Open Access (OA)
Open Access (OA) is a scholarly information distribution model that ensures free access for anyone to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, and link scholarly information without financial, legal, or technical barriers.
(Budapest Open Access Initiative, 2002)
(Budapest Open Access Initiative, 2002)
Key Principles of Open Access
- Free for users: Anyone can read papers without cost.
- Publication cost borne by authors: Authors pay the publication fee (APC: Article Processing Charge) when submitting their paper.
- Accessibility without time and space constraints: Papers can be read anytime, anywhere.
- Copyright remains with the author: Authors retain their copyright.
Major International OA Policies
- Plan S: Led by cOAlition S, an alliance of European national research funding organizations. Since 2020, research outputs funded by public funds must be published as OA. They must be made immediately available on OA journals or platforms without embargo.
- OA2020: Aims to transition major subscription-based journals to the OA model (Berlin Open Access Conference, 2015).
Types of Open Access
- Gold OA: Authors pay the APC, and the final version of the paper is made freely available on the journal website upon publication.
- Green OA: Authors self-archive their paper in public repositories or archives, making it freely available. Preprint or postprint versions can be shared.
- Diamond/Platinum OA: Neither authors nor readers pay fees. Typically supported by non-profit organizations such as academic societies or universities.
Types of Open Access Journals
- Fully OA journals: All papers are freely available on the journal website. Authors often bear the publication cost.
- Hybrid OA journals: Subscription journals that offer an OA option for individual articles.
- Delayed OA journals: Subscription journals that make papers freely available after a set embargo period following initial publication.
OA Publishing Resources
CC (Creative Commons) Licenses
- A license that allows authors to permit others to freely use their work under certain conditions.
- Based on four usage conditions, there are six types of CC licenses.
- Research funders that mandate OA publication may require specific license types, and journals may adjust APC rates according to the license selected.
- Six Types of CC Licenses URL
Institutional Repository
- Digital archives operated by universities or research institutions to collect, preserve, and make publicly accessible the works (papers, presentations, and other research outputs) of faculty, researchers, and students for long-term access.
