ScholarWorks@UARK User Guides

An embargo limits who can view your thesis/project for a specified amount of time. Unless you impose an embargo, your thesis/project will become available in the repository ScholarWorks@UARK. If you do impose an embargo, only the metadata is visible in the repository; the PDF file is not available for download.

After you successfully defend your thesis/dissertation/project, you will submit it to ProQuest, as required by the U of A Graduate School. Be aware that the University Libraries makes all U of A theses/dissertations/projects available in the open access digital repository ScholarWorks@UARK where they are directly available to anyone, anywhere with an internet connection unless they are under embargo. For an explanation of the ProQuest publishing settings and how they translate into levels of accessibility in ScholarWorks@UARK, see the questions about publishing settings below.

Whereas an embargo limits discoverability and accessibility, it also safeguards research which you are not yet ready to release to the public. Should you apply an embargo? If so, how long should it last? One year? Three years? Indefinitely? Consider the following factors:

Patents: Do you, your advisor, or any other member of your research team intend to apply for a patent based on your research? If you answer "yes," ask your advisor if releasing your thesis/dissertation/project in ProQuest or in ScholarWorks@UARK would count as public disclosure, which would impede the patent application.

Research Funding: Has your research been funded, either directly or indirectly, by a government agency, a funding organization, or a corporation? If you answer "yes," consult your advisor and check the terms of the grant for restrictions or obligations regarding research outputs (e.g., public access requirements, nondisclosure agreements, proprietary data).

Future Publications: When you sign the ProQuest agreement, make sure that you retain copyright as well as the right to use your thesis/dissertation/project for professional purposes and in future publications. That is, you should grant ProQuest nonexclusive permission to publish your work.

Journal Articles: Will journals in your discipline publish an article based on a publicly available graduate thesis/dissertation/project? If so, an embargo may not be necessary. But be prepared to transform your work into a viable article. Also, in a footnote or in the acknowledgments section of an article, you will need to mention that the article originated from your thesis/dissertation/project. If journals will not accept an article based on a publicly available graduate thesis/dissertation/project, you should consider an embargo. Consult your advisor.

Books: Will reputable presses in your discipline accept a manuscript based on a publicly available graduate thesis/dissertation/project? If so, an embargo may not be necessary. But you should expect to expand and revise the manuscript quite extensively as you convert it into a book. In the acknowledgments section, you should mention that the book originated from your thesis/dissertation/project. If your top-choice presses will not accept a manuscript based on a publicly available graduate thesis/dissertation/project, you should consider an embargo.

Your Discipline: If you're in the arts, you may not want to make your drawings, stories, architectural designs, musical compositions, documentary videos, or dramatic scripts openly available until you've had an opportunity to capitalize on them yourself. Also, the humanities, social sciences, and sciences have differing expectations regarding a graduate thesis/dissertation/project as a source of publications. Consult your advisor and talk with junior faculty at both the U of A and other institutions about the options for publishing your work and the desirability of an embargo.

Your master's thesis or doctoral dissertation should be posted separately with ProQuest through the Graduate School. The publishing settings laid out below explain what you are selecting through ProQuest and how it will translate when added to ScholarWorks@UARK. These publishing settings range from the most open access option to the least open.

The author retains all other rights in the work, including without limitation, the right to copy and distribute the work. Essentially, this non-exclusive license means that, unless the author has already granted copyright or other rights to another party, the author may publish, post, deposit, or otherwise use the work as he/she wishes.

Definitions

Open Access: Research offered to users worldwide for the purpose of furthering research, scholarship, and education.

Metadata: Information that you have provided about your thesis/dissertation that can be used for researchers to more easily find your paper. This includes the title, author and abstract.

Search engine access: An optional publishing setting, in the ProQuest database, that allows websites like Google, Bing and Yahoo to find the metadata for your paper. All metadata in ScholarWorks@UARK has search engine access.

Embargo: A publishing setting that allows you to prevent downloads of your paper for a limited time.

If you wish to extend an embargo or impose an indefinite embargo (i.e., prevent viewing and downloads of your paper permanently), you will need to contact ProQuest directly (disspub@proquest.com).

For an indefinite embargo:

ProQuest description: metadata is available through the ProQuest database, no search engine access to metadata, full paper is never available for download.

ScholarWorks@UARK translation: No search engine access to metadata, full paper is never available for download.

You will not submit theses and dissertations (ETDs) directly to ScholarWorks@UARK. Instead, you will submit to ProQuest, then Scholarly Communications personnel will harvest the ETDs from that system. If you impose an embargo, only the metadata will be visible in the repository; the PDF file is not available for download.

Embargo Expiration in ProQuest: When the author submits the thesis/dissertation, ProQuest emails confirmation of the embargo but does not send a notification when it expires. Unless the author requests an extension, ProQuest automatically lifts the embargo.

