368

Do Open Access Electronic Theses and 
Dissertations Diminish Publishing 
Opportunities in the Social Sciences 
and Humanities? Findings from a 2011 
Survey of Academic Publishers

Marisa L. Ramirez, Joan T. Dalton, Gail McMillan, Max 
Read, and Nancy H. Seamans

Marisa L. Ramirez is Digital Repository Librarian at California Polytechnic State University; e-mail: 
mramir14@calpoly.edu. Joan T. Dalton is Associate Dean of the Leddy Library at the University of Windsor; 
e-mail: jdalton@uwindsor.ca. Gail McMillan is Director, Digital Library and Archives, in the Newman 
Library at Virginia Tech; e-mail: gailmac@vt.edu. Max Read is Associate Director of Student Academic 
Services, Faculty of Graduate Studies, at the University of British Columbia; e-mail: max.read@ubc.ca. 
Nancy H. Seamans is Dean of University Libraries at Georgia State University; e-mail: nseamans@gsu.
edu. The authors would like to thank Dr. Edward A. Fox and the Board of Directors of the Networked 
Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations for their invaluable support of this research. © 2013 Marisa L. 
Ramirez, Joan T. Dalton, Gail McMillan, Max Read, and Nancy H. Seamans, Attribution-NonCommercial 
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) CC BY-NC.

An increasing number of higher education institutions worldwide are 
requiring submission of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) by 
graduate students and are subsequently providing open access to these 
works in online repositories. Faculty advisors and graduate students are 
concerned that such unfettered access to their work could diminish future 
publishing opportunities. This study investigated social sciences, arts, and 
humanities journal editors’ and university press directors’ attitudes toward 
ETDs. The findings indicate that manuscripts that are revisions of openly 
accessible ETDs are always welcome for submission or considered on a 
case-by-case basis by 82.8 percent of journal editors and 53.7 percent 
of university press directors polled.

Introduction and Background
An increasing number of higher educa-
tion institutions worldwide are requiring 
electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) 
and are making them publicly available 
in open access repositories. However, 
social sciences, arts, and humanities fac-
ulty advisors and students are concerned 
that open access to their electronic theses 
or dissertations could diminish future 

publishing opportunities. This study 
investigated social sciences, arts, and 
humanities journal editors’ and university 
press directors’ attitudes toward online 
theses and dissertations.

The implementation of ETDs was initi-
ated in the early 1990s by Virginia Tech. 
Since then, ETD workflows have been 
implemented by over 1,100 institutions 
worldwide.1 Early studies demonstrated 

crl-356



Findings from a 2011 Survey of Academic Publishers  369

that graduate advisors supported the 
implementation of ETDs and believed 
that the advantages of open access ETDs 
outweighed the disadvantages.2 None-
theless, a study conducted in 2008 by the 
Coalition for Networked Information 
(CNI) indicated that, while the majority 
of U.S. universities and colleges have an 
ETD program in place, “some gradu-
ate students have been warned by their 
advisors or threatened by publishers 
that if they allow open access to their 
work, it will preclude future publication 
of the content in certain journals or as a 
monograph.”3 In fact, institutions with 
ETD programs indicated that the most 
common concern expressed by students 
and faculty was that openly accessible 
ETDs may result in future limitations to 
publication opportunities. 

Student and faculty concerns result 
from a kernel of truth. For example, Texas 
A&M University Press Director, Charles 
Backus, described his enterprise as “much 
more reluctant to consider works based 
on dissertations than in the past…because 
most libraries and library vendors will not 
buy or recommend purchase of ensuing 
books that are based substantially on 
them [ETDs].”4 But do other publishers 
believe that open access to electronic work 
constitutes publication, even works that 
are student-generated theses or disserta-
tions? Past studies exploring this ques-
tion provide some insight. A 2001 study 
of 46 science and social science journal 
editors indicated that only a minority 
(25%) considered ETDs to be prior pub-
lications.5 The qualitative data collected 
in that study indicated that a thesis or 
dissertation must undergo revision to be 
in accordance with journal guidelines. A 
follow-up study used a similar survey 
instrument but broadened the scope to 
include academic and commercial presses 
in addition to academic journal editors. 
Less than 15 percent (14.13%) of respon-
dents of that study considered ETDs 
prior publications.6 A 2002 study of 36 
humanities journal editors and university 
presses found that 23 percent of respon-

dents considered ETDs as prior publica-
tions. However, in accordance with their 
editorial policy, 67 percent of humanities 
journal editors and university presses 
welcome dissertations for submission or 
consider these works for publication on 
an individual basis.7 

