Books, reports & NTROs

Choosing a publisher

A range of factors will help you choose the right publisher for your book or chapter, including:

• Where your colleagues have published and their experience
• Where the books you are reading are published
• Check the publisher website for information on
  • Editorial and publishing policies
  • The peer review process
  • Disciplines covered
  • Publishing turnaround time
  • Guidelines for authors
  • Marketing strategy
• Are titles from the publisher indexed in Scopus or key databases in your discipline?
• Who are the editors? Are they discipline experts with a track record in your field?
• Is the publisher a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)?

More things to consider can be found on the Think Check Submit website:

Publisher resources

Open Educational Resources (OER)

If you are writing a book for teaching purposes consider making it Open Access. 

UniSA is currently taking part in an Open Textbook Pilot through the CAUL OER Collective, providing staff with a platform to create a peer reviewed open textbook free of charge.

OER remove the cost burden of traditional textbooks for students, eliminating the cost of course materials as a barrier to education and creating a more equitable and inclusive learning environment.

Learn more about the OER publishing pilot here:

Learn more about OER in our OER guide:

Copyright

Learn about the key copyright considerations when publishing in our Copyright Guidelines:

Are you thinking of turning your thesis into a book? You may need to consider some of the following: 

• Reviewing the structure and writing style of your manuscript is essential and considerable changes may be required in terms of editing, formatting and rewriting for a broader scholarly audience
• Examiners' reports may include some publishing options, however it is important to research the publishing landscape to identify which publishers specialise in your area and/or would be the best fit. You can also seek advice from colleagues who have published in your area
• Make sure you carefully read the publisher’s author guidelines. See the list of links in the Publisher resources section above with information for authors from some of the largest scholarly publishers 
• Be wary of vanity publishers who adopt a predatory business model, charging authors for publishing services and compromising on the quality of the publication
• You will need to make sure copyright permission has been sought for material incorporated into the book. Be aware that copyright permission for your thesis does not automatically transfer to other formats. See our Copyright guide for more information: 

For additional information, see the Thesis Whisperer blog on how to turn your PhD into a book:

The two main types of NTROs (as defined by ERA) are research reports and creative works.

Research reports

Research reports may be commissioned or solicited by external bodies, or provide findings of research undertaken at UniSA. Research reports may be classified as being written for public sector, industry, not-for-profit, or other audiences.

Report templates

There are two report templates that have been developed by UniSA's Communications and Marketing Unit, which are in Word format. A standard cover template is available to provide a unified appearance with other UniSA reports. The basic template offers a starting point for users, ensuring a cohesive style throughout the report.

Copyright

There is no generic copyright statement that can be used for reports, as there are several factors to consider, including:

• Has the report been commissioned and, if so, by whom:
  • An external organisation (non-government). Negotiate a written agreement between the University and the commissioning body which clearly states who will hold the copyright, what rights are assigned to the authors and to the commissioning body, and how the report can be released, eg Creative Commons License
  • A government department. In Australia, when a federal, state or territory department or agency commissions a report, they own the copyright in the absence of a separate agreement. To make the report openly available in the Research Outputs Repository, you will need to obtain permission or negotiate another agreement
• If not commissioned, are the authors:
  • All UniSA? If yes, the University's Intellectual Property policy states that copyright remains with the authors and ideally the report should contain a copyright notice attributing copyright to the authors
  • Also from other institutions? If yes, come to an agreement on how copyright will be attributed and what rights each participating institution has in the report. Ideally this will be through a formal shared author agreement
• Has third party content been used (eg images, tables)?
  • If yes, you will need permission to reproduce it in a report. This sample permission letter (Word 23.9 KB) can be adapted to suit your purpose; ensure any materials are clearly identified, attributed and have any applicable copyright or permission information recorded

Creative works, NTROs

Creative works can include digital or physical works, exhibitions or events, and live or recorded performances.

To learn about the different types of NTROs, preparing an NTRO for submission, peer review, and inclusion into the UniSA Research Outputs Repository, see the University's Non-Traditional Research Outputs (NTROs) website.