# The Sheridan Libraries

**Source**: https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/Five_Actions_Today
**Parent**: https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics

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# Scholarly Metrics

All about metrics: definitions, how-to, and tools.

- [Home](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/home)
- [Journal Metrics](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/journal-metrics)
- [Article Metrics](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/article-metrics)
- [Author Metrics](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/author-metrics)
- [Book Metrics](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/book-metrics "Book Metrics")
- [Altmetrics](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/altmetrics "based on blogs, Twitter, etc.")
- [Data Metrics](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/data-metrics "Metrics about data sets.")
- [Caution about Metrics](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/c.php?g=202558&p=10086503)
- [How to use SciVal](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/scival)
- [How to use Dimensions](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/Dimensions)
- [Five Action Items Researchers Can Take Today](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/metrics/Five_Actions_Today)

## Five Action Items Researchers Can Take Today

- [1.Skip the Paywall](#s-lib-ctab-31516177-0)
- [2.Control Your Work](#s-lib-ctab-31516177-1)
- [3.Go OA For Free](#s-lib-ctab-31516177-2)
- [4.Avoid Scams](#s-lib-ctab-31516177-3)
- [5.Increase Your Impact](#s-lib-ctab-31516177-4)

- [Unpaywall extension](https://unpaywall.org/products/extension)

  Instantly--and legally--find free versions of articles by adding the Unpaywall extension to Chrome or Firefox.
- [How to use Unpaywall](https://unpaywall.org/welcome)

  Unpaywall appears as a green (yes, there is a free version available) or grey (no free version available) tab on the right side of your browser window, by the vertical scroll bar.

Researchers can and should consider changing the terms of the standard author agreements issued by publishers. A brief negotiation of the terms of your author agreement can have a big impact on how you can share and authorize re-use of your works. How does this work?

- Don't click "I agree" without reading the agreement first. Pause and consider next steps before agreeing to the publisher's terms. You must make any desired changes *before*you agree!
- Options for negotiating your agreement:
  - Contact the editor for a conversation about amending the agreement.
  - Edit the agreement prior to signing and returning.
  - Attach a standard addendum that changes the terms of the agreement; edit the agreement to state "subject to the attached amendment.".

Remember, even if the publisher does not immediately accept your changes, editing or amending an agreement is a way to start the conversation about your rights as an author.

- [SPARC Author Addendum](https://sparcopen.org/our-work/author-rights/brochure-html/)

  Our favorite author addendum. This links to both the addendum and a guide on how to use it.
- [Guide to negotiating author rights](https://libguides.asu.edu/c.php?g=263877&p=1765373)

  This guide shows you how to retain copyright within your author agreement.

**What rights should I look for in my author agreement?**

- As an author, you own (or co-own) copyright in text and images you (or a group) create. These copyrights are yours until you sign them away in an agreement or place a license on them that gives others some of those rights.
- Why this can become a problem: a traditional publication agreement does not allow the author to reuse sections of articles in later works, share the work with a class, or post a version of the article in an open access repository.
- For a review of copyright in different academic situations, please see the Sheridan Libraries [Copyright guide](http://guides.library.jhu.edu/copyright).
- [Creative Commons](https://creativecommons.org/) offers authors and creators licenses they can place on their work to give others certain rights.

You don’t have to pay to go OA!

Share for free by following publisher policies to deposit your preprint in an archive:

- [OpenDOAR](https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/opendoar/)

  Find an appropriate and reputable archive for your subject area using OpenDOAR.
- [JISC Open Policy Finder](https://openpolicyfinder.jisc.ac.uk/)

  JISC combines the functionality of the three existing Sherpa services, Sherpa Fact, Sherpa Romeo, and Sherpa Juliet, helping authors and institutions with decision making in open access publishing and compliance.

Sharing freely by depositing a preprint in an archive is legal, ethical, and complies with federal agency grant mandates.

- [JHU's repository guide](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/open-access/repositories)

  More information about what you can share can be found on JHU's repository guide.

The scholarly publications marketplace, like any other economy, is sometimes prey to scams. Using Think Check Submit can help you navigate your selections of publisher, journal title, publication model, and more.

- [Think. Check. Submit.](https://thinkchecksubmit.org/)

  Provides a range of tools for determining whether a publication is right for your publishing needs.
- [Cabell's International: Scholarly Analytics](https://databases.library.jhu.edu/databases/proxy/JHU07088)

  Use the Journal Locator to look for publications and the Predatory Journals database to identify deceptive, fraudulent, and/or predatory journals.

Relying on watchlists can be problematic, since the criteria for inclusion or exclusion is sometimes murky. The Think Check Submit tool walks you through a series of questions to determine the suitability of a publisher for yourself.

Update and share your scholarly author profiles to make sure all your work is discoverable and correctly linked to you and your other work. Here are four places to check to make sure your personal information, affiliation information, and list of publications is correct:

- [JHU’s ORCID guide](https://guides.library.jhu.edu/orcid/home)

  Build and automatically update your ORCID profile. See JHU’s ORCID guide for more information.
- [Scopus Author Profile FAQ](https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29506/supporthub/scopus/)

  Check your Scopus Author Profile. Scopus automatically creates your author profile, but you can request to edit or merge profiles if needed. You can also link your ORCID profile.
- [Web of Science Author Profile](https://clarivate.com/products/scientific-and-academic-research/research-discovery-and-workflow-solutions/researcher-profiles/)

  Create and manage your Web of Science Author Profile. This has replaced the old Publons Researcher ID. Make sure your information is correct. You can also link your ORCID profile.
- [Google Scholar profile](https://scholar.google.com/intl/en-US/scholar/citations.html)

  Create a Google Scholar profile

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