University students and personnel 
have also been studied to determine if 
they have received reports from publish-
ers rejecting student work that is available 
in ETD format. A 2000 study of Virginia 
Tech graduates indicated that, of the 166 
alumni respondents, 29 percent went on 
to publish derivatives of their ETD, and 
none encountered resistance from pub-
lishers to accepting their ETD-derived 
manuscript for publication.8 Based on a 
2010 study of ETDs on university campus-
es, only 1.8% of graduate alumni reported 
publisher rejections of their ETD-derived 
manuscripts.9 ProQuest, an electronic 
and microfilm publisher of theses and 
dissertations seldom receives requests 
by students or university personnel to 
remove access to their ETDs because 
publishers considered these works “prior 
publication.” This constitutes a fraction 
(0.002) of the 70,000 theses and disserta-
tions made electronically accessible via 
ProQuest in 2011.10 

Despite past studies that indicate that 
ETDs are generally accepted by publish-
ers, doubts still linger in the minds of 
students and faculty in the arts, humani-
ties, and social sciences. For example, 
creative writing students voiced their 
concern about open access to their work, 
pointing to anecdotes that illustrate the 
threat to the potential publishing and 
commercial value of their novel and other 
creative works. Several institutions such 
as University of Iowa, Louisiana State 
University, Bowling Green State Univer-
sity, and West Virginia University now 
exempt creative writing students from 
the ETD requirements.11 

Approach and Motivation
What are the policies of social sciences, 
arts, and humanities journals and uni-



370  College & Research Libraries July 2013

versity presses on this issue of ETDs 
constituting “prior publication”? The 
current study is of particular interest for 
several reasons. Much of the survey data 
in this area of concern are over a decade 
old. Additionally, past studies had a small 
response and sample size or the studies 
were focused in scope and thus not as 
relevant to scholars in the social sciences, 
arts, and humanities. These scholars con-
tinue to doubt the viability of publishing 
opportunities after a dissertation or thesis 
becomes available electronically in an 
open access repository. Perceptions and 
fear, not data, inform many graduate ad-
visors’ and graduate students’ decisions 
to restrict access to their ETDs.

Methods
To identify the top journals in the social 
sciences and humanities, data were ex-
tracted from the Thomson Reuter’s Jour-
nal Performance Indicators (JPI) for the 
most recent five-year period (2005–2009). 
JPI data are typically used in academe to 
gain an understanding of journal impact 
and performance within a discipline over 
a period of time. Drawing specifically on 
the data from the social sciences and arts 
and humanities indices, 55 disciplinary 
categories were present in the social 
sciences index and 27 in the arts and 
humanities index. A category that was 
duplicated in both indices (history) was 
counted only once, resulting in 81 distinct 
JPI disciplinary categories (a total of 7,123 
journal titles) that were identified for the 
study. 

The top ten journals were identified 
in each of the 81 “in scope” disciplinary 
categories by using the relative impact 
factor (RIF), which is a measure assigned 
to individual journals to indicate the 
importance of a journal within its field. 
Journals assigned a higher impact fac-
tor are considered more important to a 
specific field than similar journals with a 
lower RIF. Some journals are associated 
with, and are highly influential in, more 
than one discipline, thus appearing in 
more than one disciplinary “top ten” 

list. A total of 810 peer-reviewed journals 
were identified and 162 duplicate journal 
entries were removed, resulting in a final 
list of 648 top journals in the social sci-
ences, arts, and humanities.

Contact information for the Editor-in-
Chief was manually collected for each 
journal. If an Editor-in-Chief was not 
identified by the journal, the Managing 
Editor information was used instead. 
Ten individuals edited multiple journals, 
so the duplicated names were removed. 
Twenty-three additional editors “opted 
out” of any survey via the SurveyMonkey 
polling tool. Therefore, a total of 615 jour-
nal editors were identified for the survey.

Scholarly monograph publishers were 
identified using the Association of Ameri-
can University Presses (AAUP) member-
ship list (www.aaupnet.org). The AAUP is 
a cooperative organization consisting of 
over 100 university presses in the humani-
ties, the arts, and sciences. Because much 
of the research conducted in the arts and 
humanities is reported in monographs 
published by university presses, the study 
was extended to survey this group.

After receiving approval from the 
Institutional Review Board and Human 
Subjects Committee, the survey was 
pretested on a representative group of 
19 journal editors and university press 
directors. Changes were made to the 
survey format and wording was edited 
to address concerns and eliminate points 
of confusion as indicated in the pretest. 

The study was conducted between May 
17 and June 16, 2011, and was distributed 
to 615 social sciences and arts and humani-
ties journal editors and 131 university 
press directors via Survey Monkey, an 
online web-based survey tool. The e-mail 
invitation included a brief description of 
the goals of the survey and a link to the on-
line survey. A reminder message was sent 
two weeks after the survey was launched. 
The survey was composed of 11 questions 
designed to elicit information on the edito-
rial policies and practices governing the 
journal or press. The survey format, ques-
tion wording, length of the survey, and 



Findings from a 2011 Survey of Academic Publishers  371

the use of an online survey tool were all 
considerations in the construction of the 
survey. The researchers aimed to reduce 
the burden on respondents in an effort to 
increase the response rate and eliminate 
bias. The survey had built-in skip logic 
that made sure that respondents saw only 
relevant questions.

Results
The resulting sample included 75 social 
sciences and arts and humanities journal 
respondents out of 615 eligible journal 
respondents, for a 12 percent response 
rate for social sciences and arts and hu-
manities journals. The survey received 53 
responses out of 131 AAUP members, for 
a 40 percent response rate from university 
presses. Overall, the survey received 128 
responses out of 746 total eligible journals 
and university press respondents, for a 17 
percent response rate. 

While appropriate measures were 
taken to reduce any potential sources of 
bias, sources of bias may have been in-
troduced by allowing individuals to skip 
questions, scroll backward and forward, 
change their answers, and exit at any time. 
With an overall response rate of 17 per-
cent, there is the possibility of bias due to 
nonresponse: that is, the individuals who 
did not respond to the survey may have 
answered differently from those who did 
respond to the survey. Several variables 
were analyzed using a two-proportion z-
test with data from the respondents and 
nonrespondents to determine if there was 
statistical evidence of bias. All p-values 
generated by these tests were greater 
than 0.05, with the exception of number 
of titles generated by university presses. 
Possible bias may have been introduced 
because university press respondents 
with a larger number of title offerings may 
have answered differently from those 
who did not respond to the survey. With 
the exception of the aforementioned, no 
other statistically significant differences 
between the two groups were identified.

All of our respondents reported holding 
leadership positions in their publishing 

enterprises. Twenty-seven percent of all 
respondents reported holding the title of 
Director or Associate Director, 61.3 percent 
held the title of Editor, Co-Editor or Editor-
In-Chief, and 11.7 percent were Managing 
or Acquisition Editors. The majority (65%) 
of our university press respondents indi-
cated that they held the position of Direc-
tor. Eighty percent of our academic journal 
respondents indicated that they held the 
position of Editor (45.7%) or Editor-in-
Chief (34.4%). Because all respondents 
reported holding leadership positions, 
throughout this paper academic journal 
respondents will be referred to collectively 
as “journal editors” and university press 
respondents will be referred to collectively 
as “university press directors.”

When asked to select one or more dis-
ciplines representative of their publishing 
enterprise, respondents indicated that 
they were affiliated with a vast array of so-
cial sciences, arts, and humanities fields. 
Academic journals and university presses 
each indicated affiliations with over 73 so-
cial sciences, arts, and humanities fields. 
The top three disciplines represented by 
journal editors were interdisciplinary so-
cial sciences (20.0%), urban studies (8%), 
and history (8%). The top three disciplines 
represented by university press direc-
tors were history (80.5%), environmental 
studies (48.8%), and literary theory and 
criticism (48.8%). 

The size of the enterprise was another 
area of investigation. Journal editors were 
asked to provide the most recent annual 
circulation figures, including total paid 
and free subscriptions. The mean annual 
circulation was 7,779; the median was 
3,100; the mode was 3,000; and the circu-
lation figures ranged from 250 to 62,000 
(range: 61,750). Few journal editors were 
able to indicate the size of their enter-
prise based on most recent annual sales 
figures, because the journal was but one 
publishing vehicle sold as a “suite” with 
other journals, or because the publishing 
entity like Elsevier or the overall scholarly 
society would have sales numbers, but not 
the individual journal editors. 



372  College & Research Libraries July 2013

University press directors were largely 
unable to furnish annual circulation fig-
ures, but instead the recent annual sales 
figures provided more insight into the 
size of the enterprise. Based on the most 
recent annual sales figures of university 
presses, the mean was $5,751,500; the 
median and mode were both $3 million; 
and responses ranged from $150,000 to 
$35 million. Based on responses, the ma-
jority of the university press directors fell 
into Group 3 ($3 to $6 million in annual 
sales) as defined by The Association of 
American University Presses.

