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DSW Students and the Kutztown University Research Commons: KURC & CC

This guide is to aid students from the Kutztown/Millersville Doctor of Social Work program in posting their dissertations to the KU Research Commons

Statistics for D.S.W. dissertations on the KURC

Use THIS LINK to see the statistics for D.S. W. dissertations on the KURC

What is the KU Research Commons?

The KURC:

  1. is a global-open access platform for faculty research.
  2. uses Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to make your research come out near the top of the results when someone searches your key terms on the internet.
  3. is open-access, which means that to post something, you need to be the holder of the copyright.
  4. gives you a permanent URL address to each piece of work that is never deleted.
  5. compiles statistics on the number and locations of views and downloads of your work for your CV or portfolio.

KURC and copyright

  1. because the KURC is open access, posting research where you do not hold the copyright is illegal.
  2. if you do hold the copyright, you can protect your work from pirates and plagiarists with a Creative Commons License. (https://www.creativecommons.org/licenses). 
  3. when you submit your work, you will be given the option of choosing a license
  4. if you post something to the KURC, and later sign over your copyright to have it published in a journal, the KURC will take down the article and post a link to the new location, even if it means the searchers will run into a paywall.
  5. look at your contract with the publisher --  did you give the publisher the copyright to preprints as well as the final article?  If you still hold the copyright to the preprint, it can be posted on the KURC.
  6. also in your contract, does the publisher require you to sign over both the copyright and the exclusive distribution rights?  Ask if the KURC could be used to distribute your work.

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