Submitter FAQ

DePauw students, faculty, and staff can submit eligible work. Student submissions may require instructor or program verification.

Articles and chapters (pre/postprints), theses and capstones, posters, presentations, performances, exhibitions, recordings, creative works, working papers, technical reports, datasets, and more.

Use our submission form and include your files, title/abstract, creators, date, and (if applicable) a citation to the published version. Faculty submit via the Faculty Achievements form. Students use the Student Submission form.

Many publishers allow you to share a version of your work (often the accepted manuscript). The exact version and any embargo depend on your agreement. We can help you check your rights and choose the correct version. Use Open Policy Finder to look up your publisher's policy.

Preferred formats are PDF for text and common, non-proprietary formats for media. Please ensure your files are readable and accessible — for example, searchable text in PDFs and captions for media when available.

Yes. These are called Associated Files in the system. You'll be prompted to upload them during submission. Make sure there are no permissions issues with supplementary material before posting.

Open Access means your work is free to read online and — depending on the license — may be reused for lawful purposes. OA goes beyond simply being free to read; it usually allows copying and sharing that traditional copyright alone might restrict. Learn more at the Budapest Open Access Initiative.

By default you own your copyright unless a signed agreement says otherwise. Some publisher contracts ask you to transfer copyright or grant exclusive rights. You can often keep more rights by negotiating terms or adding an author addendum — see SPARC Author Rights for tools and guidance. If you're unsure, we'll help you review the agreement.

Often yes — many journals permit prior working papers, especially if the published article is substantially revised. Check your author agreement for any restrictions. If it can remain, we recommend adding a citation and link to the published version on the working paper's first page. We can help you update the record.

Authors retain copyright ownership for works submitted to SCW unless otherwise indicated. All creative or scholarly works are protected by copyright law regardless of whether copyright notice appears on the work. You may also choose a Creative Commons license to grant specific reuse permissions.

Repository items are publicly available unless a collection has specific access limits or an embargo applies. Items can also be set to DePauw-community-only access or embargoed for up to 5 years. If you select a Creative Commons license, it clarifies what reuse is permitted.

Yes. SCW content is indexed by major search engines and is designed to be discoverable in Google Scholar. Each item also receives a stable, permanent link you can cite on your CV, resume, or personal website.

Yes. Item pages display download counts and sometimes view counts. SCW also automatically sends monthly download reports to individual authors. Contact us if you need a usage summary for a CV or annual report.

We're happy to advise on publisher policies, recommended versions, and how to choose a license. Contact the SCW coordinator, Victoria Peters, for one-on-one help.

To revise a submission that has already been posted, contact the repository administrator with the new version. If it hasn't been posted yet, you can revise it via your My Account page — locate the article, click the title, then click "Revise Submission" in the left sidebar.

SCW may be treated like a library database or website in whatever citation style you prefer. See DePauw Libraries' Citation LibGuide for examples.