Frequently Asked Questions
- How is a scholarly journal to be associated with the Synergies project defined?
- What are the benefits for a journal joining the Synergies project?
- My journal already has its own online version but not through Synergies-supported software such as OJS.
(a) Why might I want to consider using such Synergies-supported software?
(b) Could the journal still be associated with Synergies if it doesn't move to using such software?
- Does my journal have to be Open Access to be part of Synergies?
- My journal is already available online through one or more aggregations (e.g., Ebsco/Proquest products, Project Muse). Why should I consider also having it online through Synergies-supported software?
- My journal already has all or most of its back issues digitized and available online through JSTOR or a similar product. Why would I want to consider doing it again through Synergies?
1. How is a scholarly journal to be associated with the Synergies project defined?
- It is a rigorous, peer-reviewed academic publication that disseminates the results of original scholarship in a discipline or disciplines primarily within the fields of social sciences and humanities;
- It has an editor-in-chief of the journal associated with a Canadian postsecondary institution or research institution;
- It has an editorial board responsible for its intellectual direction and content;
- It is subscription-based, open access, or uses a “moving wall” to provide delayed open access;
- It publishes at least 8 articles per year;
- Articles are published primarily in English and/or French.
2. What are the benefits for a journal joining the Synergies project?
- Infrastructure for online journal publishing through a supported Open Journals System (OJS) installation;
- Full services for journals wishing to go online, but training will also be available for those who prefer to use the OJS software more independently;
- Inclusion in the national Synergies dissemination portal;
- Possibility of package sales;
- Guaranteed long-term preservation;
- Increased dissemination/access /impact;
- May increase your chances of funding as funding bodies such as SSHRC are on record as supporting the project;
- Promotion of your journal from being part of this national project together with the best of Canada's Humanities and Social Science journals;
- Advice on raising your journal's ranking on the web;
- Provision of usage statistics;
- Assistance for authors and journals who wish to automatically add their articles to campus institutional repositories;
- Institutional repository services for accompanying materials such as raw data, files multimedia, etc. - working with journals to preserve these ancillary materials on a long term basis;
- Access to journal back file digitization services;
- Option of qualifying to be published under the imprint of a University Press.
3. My journal already has its own online version but not through Synergies-supported software such as OJS.
(a) Why might I want to consider using such Synergies-supported software?
- Technical support and consultation
- Assurance your journal's online version meets internationally accepted technical standards for interoperability, thereby enabling inclusion in any package sales
- Supports metadata standards that comply with the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH), thereby assuring comprehensive indexing capabilities
- Guaranteed long-term preservation
- Language-localization options, both for searching and displaying content in English or French
- Supported access to the review management/workflow aspects of OJS
- Library acquisition policies are beginning to include consideration of the platform on which an e-journal resides. Libraries need guaranteed stable access for their users.
(b) Could the journal still be associated with Synergies if it doesn't move to using such software?
The journal may still be associated with the project if its technical standards meet those required by Synergies.
4. Does my journal have to be Open Access to be part of Synergies?
No. Journals may be fully subscription based, have a moving wall allowing open access after any set period, or be fully open access. However, the Synergies project is committed to exploring and furthering new business models, such as open source development and open access.
5. My journal is already available online through one or more aggregations (e.g., Ebsco/Proquest products, Project Muse). Why should I consider also having it online through Synergies-supported software?
- Ownership and control of your journal's files.
- Your journal's content would not be subject to the laws (e.g., USA PATRIOT Act) of a foreign country.
- Synergies journals can offer perpetual access to individuals and institutions alike. Your journal's content in an aggregator's product is generally only available to current subscribing institutions. If an institution should decide to cancel their subscription, they normally lose access even to those years for which they subscribed. Individuals are not able to subscribe to products like these.
- Supported access to the review management/workflow aspects of OJS.
6. My journal already has all or most of its back issues digitized and available online through JSTOR or a similar product. Why would I want to consider doing it again through Synergies?
- Ownership and control of your journal's back issue files. You would be able to use these files in any way you wish in the future. Files digitized for you for free by groups such as JSTOR do not generally allow such use.
- Your journal's content would not be subject to the laws (e.g., USA PATRIOT Act) of a foreign country.
- Wider dissemination and greater access to your files. You may want to remove another access barrier, by providing open access to some or all of your back issues. Generally these groups do not do this, but rather charge subscription fees to institutions to access the files. Individuals not associated with a subscribing institution are therefore not able to access the content either.
- Synergies offers perpetual access to your journal's back issues. Your journal's content in an aggregator's product is generally only available to current subscribers. If an institution cancels its subscription, the institution usually loses access even to those years for which they had subscribed.