Self-archiving refers to archiving of a scientific publication or its peer-reviewed manuscript version accepted for publication in a discipline-specific repository or an institutional publication repository. Self-archiving ensures long-term preservation and open availability of publications.
Through self-archiving, peer-reviewed manuscripts can be made openly available (green open access), even if the article is published behind a paywall. Self-archived version always includes reference to the original publication (e.g. authors, title, DOI), and the original publication should be cited.
At Aalto University, peer-reviewed scientific articles (Ministry of Education and Culture's publication types A1-A4) are self-archived to Aalto's publication repository, following Aalto University Open Science and Research Policy and prior licence model. Internationally, prior licence model is known as the Rights Retention Strategy (RRS).
Open science means open access to scientific publications, research data, methods, software codes, educational resources, and infrastructures. It is a key instrument for increasing the impact of the research conducted at Aalto University.
Aalto University's prior licence model supports researchers' rights to their peer-reviewed manuscripts.
Peer-reviewed scientific articles (Ministry of Education and Culture's publication types A1-A4) are deposited into ACRIS, from which the publications are integrated to Aaltodoc, Aalto University's publication repository. Open Science and ACRIS team (acris@aalto.fi) takes care of the self-archiving process.
Aalto University prior licence model applies to manuscripts submitted for peer-review starting 1 January 2026.
Self-archiving is made following Aalto’s prior licence model, which secures researcher's right to self-archive the peer-reviewed manuscript with immediate open access and under the Creative Commons license required by the funder. If the funder doesn’t require a license, peer-reviewed manuscript is self-archived without an embargo and without a license.
Please note that many research funders require immediate open access, whereas a scholarly publisher may not publish in a way that meets this requirement. If you choose to opt-out, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are following your funder’s requirements.
For any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Open Science and ACRIS team, acris@aalto.fi.
Aalto University prior licence model does not apply retroactively to manuscripts submitted for peer-review before 1.1.2026. Peer-reviewed manuscripts are self-archived following the publisher's terms and conditions.
Open Science and ACRIS team self-archives the peer-reviewed manuscript to Aalto's publication repository in accordance with the publisher's terms and conditions.
Self-archiving of the peer-reviewed manuscript should be agreed upon with the co-authors, similar to the authors' roles and their order in the article, choice and openness of the publication channel.
For any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Open Science and ACRIS team, acris@aalto.fi.
Peer-reviewed scientific articles (Ministry of Education and Culture's publication types A1-A4) are self-archived to Aalto's publication repository.
If the article is published as an open access publication under an open license (e.g. Creative Commons), you do not need to do anything. Open Science and ACRIS team will take care of self-archiving the published article in university's publication repository to ensure its long-term preservation.
If the article is published behind a paywall, the peer-reviewed manuscript (e.g. Author Accepted Manuscript, AAM, final draft) can be self-archived. This is called green open access. Open Science and ACRIS team will contact you and ask you to send the peer-reviewed manuscript.
There are three different versions of a journal article or other research output: preprint, peer-reviewed manuscript, and published article.
Creative Commons licenses are the most common open licenses that enable the creator to specify how someone else may use their work. The creator always retains the copyright to their work. For example, the CC BY license allows the work to be freely copied, distributed, and modified, even for commercial purposes. The original work must always be attributed, and the creator's name must be mentioned. Several research funders require the use of the CC BY license.
Use of discipline-specific repositories commonly used and endorsed by the respective research communities is recommended, because it increases the visibility and impact of the research. However, the full-text versions of peer-reviewed manuscripts or published articles should be self-archived also to university's publication repository to ensure long-term availability in national repositories.
Aalto University prior licence model is applied in self-archiving to manuscripts submitted for peer-review starting 1 January 2026.
Internationally, prior licence model is known as the Rights Retention Strategy. Researchers retain the right to self-archive their peer-reviewed manuscript (e.g. Author Accepted Manuscript, AAM) without an embargo period and under the Creative Commons license required by the funder in Aalto's publication repository, regardless of any restrictions set by publishers.
The prior licence model applies to manuscripts submitted for review starting 1 January 2026. In practice, it applies only if the article is published behind a paywall and the peer-reviewed manuscript is self-archived in Aalto's publication repository. If the article is published open access in a journal or proceedings under Creative Commons license, there is no need to self-archive the peer-reviewed manuscript.