When university press directors were 
asked to indicate the distribution of 
published materials by format based on 
the most recent annual sales, 65 percent 
of the respondents indicated publishing 
journals in addition to publishing books. 
Of the university press directors who 
indicated that they publish journals in 
addition to publishing books, journals 
composed an average of 20.8 percent 
of university press annual sales, and 
monographs composed an average of 79.2 
percent of annual sales.

Prior Publication: Combined 
Responses
Respondents were asked to indicate their 
editorial policy or practice governing the 
evaluation of manuscripts derived from 

openly accessible ETDs. The majority of 
responses (72%) from university press di-
rectors and journal editors indicated that 
manuscripts that are revisions of openly 
accessible ETDs are always welcome for 
submission (45%) or considered on a case-
by-case basis (27%). Only 4.5 percent of 
all respondents indicated that they would 
never consider an ETD for publication.

Journal Responses
The majority of journal editors (82.8%) 
indicated that their enterprise will con-
sider a manuscript derived from an 
openly accessible ETD for submission to 
their journal, with 65.7 percent indicating 
that manuscripts of this type are always 
welcome for submission and 17.1 per-
cent of the respondents confirming they 

Table 1
University Press Size*

Group 1:
Up to $1.5 million

31% (10)

Group 2:
$1.5 to <$3 million

16% (5)

Group 3:
$3 to $6 million

34% (11)

Group 4:
$6 million +

19% (6)

*Press Size based on AAUP Sales Group 
Classification

figUre 1
Journal and University Press respondents  

“Manuscripts which are revisions derived from openly accessible eTDs are…”

Always welcome, 
45.0%

Case-by-case basis, 
27.0%

Substan�ally 
different,13.5%

Limited to 
campus,

2.7%

Not considered,
4.5% Other, 

7.2% Always welcome

Considered on a case-by-case basis

Only if the contents and conclusions in the 
manuscript are substan�ally different from 
the ETD

Only if ETD has access limited to the campus 
where completed

Not considered 

Other



Findings from a 2011 Survey of Academic Publishers  373

would be considered on a case-by-case 
basis. Only 2.9 percent of journal editors 
indicated that manuscripts derived from 
open access ETDs would not be consid-
ered under any circumstances. None of 
the journal editors (0.0%) indicated that 
an ETD would be considered because ac-
cess to the item was limited to the campus 
where it was completed. 

When looking at disciplinary differ-
ences, one journal editor in the subject 
area of “literature” indicated that ETDs 
would not be considered under any 
circumstances. This was the only jour-
nal editor respondent to indicate that 
ETDs would not be accepted under 
any circumstances, stating that “we 
publish original work. If it is a disserta-
tion chapter, published electronically 
or otherwise, it needs to be revised for 
publication in our journal.” The majority 
of journal editor respondents in the fol-
lowing subject areas indicated that their 
publication would tend to consider ETDs 
on a case-by-case basis: classics (100% 
of journal respondents in the subject 
area), history of social sciences (66.6%), 
philosophy (100%), biomedical social sci-
ences (66.6%), mathematical methods in 
social sciences (60%), and theater (100%). 
All other subject area journal editors 
indicated that ETDs would always be 
welcome for submission.

Journal editors who always welcome 
ETDs for submission reported their recent 
annual circulation figures, including total 
paid and free subscriptions. The mean 
annual circulation was 11,429; the me-
dian circulation was 5,000; the mode was 
5,000; and circulation figures ranged from 
62,000 to 250 (range: 61,750). Journal edi-
tors who indicated that ETDs would never 
consider an ETD for publication reported 
a mean and median annual circulation 
of 3,550, and annual circulation figures 
ranged from 6,500 to 600 (range: 5,900). 
The findings indicate that the journals 
with higher annual circulation figures 
are more tolerant of ETDs, and journals 
with more limited annual circulation 
figures are less likely to consider an ETD 
for publication.

University Press Responses
Close to 10 percent (9.8%) of univer-
sity press directors indicated that their 
enterprise will always welcome ETDs 
for submission, with the majority of 
respondents (43.9%) indicating that a 
manuscript derived from an open access 
ETD would be considered on a case-by-
case basis. Only 7.3 percent of university 
press directors indicated that manuscripts 
derived from an open access ETD would 
not be considered for publication under 
any circumstances. 

figUre 2
Journal respondents  

“Manuscripts which are revisions derived from openly accessible eTDs are…”

 

Always welcome, 
65.7%

Case-by-case basis, 
17.1%

Substan�ally different, 
5.7%

Limited to campus, 
0.0%

Not considered, 2.9%

Other, 
8.6%

Always welcome

Considered on a case-by-case basis

Considered ONLY IF the contents and conclusions 
in the manuscript are substan�ally different from 
the ETD

Considered only if ETD has access limited to the 
campus where completed

Not considered

Other



374  College & Research Libraries July 2013

When viewed by subject areas, univer-
sity press directors in most arts, humani-
ties, and social science disciplines favored 
considering ETDs on a case-by-case basis. 
The majority of university presses in the 
following subject areas indicated that their 
enterprise would not consider an ETD un-
der any circumstances: romance literature 
(100% of university press respondents 
in the subject area), applied and social 
psychology (each 100%), mathematical 
methods in social sciences (100%).