Embargo Expiration in ScholarWorks@UARK: Unless the author requests an extension, the thesis/dissertation automatically becomes fully visible when the embargo expires.

Coordination between ProQuest and ScholarWorks@UARK: If an author contacts ProQuest about a new embargo or an embargo extension, they are told to inform the Office of Scholarly Communications (scholar@uark.edu). Repository personnel then extend the embargo or withdraw the thesis/dissertation from ScholarWorks@UARK.

If an author first contacts repository personnel to request an embargo extension or the withdrawal of an ETD, their request is honored but they are also told that they must submit a similar request to ProQuest. The author is responsible for updating the embargo information in both ProQuest and ScholarWorks@UARK.

If you want to extend an embargo, you need to contact both the U of A Office of Scholarly Communications (scholar@uark.edu) and ProQuest (disspub@proquest.com).

Please contact the U of A Office of Scholarly Communications (scholar@uark.edu).

University of Arkansas Fayetteville Embargo Process and Policy

Updated 10 August 2021

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The University of Arkansas Fayetteville does not have a separate academic policy regarding an embargo for a graduate thesis or dissertation. Information about the criteria and the process for obtaining an embargo appears in the University of Arkansas Guide to Theses and Dissertations.

Graduate students do not submit theses and dissertations (ETDs) directly to ScholarWorks@UARK. Instead, they submit to ProQuest, then Scholarly Communications personnel harvest the ETDs from that system.

NOTE: Throughout this document, student authors are alternately referred to as students and as authors.

Who must submit to ProQuest: Every student who writes a thesis/dissertation. All doctoral students do, but some master's students do not.

Screening for Intellectual Property Concerns: According to the University of Arkansas Guide to Theses and Dissertations (p. 10):

• Theses/dissertations containing information relevant to proprietary material or possible patent applications are made available only to the members of the review committee

• After the work has been successfully defended, the thesis or dissertation will be available for access only with the express permission of the University of Arkansas Technology Licensing Officer

• Such documents will remain in restricted status and will not be forwarded to ProQuest until the patents have been applied for, at which time, specific authorization for their release will be given by the Technology Licensing Officer

• Consult the Technology Licensing Officer: https://economicdevelopment.uark.edu/technology-ventures/ or (479) 575-7243 for more information

In other words, when a signed intellectual-property form accompanies a thesis/dissertation, the Graduate School ETD Administrator contacts Tech Ventures or the Division of Agriculture (whichever is appropriate) and inquires when the thesis/dissertation may be released to ProQuest. The administrators do not deliver it to ProQuest or to the University Libraries until given the go-ahead.

Educating Students about Embargoes: In the ScholarWorks@UARK User Guides, Scholarly Communications provides guidance for determining if an embargo is appropriate for the circumstances.

Embargo Options Available from ProQuest: According to the University of Arkansas Guide to Theses and Dissertations (p. 14):

• During upload to ProQuest, students decide whether to embargo their theses/dissertations, delaying access to the release of the full text through ProQuest for a limited period of time: 6 months, 1 year or 2 years

• This decision should be made in consultation with faculty and/or research collaborators

• There is no option for a permanent embargo during the upload process. However, students may email ProQuest at disspub@proquest.com to request a permanent embargo after receiving the final approval email from ETD. It is recommended that students copy their advisor and gradtad@uark.edu in this request.

Embargo Expiration in ProQuest: When the author submits the thesis/dissertation, ProQuest emails confirmation of the embargo but does not send a notification when it expires. Unless the author requests an extension, ProQuest automatically lifts the embargo.

Embargos for ETDs in ScholarWorks@UARK: Students are informed that, unless they impose an embargo, their theses/dissertations become available in ScholarWorks@UARK (University of Arkansas Guide to Theses and Dissertations, p. 14).

Embargo Management in ScholarWorks@UARK: In the ScholarWorks@UARK User Guides, Scholarly Communications explains the embargo options.

After the Graduate School delivers the ETD files and metadata to ProQuest, they are also automatically sent to the University's FTP server, where repository personnel harvest them for ScholarWorks@UARK. ProQuest's online ETD Administrator assists with editing the metadata to ensure that the embargo information is correct. When an ETD is under embargo, only the metadata is visible in the repository; the PDF file is not available for download.

Embargo Expiration in ScholarWorks@UARK: Unless the author requests an extension, the thesis/dissertation automatically becomes fully visible when the embargo expires.

Coordination between ProQuest and ScholarWorks@UARK: If an author contacts ProQuest about a new embargo or an embargo extension, they are told to inform the Office of Scholarly Communications (scholar@uark.edu). Repository personnel then extend the embargo or withdraw the thesis/dissertation from ScholarWorks@UARK.

If an author first contacts repository personnel to request an embargo extension or the withdrawal of an ETD, their request is honored but they are also told that they must submit a similar request to ProQuest. The author is responsible for updating the embargo information in both ProQuest and ScholarWorks@UARK.