Prior licence model supports researchers in retaining rights to their peer-reviewed manuscripts and ensures long-term preservation of Aalto University’s research publications. The aim of the prior licence model is to support researchers' possibilities to meet funders' open access requirements even in cases where publisher's policy does not allow self-archiving of the peer-reviewed manuscript without an embargo or under Creative Commons license required by the funder, or paying the open access fee (APC fee) in so-called hybrid journals is not feasible.
Prior licence model applies to manuscripts of peer-reviewed articles in journals, conference proceedings, and anthologies (publication types A1–A4 in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s publication data collection).
No. The prior licence model provides researchers with more options for choosing a publication channel. Self-archiving following the prior licence model allows researchers to meet funders' open access requirements even in cases where paying the open access fee (APC fee) in so-called hybrid journals is not feasible, or publisher's policy does not allow self-archiving of the peer-reviewed manuscript without an embargo or under Creative Commons license required by the funder.
You have the possibility to exercise your right to opt-out from the prior licence model, as described in the president's decision. No justification is needed. Opt-out means that the peer-reviewed manuscript will be self-archived following the publisher's terms, including embargo. Opt-out is also possible if one of the co-authors does not approve of self-archiving following Aalto's prior licence model.
Please note that many research funders require immediate open access, whereas a scholarly publisher may not publish in a way that meets this requirement. If you choose to opt-out, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are following your funder’s requirements.
Self-archiving of the peer-reviewed manuscript should be agreed upon with the co-authors, similar to the authors' roles and their order in the article, choice and openness of the publication channel. If any of the co-authors does not approve of self-archiving following Aalto's prior licence model, it is possible to opt-out. In such cases, the peer-reviewed manuscript will be self-archived following the publisher's terms, including embargo. However, please note that many research funders require immediate open access under a CC license.
No, Aalto University will inform publishers about the prior licence model directly and on its web pages.
Yes, you can sign the publishing agreement. The embargo period does not apply as your university's prior licence model precedes the publishing agreement.
Currently, similar policies to prior licence model (internationally known as Rights Retention Strategies) are applied in more than 150 universities, and there are no known cases where researchers affiliated with these institutions have faced legal actions by the publishers.
It is highly unlikely that publishers would pursue legal actions before giving the possibility to remove the peer-reviewed manuscript from the institutional repository. In the event of a dispute concerning interpretation and application of the prior licence model, university is legally responsible for solving it.
Some publishers (e.g. ACS and IEEE) have introduced so-called repository fees. These publishers may charge separate fees for self-archiving of a peer-reviewed manuscript without an embargo, or for the use of a CC license in self-archiving. These fees are not included in open access agreements with publishers.
For more information, please contact: acris@aalto.fi.
How and where to publish preprints? Can I share my work at ResearchGate?
If you wish to publish your manuscript (preprint, version prior to peer review) in a discipline-specific repository, check from Open policy finder or directly from publisher whether the policy of the target journal is clear that a preprint will not pre-empt its publication. Please note that social media network services (e.g. ResearchGate, Academia.edu) are usually not acceptable repositories by publishers.
Several repositories allow the possibility to use Creative Commons licenses for the preprint versions. However, if possible, we recommend using restrictive licenses for preprints (e.g. the non-exclusive license offered by arXiv), to limit re-use before the final publication of the peer-reviewed article.
Webinar: How to publish preprints 3.11.2022
Please note that publishing preprints doesn't comply with funders' open access policies, because funders require that peer-reviewed scientific articles or peer-reviewed manuscripts are available open access.
| Repository | Research areas | Repository | Research areas |
|---|---|---|---|
| arXiv | Physics, mathematics, computer science | PsyArXiv | Psychology, life sciences, neuroscience |
| bioRxiv | Biosciences | TechRxiv | Electrical engineering, information technology |
| ChemRxiv | Chemistry | medRxiv | Medine and health sciences |
| RePEc | Economics | engRxiv | Technology, biochemistry |
| SSRN | Multidisciplinary | OSF Preprints | Multidisciplinary |
Usually, publishers allow self-archiving in subject-specific repositories (e.g. arXiv) and institutional publication repositories (ACRIS/Aaltodoc), but not, for example, on ResearchGate. Please also note that social media networks are not accepted as repositories by the funders, because permanent availability in these services is not guaranteed, and publications may be openly accessible only to logged-in users.
For any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Open Science and ACRIS team, acris@aalto.fi.
Open access ensures that scientific publications are accessible to everyone free of charge.
Aalto Current Research Information System (ACRIS) is Aalto University’s research information management system. The system contains up-to-date information about the research and artistic activities of the university. These activities are shown through the public portal Research.aalto.fi.