University press directors who indi-
cated that ETDs are always welcome for 
submission reported mean annual sales 
of $5 million, with a median of $3.5 mil-
lion, with a range from $150,000 to $13 
million in annual sales (range: $12.85 
million). University press directors who 
would consider ETDs on a case-by-case 
basis reported $6.7 million in annual sales, 
with a median of $2.9 million, a mode of 
$3 million, and a range of $499,000 to $25 
million. A sole university press director, 
reporting annual sales figures of $1 mil-
lion, indicated that their enterprise would 
not accept ETDs under any circumstances. 

Discussion
The survey elicited responses from a 
broad audience representing a vast array 
of social sciences, arts, and humanities 

disciplines. Respondents were primar-
ily the top leadership from journals and 
university presses. These are individuals 
who have the power and the influence 
to shape the policy and direction of 
the publication or enterprise they lead. 
While journal editors reported annual 
circulation numbers ranging from 250 
to 62,000, the average circulation size of 
the respondents was around 3,200. While 
university press directors reported annual 
sales figures ranging from $150,000 to 
$35 million, the average university press 
respondent reported that their enterprise 
earned a median of $3 million annually. 
It is noteworthy that editors associated 
with a journal with a respectively smaller 
mean annual circulation size (3,550) and 
university press directors associated 
with a press classified in the smallest 
AAUP range, Group 1, based on annual 
sales (≤$1.5 million) were more likely to 
indicate that their enterprise would never 
consider an ETD for publication.

From the qualitative data we collected, it 
appeared to be a commonly held expecta-
tion that the dissertation or thesis would 
need to be revised prior to submission to 
the university press or journal to fit their 
publishing guidelines (such as length, 
audience, voice). One journal editor com-
mented, “We have no objection to prior 

figUre 3
University Press respondents  

“Manuscripts which are revisions derived from openly accessible eTDs are…”

Always 
welcome, 

9.8%

Case-by-case basis, 
43.9%

Substan�ally different, 
26.8%

Limited to campus, 
7.3%

Not considered, 
7.3%

Other, 4.9%

Always welcome

Considered on a case-by-case basis

Only if the contents and conclusions are 
substan�ally different from ETD

Only if ETD  access is limited to the campus 
where completed

Not considered 

Other



Findings from a 2011 Survey of Academic Publishers  375

electronic publication of dissertations or 
theses. In most situations, the academic 
document would have to be significantly 
revised in order to meet our author guide-
lines for publication.” Following the 
publishing guidelines is very important 
because “a journal article is not going to 
take the same form as a thesis or disserta-
tion; if it tries, it won’t pass peer review.” In 
terms of length, “A thesis would be too long 
for our journal, so I take them on a case-by-
case basis” and “A thesis in our field would 
likely offer up a chapter only. Even that 
would likely need significant revision to 
be converted to a publishable paper. This 
is not a comment about ETDs [but instead 
it] is a comment about thesis chapters.” 
Journal editors point out the added value 
provided by journal peer review and refor-
matting. They also differentiate between 
the rhetoric used by an author for a thesis or 
dissertation committee versus the writing 
style used for a broader journal reader-
ship. As one journal editor points out, “A 
journal article is qualitatively different from 
a thesis, and must be structured with the 
needs of quite different readers in mind. All 
our submissions are subject to peer review, 
and frequently papers change in response 
to reviewer feedback. The fact that a paper 
grows out from an academic thesis is not a 
concern for this journal.” 

University press directors offered 
similar observations about the differences 
between ETDs and monographs. Audi-
ence is a key consideration for university 
presses: “We normally consider theses 
or dissertations for publication only if 
the author is willing to revise them for 
a broader audience; this is our practice 
regardless of the availability of an ETD.” 

