In addition to impact and cost-effectiveness, other factors to consider when choosing a publisher include the publisher's copyright and archiving policies. A consortium of UK academic institutions has developed the Sherpa/Romeo database. You may use this database to find a summary of permissions that are typically given as part of each publisher's copyright transfer agreement. Use this as a baseline from which to negotiate with the publisher for greater control over your scholarship.
| ROMEO colour | Archiving policy |
| green | can archive pre-print and post-print or publisher's version/PDF |
| blue | can archive post-print (ie final draft post-refereeing) or publisher's version/PDF |
| yellow | can archive pre-print (ie pre-refereeing) |
| white | archiving not formally supported |
Here is an example of the publication patterns in Behavioral Sciences. In the last decade, the top six publishers of journal articles authored by UNC Behavioral Sciences faculty were:
These traditional publishers have standard contracts granting the author specific archival rights. The American Psychological Association and Elsevier are green publishers; that is, the author can archive both the article pre-print (i.e., pre-refereeing) and the post-print (i.e., final draft post-refereeing). Sage, Taylor & Francis, and Wiley are yellow publishers; the author can archive the article pre-print (i.e., pre-refereeing) and subject to certain restrictions (usually an embargo), the author can archive the post-print (i.e., final draft post-refereeing). The American Counseling Association is a white publisher; archiving is not formally supported by this publisher and permission to archive must be negotiated by the author.
While most faculty choose traditional publishers such as the above, alternative modes of publication are increasing. Your UNC colleagues in Behavioral Sciences have published peer-reviewed articles in the following open-access publications: