Answered By: Victoria Peters
Last Updated: Aug 04, 2025     Views: 3

Archiving your research can make your work freely accessible, stops your research from being taken down, and gets you a wider audience to increase your research impact. But, it can be a bit tricky to know your rights and choose the right version of your work to share. Here we outline the various versions of your article, how to find them, and when you can share them. It's helpful and will save you time and frustration in the future to save all versions of your work as they are produced. 

Most sharing policies are available through a copyright & self-archiving tool called SHERPA/RoMEO, but your publication agreement is a binding contract that tells you how and where you can legally share your work.

There are three common versions of a scholarly article you might be able to share in Scholarly and Creative Works: Pre‑print, Post‑print, and the Publisher’s PDF. Check your journal’s self‑archiving policy on SHERPA/RoMEO.

Also known as: Author's manuscript, original manuscript, first draft

Definition: Draft of your manuscript before peer review, or the first version submitted to a journal.

Looks like: Essay with no journal branding, usually a .docx or text file.

How to find it:

  • Search your email, computer, and cloud storage
  • Contact your co-authors
  • Log into the journal's submission portal
  • Email the journal to request the submitted version

Can you share it? Yes, in most RoMEO Green or Yellow journals. Check your journal.

Also known as: AAM, Accepted Author Manuscript

Definition: Final version after peer review, including revisions, but before publisher formatting.

Looks like: Double-spaced essay without branding, sometimes with tracked changes.

How to find it:

  • Search your email, computer, and cloud storage
  • Contact your co-authors
  • Log into the journal's submission portal for the “Accepted Manuscript”
  • Email the journal to request the accepted version

Can you share it? Yes, in most RoMEO Blue or Yellow journals. Check your journal.

Also known as: Published version, Version of Record

Definition: Final, typeset version with journal layout and branding.

Looks like: A PDF downloaded from the journal website with logos and pagination.

How to find it: Log into the journal's portal or author account to download the published PDF.

Can you share it? Usually no unless it’s open access. Some journals allow repository deposit with permission. Check your journal.

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