Publication

Honors Research Projects are published in The University of Akron's institutional repository, IdeaExchange@UAkron. By "publish" we mean "make public." The creation and dissemination of knowledge is a core function of any university; theses and dissertations are routinely published by institutions of higher learning everywhere. Through publication, your Honors Research Project contributes to the world's knowledge, advances your discipline, and provides compelling evidence to future employers and colleagues of your research and writing abilities.

When finished, you will upload your final project as a revision to your proposal. After a quick check of your file, the Williams Honors College will publish your project. Within a few days, Google will index your page and drive traffic to your project. Every project has its own page that reports download metrics, and you will receive regular emails about visitors to your page. Employers who Google your name plus keywords such as "The University of Akron" will find your Honors Project on the first page of results. You will be able to promote your Honors Project with its permanent, stable URL.

Points to consider about publication of your Honors Project

• Proofread. Make sure that your Honors Project represents your best work. This is not a draft. Readers who may not understand the finer points of your research will understand you goofed if you have an obvious spelling error in the abstract. Leave time to copyedit your work. Professional copyeditors work at about 1350 words per hour. If your Honors Research Project is 20 pages long, it could take four hours to read it carefully, fix all the small errors, and adjust the punctuation and formatting to be consistent to the style of your discipline. Researchers who publish often and well understand the difference between a draft and a final, published manuscript. Publishers want to publish researchers who are capable of delivering manuscripts that require only minor revisions. Now is the time to show that you have mastered the fine skills of finishing a project and preparing it for publication.
• Adhere to the style of your discipline. The Williams Honors College will not review your Honors Project for your application of a relevant professional style. Your advisor and your readers will mainly focus on the substance of your research. They are, however, your best mentors for the work of getting your Honors Project into the style of your discipline. Your ability to adhere to a style – to format citations the way researchers in your field expect to see them, for example – is very important. It provides evidence of your ability to pay attention to detail as well as your preparation to belong to a community of scholars.

Final Submission

1. Upload your project report to the Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Honors College Collection on IdeaExchange@UAkron through the UA libraries.
2. Verify that your project information, including your title and abstract are correct and reflect the final submission.
3. Please scan the completed signature page for your research project and submit it along with the submission of your final report to IdeaExchange@UAkron. Note that you do not need to have the approval from the Dean of the Williams Honors College before submitting your signature page. The signature page should be uploaded as an additional file to your submission.
4. Your final project should be uploaded through the IdeaExchange@UAkron account that was created when your initial project proposal was submitted. Instructions for creating an account are available with the project proposal. Please refer to the email that was received when the proposal was approved for additional instructions.

If you need an extension to the submission deadline please contact Dr. Wyszynski as soon as possible.

Other

• IdeaExchange@UAkron is the name of a cooperative effort of the University Libraries and the University Press which showcases the research that the University, its faculty, and its students generate.

General Guidelines

• You must receive a grade of "B" or higher on your Honors Research Project to graduate as an Honors Scholar. If you do not achieve this grade you may still meet the requirements to graduate as an undergraduate student in your major. Please contact your Honors Advisor for more information.
• When there are multiple students involved in an Honors Research Project, each student should be included as authors on the final report, even if they are not part of the Williams Honors College. Every student should receive the proper recognition for thier contributions.
• Every committee must be composed of a Sponsor and two Readers. More information on these roles is available here.
• Students expecting to work on an honors project involving the use of human subjects should be aware that such projects may need to be evaluated by the University of Akron Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB reviews all proposals for research involving human participants to insure appropriate ethical and safety standards are observed. Depending on the nature of the proposed research, IRB review and approval may be required prior to moving forward with your study. In the same way, any research involving live animals will require review by the University of Akron Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC). Please communicate with your project sponsor regarding the need for IRB or ACUC consideration as it relates to your specific project. Information concerning research applications and review procedures can be obtained via the University of Akron Office of Research Administration (ORA).

Confidential and Proprietary Information

The publication requirement for Honors Project Reports may be waived with permission. For example, research materials or data may be protected by a privacy agreement, or the authors may submit their research or creative work for publication elsewhere. In such cases the full Honors Project Report may not be published through IdeaExchange@UAkron.

Students should consult with their project sponsor and/or the Senior Associate Dean for guidance on any of these potential issues before submission. When a waiver is granted students will be expected to submit an Executive Summary of the work performed to IdeaExchange, and should note that the full report has been withheld.