Many of the comments received from 
respondents elaborated on their thoughts 
about whether an ETD is considered an 
unpublished work and on the quality 
of ETDs. The following response was 
echoed by journal editors and univer-
sity press directors alike: “[Theses] and 
dissertations have *never* counted as 
publications…a PDF of an unpublished 
work is still an unpublished work. It sim-

ply can’t work to have a scientific model 
where work-in-progress is disqualified 
from publication if it’s been posted on a 
web server.” ETDs, on the whole, are not 
considered publications by the survey 
respondents. Quality, it appears, is the 
publisher ’s main concern about theses 
and dissertations. Based on respondents’ 
comments, it is a commonly held opin-
ion that publishing a work in a journal 
or monograph lends more authority to 
the work and is the preferred version by 
readers and researchers because of the 
writing style used to appeal to a broader 
readership. In contrast, an ETD is written 
for a different audience and is held to 
standards that are different from those 
of journal or book publishing. One jour-
nal editor states that “ETDs are not and 
should not be considered publications. 
The fact that they are circulated online 
does not mean they are peer-reviewed 
independently. Often theses are instead 
reviewed by internal committees in the 
institutions.” A university press director 
responded “prior availability through an 
IR is not usually the deciding factor. We 
are more interested in the quality of the 
work, how well it fits with our list, and 
whether it deserves wider dissemination 
and promotion.” Another university press 
director elaborated on the importance 
of quality, saying “whether in hard or 
electronic copy, we expect that the dis-
sertation be completely revised before 
we will consider a manuscript. We do 
not consider the dissertation to be the 
equivalent of a book. It is student work; 
a book is professional work.”

While a journal editor comments that 
“we treat theses and dissertations as 
unpublished material,” this same respon-
dent believes that “readers will consider 
our article to be the version of record, 
the version they should read and cite, 
because (a) it will have been vetted by our 
double-blind peer review process, (b) it 
will have been professionally edited, and 
(c) it will be the most up-to-date version 
of the material.” As further described by 
another journal editor, “people rarely cite 



376  College & Research Libraries July 2013

theses, but instead, cite the journal articles 
in which the thesis research is reported. 
This occurred before theses were available 
electronically and will continue in the 
future. Journal articles are peer reviewed 
and theses are not, so people trust the 
version in the journal article more.” As a 
university press director shared, “the edi-
torial review and publication process en-
tails substantial refinement and revision 
of works that originate as part of doctoral 
work and thus we do not consider raw 
dissertations as competing with the works 
eventually published under our imprint.”

The originality and substantially of 
the work is of more interest to university 
press directors and journal editors. One 
university press director commented, 
“Some manuscripts, even if published 
electronically as dissertations, are ap-
pealing regardless of their electronic 
availability because the audience for them 
in print form is substantial enough that 
it does not matter. There is a substantial 
market for certain works of Civil War 
history, for instance, that is quite broad. 
The lay readership for Civil War history, 
for instance, wants to have the book and 
would not likely know or have access to 
the text in dissertation (electronic) form. 
Even if they knew, they would likely still 
want the book.” A journal editor echoes 
previous sentiments, saying that “I base 
my judgments on value added, as it were; 
i.e. whether there is sufficient original ma-
terial to warrant space in the space limited 
environment of my journal.”

 Some unforeseen, but nonetheless 
interesting, patterns in the qualitative 
data emerged. Ethical concerns, such 
as self-plagiarism, were expressed by 
respondents. As one journal editor put 
it, “Duplication of the ideas behind the 
thesis or dissertation is a moderate con-
cern.” Another of the concerns involved 
compromising the integrity of the peer-
review process. As one journal editor 
puts it, “An ETD makes anonymity in 
review easy to determine who the author 
is and thus undermines the strength and 
reliability of peer review. This could, ul-

timately, disadvantage young scholars.” 
Because electronic documents can be 
indexed by powerful search engines, the 
concern is that reviewers will unwittingly 
locate an open access ETD by searching 
on phraseology used within the manu-
script, thus revealing author information 
that is typically suppressed in the blind 
or double-blind peer-review processes. 
Based on several comments by university 
press directors, there is concern about 
library collecting policies as inadvertently 
influencing university presses’ policies on 
ETDs. As one university press director 
describes it, the “bigger issue is that we’re 
being told by library wholesalers that 
more and more university libraries are 
using a blanket removal of books based 
on dissertations from their university 
press approval plans. While there contin-
ues to be a wide range of opinion about 
whether ETDs count as prior publication 
among publishers, librarians seem to be 
more and more inclined to treat them 
as such—which will become a bigger 
and bigger problem for us, of course.” 
Another university press director adds, 
“The ‘profiles’ set by vendors such as 
Yankee Book Peddler (YBP) on books and 
the selection criteria established by the 
majority of academic libraries include a 
‘dissertation factor’ which will eliminate 
these books from their purchase list. If 
no one is going to buy the book, no one 
will publish it.” A third university press 
director issues a warning to academia, 
saying “We understand some book 
distributors like Yankee Book Peddler 
specifically search publications to see if 
they are connected to dissertations, and if 
they are, then many libraries refuse to buy 
them on grounds they can already get the 
material through dissertation databases. 
As long as that practice continues, we 
will have no choice but to take a hostile 
view to pre-publication of dissertations. 
University administrators can’t have it 
both ways: they can’t both expect presses 
to be solvent, and require us to publish 
dissertations (in whatever form) so that 
their PhDs can get tenure.” 



