Higher degree research (HDR) students or recent graduates, may receive unsolicited emails from companies offering to publish their thesis. Some of these ‘publishers’ or ‘vanity presses’, provide limited or no editorial input, eg. they don’t provide peer-review, editorial or proof-reading support, marketing or distribution of the book. They generate income by either charging up-front publishing fees, or by the sale of copies to the author.
Publishing your thesis with a ‘vanity press’ may result in:
- the loss of Copyright to your work, restricting further publishing from your research in books, conference proceedings or journal articles
- a poor quality publication that doesn’t meet the requirements of reporting for the internal Research Outputs Collection (ROC)
- loss of academic credibility / reputation.
It is always recommended that you carefully research and evaluate the credibility of a publisher before accepting an offer to publish your thesis.
Watch out for rogue publishers: some advice on publishers to avoid is available from the Australian Open Access Support Group.
Consult your supervisor and/or the Office of Research Services and Graduate Studies before making any decision.
The Library's Faculty staff can also often provide advice about publishers to avoid.
