Make your research easier to discover, access, understand, and use while meeting publisher, copyright, ethical, cultural, privacy, legal, security and commercial requirements.

Check what you can share

Review the publishing agreement to confirm which version may be shared, where it may be deposited, whether an embargo applies and what licence, acknowledgement and reuse conditions apply. Do not share the Version of Record (publisher version) unless the publisher or licence permits it.

Use the Open policy finder as a starting point then confirm the conditions in your publishing agreement.

Recognise manuscript types

The following guide explains which manuscript versions you may be able to share and when.

• Author’s Original Manuscript (AoM) (preprint)

  The author’s original manuscript (AoM) is the first complete draft before formal peer review and the version submitted by the author. It may be shared where the journal’s policy permits.

• Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) (postprint)

  The author accepted manuscript (AAM) is the final peer-reviewed author-created version accepted for publication. It does not include the publisher’s copyediting, typesetting, branding, pagination, or layout. It can be deposited in the Research Profiles and Repository and is subject to embargo and publisher policy.

• Version of Record (VoR) (publisher version)

  The version of record (VoR) is the copyedited, typeset, branded version published by the journal. Link to the published article. Upload it to a repository only if the licence or publisher policy permits.

  Important: Remember to check the journal, publisher, and funder policies before sharing. When available, deposit the author accepted manuscript (AAM) and link to the version of record (VoR).

Check your output in Research Profiles and Repository

Check that your research output appears in Research Profiles and Repository with accurate author, affiliation, funding, publisher, licence, embargo and Digital Object Identifier (DOI) details. Where the output has not been collected automatically, submit it to the repository.

Where the VoR cannot be made openly available, provide the most complete eligible manuscript version you hold, usually the AAM.

See the Research Outputs Repository Guidelines

Share related data and materials

Where permitted, deposit or describe supporting data, code, protocols, instruments, supplementary files and other materials. Link related outputs using persistent identifiers.

Only share content where sharing is permitted by participant consent, ethics approvals, Indigenous data governance, privacy, contracts, security, copyright and other requirements. Where open access is not possible, consider a metadata-only record or controlled access.

See Publishing Research Data and Research Data Management guidance.

Confirm reuse conditions

State clearly how the work may be reused. Confirm that you have authority to apply a Creative Commons licence and identify third-party content excluded from that licence.

See Creative Commons licences and Western Sydney University copyright guidance.

Reach your audience responsibly

Identify who could benefit from the research, prepare a clear plain-language message and choose suitable formats and channels. Use consistent author details, ORCID iDs, Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), keywords and links to related outputs.

Refer to the Publish Your Research guide and Nature Masterclasses Online to plan engagement and communication.

Next step

• Track Your Research