Findings from a 2011 Survey of Academic Publishers  377

 Conclusion and Recommendations
This study was conducted a decade after 
the first study on the perception of manu-
scripts derived from ETDs.12 In that study, 
75 percent of the respondents represent-
ing the social sciences indicated they 
would either accept or consider, without 
prejudice, submissions derived from 
openly available ETDs. The responses 
to this survey indicate that ETDs are not 
considered prior publications by journal 
editors or university press directors in 
the social sciences, arts, or humanities. 
Both graduate students and advisors in 
the social sciences, arts, or humanities 
should be advised of these findings, par-
ticularly given that prior publication has 
been one area of fear and misperceptions. 
The majority of all responses (72%) from 
university press directors and journal 
editors indicated that manuscripts that 
are revisions of openly accessible ETDs 
are always welcome for submission (45%) 
or considered on a case-by-case basis 
(27%). Only 4.5 percent of all respondents 
indicated that they would never consider 
an ETD for publication. The majority of 
journal editors (82.8%) indicated that their 
enterprise will consider an openly acces-
sible ETD for submission to their journal. 
Over half of university press directors 
(53.7%) indicated that their enterprise 
will consider an openly accessible ETD 
for later publishing.

Nonetheless, our study does seem to in-
dicate that the “smaller” university presses 
and journals may view ETDs as a threat to 
their bottom line, and thus may not publish 
works derived from ETDs. Additionally, 
university presses and journals in the lit-
erature field may be less inclined to con-
sider a work derived from an ETD. It was 
unexpected to receive several comments 
by university press directors that imply 
causation between library collecting poli-
cies and university presses’ ETD policies. 
It is unclear if these comments represent 
a minority view or are shared by a larger 
group. This is an area for future study. 

Quality is the main concern about 
ETDs. Publishers recognize that a book or 
journal article must be adapted to a new 
audience and conform to peer review, so 
the final work will be different in many 
ways from the original ETD. Because 
the majority of journals and university 
presses will consider a social science, 
arts, or humanities manuscript that has 
been derived from an open access ETD, 
scholars in these disciplines are urged to 
make ETDs openly accessible. 

With encouragement from the Board 
of Directors of the Networked Digital 
Library of Theses and Dissertations, the 
authors are pursuing a survey of science 
journal editors in spring 2012 to expand 
the data available on publishers’ attitudes 
about ETDs. 



378  College & Research Libraries July 2013

Appendix

Survey Questions
You have been invited to complete the survey based on your role in academic publish-
ing, either as an editor or publisher. The term “enterprise” is used in this survey to 
refer to a journal, a university press, or a commercial publishing company.

1. I am voluntarily participating in this survey. (required question)
• Yes

2. What is the nature of your enterprise?
• University Press
• Commercial Publishing Company
• Journal
• Other (please specify):

3. My affiliation with the enterprise is:
• Acquisitions Editor
• Assistant Editor
• Director
• Editor
• Co-Editor
• Editor-in-Chief
• Editorial Assistant
• Managing Editor
• Other (please specify):

4. Please select one or more of the broad subject areas below that are most 
representative of your enterprise:

Anthropology
Archaeology
Architecture
Area Studies
Art
Asian Studies
Business
Business, Finance
Classics
Communication
Criminology & Penology
Dance
Demography
Economics
Education & Educational Research
Education, Special
Environmental Studies
Ergonomics
Ethics
Ethnic Studies
Family Studies

Film, Radio, Television
Folklore
Geography
Gerontology
Health Policy & Services
History
History & Philosophy of Science
History of Social Sciences
Hospitality, Leisure, Sport, & Tourism
Humanities, Multidisciplinary
Industrial Relations & Labor
Information Science & Library Science
International Relations
Language & Linguistics
Law
Linguistics
Literary Reviews
Literary Theory & Criticism
Literature
Literature, African, Australian, Canadian
Literature, American



