abstract view or a full download. The exclusion of double clicks is designed to keep statistics as meaningful as possible.

  Other exclusions from counts include 'Bad Requests', '404 File Not Found' errors, and clicks by people who do not have sufficient rights to view the object in question. Since such clicks would not be successful, they are discounted.

• Can I get figures on how often my papers are being downloaded?
  Yes, there are statistics provided on the web site. You can see statistics on the Top 50 papers and the Top 50 authors. The figures are broken up into Full Downloads and Abstract Views. The figures are updated overnight, not in real time. Downloads per item are listed in the view of each individual item, or when items are returned in search results.

• Where are my download statistics?
  Download statistics per item are stored with the item. To see all your statistics, search on your surname. Download counts for abstract views and file downloads are stored with each item.