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JSU Digital Commons | Guide for Faculty: Step 2: Submitting Content

This guide provides detailed information for faculty on how to upload their scholarship to the repository, manage their accounts, and search JSU Digital Commons.

Instructions for Submission

Getting Started

Before you can submit, you'll need to make sure you have an account with JSU Digital Commons. See "Step 1" tab above if you need help with account creation. It is also highly recommended that you read the Library's Institutional Repository Policy before submitting to JSU Digital Commons. 

 

Submit Research Link & Content Types

From the JSU Digital Commons (https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/) home page, under the Author Corner box at left, use the "Submit Research" link. This will take you to the Submit Your Research page. You'll see a few options under Faculty Scholarship & Creative Work. You'll want to select the link that best fits the type of content you have:

•  Books (see "Additional Files" below for more info on how best to submit books)

•  Presentations, Proceedings & Performances 

•  Research, Publications & Creative Work (eg, journal articles, book chapters, working papers, technical reports, art exhibitions, data sets, etc.)

If you're uncertain about where your particular submission should fit, please Contact Us.

 

Submission Agreement

Before you can upload your content, you will see a screen with the JSU Digital Commons Submission Agreement. You are required to tick a box acknowledging this agreement. We recommend that you print this agreement for your records. Nutshelled: you agree that you have the authority to grant JSU Digital Commons non-exclusive rights to preserve and make your content publicly accessible, and that you have obtained any necessary third-party rights or permissions required for public access (that it doesn't infringe copyright in any way). For more information about permissions, see the Copyright & Permissions FAQs tab above.

 

Submission Form Fields

Depending on what type of content you're submitting, the form may have slightly different options. Required fields are noted with a red arrow. The information you'll need to know for any submission type:

  • Title
  • Author(s)
    • For each author, add an email address, first and last name, and institutional affiliation
    • The default is set to one author. To add additional authors, click the green plus icon at the bottom of the author box
    • To delete an author, use the person silhouette with a red x icon 
    • To edit an author's information, use the person silhouette with a pencil icon
    • To change the order of authors, simply enter the appropriate number order in the box located directly above the email field
    • Use the drop-down menu to select your department. If you have multiple authors from different campus departments, select the department of the first-named author
  • Document Type
  • Publication Date 
  • Keywords
    • Keywords are not required, but they can help users locate your content, especially if they use terms not found in the abstract. You may enter up to 10 keywords, separated by commas
  • Disciplines 
    • It's not required, but entering a discipline gives your work greater discoverability through browsing. This field is used to aggregate your work into a global database with researchers from hundreds of other universities. If you're curious, see this example for the Communication discipline.
    • You may enter multiple disciplines
    • Disciplines are nested. For example, if your discipline is Graphic Design, the nesting is Arts & Humanities -> Art & Design -> Graphic Design. If you're having a hard time finding your discipline, click the "complete list" button for a PDF that shows all disciplines. You can browse it, or use Ctrl+F (Find) to quickly search the document.
  • Abstract
    • Every submission requires an abstract. If your submission does not have one, create one. 250 words or less is recommended. Google and other search engines index these abstracts, so when crafting your abstract, keep in mind terms or phrases users might search.
  • Publication/Presentation Information
    • List the publication information for this work, to the fullest extent possible. Journal examples include journal title, volume, issue, year, and pages. Presentation information for conferences, symposia, etc. should include organization, conference title, location, and dates. If copyright is held by a third party, list the copyright holder. For more information about Copyright, see the Copyright & Permissions FAQs tab above.

 

Uploading Files

You're almost done! Now you're ready to upload your content. You have 3 options:

  • Upload the file from your computer (RECOMMENDED)
    • Click the "Choose File" button, navigate to the file on your computer, select it, and you're ready to go.
  • Import the file from a remote site
    • If you have your file up on a server somewhere, you may enter the link and JSU Digital Commons will import it. The server must offer unrestricted access (ie, not behind firewalls, paywalls, etc). It is recommended that, if you have trouble uploading with this method, you transfer the file to your computer first and use the first option.
  • Link out to file on remote site 
    • This method is not recommended because, if the link to your original file changes, the users within JSU Digital Commons will not be able to access it. It is recommended that you upload the file directly into JSU Digital Commons so that we can preserve access for you. Linking out also can cause issues for off-campus users, severely limiting the impact of your content. For instance, if you linked to your article in a journal to which the Library subscribes, users on campus would have access, but no one else would. If you have questions about how include your content without linking to it, Contact Us -- we're happy to help.

Additional Files:

You have the option to upload additional files along with your primary file. This can be a great way to include supplementary content. For instance, if you're uploading video of a presentation, you may want to upload your PowerPoint and handout PDFs as well. Or perhaps you're uploading a working paper and wish to include data sets in Excel. The Additional Files option allows you to incorporate this content.

The Additional Files option also allows you to separate a book by chapters. For instance, you may upload the entire book as your main file, then use the Additional Files option to upload each chapter as a separate PDF. This will allow users to easily access and download individual chapters. This can be especially helpful for large files which may result in long download times for a file of the entire book.

 

Author Notification & Submission Management

After you submit, the JSU Digital Commons administrator will review your submission. If it meets the requisite criteria, we will publish it to the site for you. You will be notified by e-mail when your submission has been posted to the repository. You can also check on the status of your submissions under My Account. In the event that there are problems with your submission, the Library will reach out to you via email to resolve any issues and ensure the content can be posted.