Findings from a 2011 Survey of Academic Publishers  379

Literature, British Isles
Literature, German, Dutch, Scandinavian
Literature, Romance
Literature, Slavic
Management
Medieval & Renaissance Studies
Music
Nursing
Philosophy
Planning & Development
Poetry
Political Science
Psychiatry
Psychology
Psychology, Applied
Psychology, Biological
Psychology, Clinical
Psychology, Developmental
Psychology, Educational
Psychology, Experimental
Psychology, Mathematical

Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Psychology, Psychoanalysis
Psychology, Social
Public Administration
Public, Environmental, & Occupational 

Health
Rehabilitation
Religion
Social Issues
Social Sciences, Biomedical
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Social Sciences, Mathematical Methods
Social Work
Sociology
Substance Abuse
Theater
Transportation
Urban Studies
Women’s Studies
Other (please specify):

5. Which of the following statements best reflects the editorial policy or practice 
governing your enterprise?

“Manuscripts which are revisions derived from openly accessible electronic theses or
dissertations (ETDs) are…”

• Always welcome for submission
• Considered on a case-by-case basis
• Considered ONLY IF the contents and conclusions in the manuscript are sub-

stantially different from the ETD
• Considered ONLY IF the ETD has access limited to the campus or institution 

where it was completed
• Not considered under any circumstances
• Other (please elaborate):

6. Please share additional comments or observations on the previous question.

The following questions gather information about the size of your enterprise.

7. Please provide your most recent annual circulation figures (e.g. total paid and/
or free subscriptions).

8. Please indicate the size of your enterprise based on your most recent annual 
sales figures.

9. If questions 7 and 8 are not applicable, how would you describe the size of 
your enterprise?



380  College & Research Libraries July 2013

10. If your enterprise is a University Press, please indicate the distribution of 
published materials for your enterprise based on format using a percentage of 
your most recent annual sales (e.g. Books 80%, Journals 20%).
• Books:
• Journals:

11. Optional: Please enter your name and e-mail 
Your personal identification will not be shared in any way, and would only be used by 
members of this research committee in the event clarification is needed or additional 
questions arise with respect to your survey responses.

Notes

 1. University of Nottingham, U.K., OpenDOAR, available online at www.opendoar.org/ 
[accessed 18 November 2011]. 

 2. Ursula I.A. Goldsmith, “Perceptions of Active Graduate Faculty at a Research Intensive 
University Regarding Electronic Submission of Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)” (PhD diss., 
Louisiana State University, 2002), 121, available online at http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-
0709102-111850/ [accessed 15 May 2013].

 3. Joan K. Lippincott and Clifford A. Lynch, “ETDs and Graduate Education: Programs and 
Prospects,” Research Library Issues: A Biomonthly Report from ARL, CNI, and SPARC (June 2010): 
10, available online at http://publications.arl.org/rli270/7 [accessed 15 May 2013].

 4 Jennifer Howard, “The Road From Dissertation to Book Has a New Pothole: the Internet,” 
Chronicle of Higher Education (Apr. 3, 2011), available online at http://chronicle.com/article/The-
Road-From-Dissertation-to/126977 [accessed 15 May 2013].

 5. Joan T. Dalton, “Electronic Theses & Dissertations: A Survey of Editors & Publishers” 
(unpublished paper, http://docs.ndltd.org:8081/dspace/handle/2340/169, 2001), 12.

 6. Nancy H. Seamans, “Electronic Theses and Dissertations as Prior Publications: What the 
Editors Say,” Library Hi Tech 21, no. 1 (2003): 58, doi: 10.1108/07378830310467409.

 7. Bobby Holt, “Facilitator or Deterrent? Electronic Theses & Dissertations and Publishing: A 
Survey of Humanities Editors and Publishers” (unpublished report, Virginia Tech Digital Library 
and Archives, 2002).

 8. John Eaton, Ed Fox, and Gail McMillan, “Results of a Survey of Virginia Tech Graduates 
Whose Digital Theses and Dissertations are Accessible Worldwide,” Council of Graduate Schools 
Communicator (Nov. 2000): 6, available online at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/EatonCGS2000ET-
Dauthors.pdf [accessed 21 November 2011].

 9. Angela M. McCutcheon, “Impact of Publishers’ Policy on Electronic Thesis and Disserta-
tion (ETD) Distribution Options within the United States” (PhD diss., Ohio University, 2010), 139, 
available online at http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=ohiou1273584209 [accessed 15 May 
2013].

 10. Austin McLean, ProQuest representative (e-mail message to authors, Oct. 13, 2011).
11. McCutcheon, “Impact of Publishers’ Policy on Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) 

Distribution Options within the United States,” 65–68.
12. Dalton, “Electronic Theses & Dissertations: A Survey of Editors & Publishers,” 16.