FAQs
What is the Health Equity Archive?
The Health Equity Archive is a freely accessible, online repository of various print and/or electronic media related to the health of racial and ethnic minority groups, health and health disparities in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, and the topic of health equity. The Health Equity Archive provides the opportunity to not only research and gather various documents in a variety of subject areas, but also a resource to deposit other related materials not already posted to the archive. The archive is available through the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).
Who has access to the Health Equity Archive?
Anyone can access the information in the archive. However, registration is required if one wants to submit resources to be posted to the archive, or receive automatic e-mails notifying you of new content in the Archive. Visit the Register page to set up a new user account with DRUM.
What kind of information can be included in the Archive?
Materials submitted to the Health Equity Archive must be related to the health of minority racial, ethnic, and other vulnerable groups in the United States and globally, and the topic of health equity. The materials submitted can be about the general health, current research involving, or health disparities among, any of these particular groups as well as materials related to the major contributors and contributions to the field of minority health, as well as materials related to the pursuit of health equity.
Materials can include journal articles, web-based materials, government documents, books, book chapters, conference proceedings, conference papers and posters, course outlines and syllabi, events/presentations, images, pre-prints, theses/dissertations, and other materials relevant to our goal.
Can I submit an article or other document to the Archive? If so, how?
Yes. Any registered user can submit new documents to the Archive. In order to post a resource, registration with DRUM is required.
How do I become a registered user?
Visit the Register page to set up a new user account with DRUM.
Is the Minority Health Archive a searchable database?
Yes.
To Search the Health Equity Archive, you can use the search bar available on the MHHEA collection home page on DRUM. You may perform either a simple or advanced search. The simple search allows you to search by title/keyword, author(s)/editor(s), or year. Once you enter a simple search, additional options for advanced searching become available. Clicking “Show Advanced Filters” under the search bar will allow you to add multiple types of filters to refine your search within the collection.
To Browse the Health Equity Archive, choose any of the buttons displayed under “Browse By” on the MHHEA collection home page on DRUM. One may browse by Issue Date, Authors, Titles, or Subjects. Just click on the links that are of interest to you.
What kinds of information can I submit to the archive?
Materials submitted to the Health Equity Archive must be related to the health of minority racial, ethnic, and other vulnerable groups in the United States and globally, and the topic of health equity. The materials submitted can be about the general health, current research involving, or health disparities among, any of these particular groups as well as materials related to the major contributors and contributions to the field of minority health, as well as materials related to the pursuit of health equity.
Materials can include journal articles, web-based materials, government documents, books, book chapters, conference proceedings, conference papers and posters, course outlines and syllabi, events/presentations, images, pre-prints, theses/dissertations, and other materials relevant to our goal.
How does the archive differ from a journal?
A journal publishes material that has passed scrutiny by referees and has been edited by the editorial staff to bring it to the journal standards. The archive does not referee postings and does not edit them. The archive merely filters minimally to assure relevance to philosophy of science.
May I submit material to the archive that has appeared elsewhere?
The archive does not require or expect that material has not appeared elsewhere. However, if it has appeared elsewhere, the author must determine whether copyright was transferred from the author and whether the copyright agreement allows posting on the archive. While we do not object to duplication, the other source may.
Do I lose copyright privileges when I submit a document to the archive?
No. Works contributed to the archive remain fully protected by US and other copyright laws. Under US copyright law, your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form. Even though the copyright for your work may not be registered, you are encouraged to assert your copyright on the title page of your work. For more information, see http://www.copyright.gov.
Will posting on the archive affect subsequent attempts to publish in a journal?
This is a matter for the individual journals to decide. These policies are in flux with the trend towards greater tolerance.
If I post a preprint on the archive and then publish it in a journal or volume, can I leave the preprint on the archive?
Individual journal policies vary on this question. Whatever the policy, the authoritative document is the copyright agreement you sign with the publisher. If that agreement requires you to remove the posted preprint, you should notify us at drum-help@umd.edu.
May I remove a preprint once it is posted?
Yes. Papers can be removed. Unfortunately the archive does not allow you to remove papers automatically. Removal is initiated with a removal request. Contact drum-help@umd.edu to submit a removal request. Archive staff will then remove the paper as soon as possible. All requests for removal will be honored, although we encourage you to leave preprints posted for stability of the archive's contents.
Is there any special connection between the archive and any other journals?
The archive is sponsored solely by the Maryland Center for Health Equity, which is a research center in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland. The archive is not affiliated with any journal.
How long does it take after a preprint is deposited with the archive for the preprint to become available to the public?
Allow until the end of the next business day following the day the deposit is made. When a preprint is deposited, it immediately gets sent to our "submission buffer" where a staff member does a quick routine check of the preprint's suitability for the Health Equity Archive. The paper is then publicly accessible via a search, though it may not appear immediately in the "browse tree" which is updated routinely.
Can I link to the Health Equity Archive from my website?
Yes, we encourage links to our site. Use this URL for the link: https://health-equity.lib.umd.edu.