Open Access Publishing

Open access is a publishing model designed to reduce barriers to research by providing free and immediate online access to research articles, data, and other scholarly publications. Open access models typically shift the cost of publication from the reader to the author, enabling widespread access to information.

The open access publishing model helps to reduce the cost of research dissemination while upholding the rigor and quality expected of traditional subscription-based models.

Diamond Open Access

Diamond open access is a scholarly publication model in which neither authors nor readers are charged fees. Diamond open access journals are often community-driven, led and owned by academics, and supported by scholarly or institutional initiatives.

Gold Open Access

Publications in Gold open access journals are made freely available to readers immediately upon publication. This model typically requires the author to pay an article processing charge (APC) to cover publishing costs.

Green Open Access

Green open access, also known as self-archiving, allows authors to make their work freely available by depositing a version of the publication in an open access repository. Typically, the author’s accepted manuscript is archived after being published in a subscription-based journal. Publishers may impose an embargo period, delaying public access for a specified time.

Hybrid Open Access

A hybrid journal is a subscription journal in which some of the articles are open access. This model typically requires the author to pay an article processing charge (APC) to the publisher. If the author chooses not to pay the APC, the article remains behind a paywall and is accessible only to readers with an institutional subscription or those who purchase individual access.

The benefits of publishing open access are numerous:

• Open access publications achieve greater visibility and impact than subscription-only journals, as they can be read, used, and cited by anyone, anywhere.

• Authors retain more control over their work and holder greater rights to distribute, adapt, and reuse it.

• They also help researchers meet government mandates requiring publicly funded research to be made openly accessible.