Open access FAQ
See also our page of Open access definitions
What is open access?
Open access in this context means research literature that can be freely accessed by anyone in the world via the internet so that it can be used without licensing restrictions for research, teaching or other purposes. Copyright holders control the right to permit open access and have the right to be properly acknowledged.
Senior managers at all the Scottish Universities have signed the Scottish declaration on open access, supporting these principles and committing to establishing institutional repositories for this purpose.
What are the benefits of open access?
Open access to research increases its visibility, reaching a wider audience and therefore increasing its potential for:
- Greater citation
- Enhancing reputation
- Attracting potential collaborators, funders and students
- Compliance with funder requirements
- Sharing knowledge from publicly funded research.
Studies comparing citation counts report a significant advantage for open access. Articles on this topic are available from the Open Citation Project bibliography. For example see:
- Lawrence, S. Free online availability substantially increases a paper’s impact. Nature, 31 May 2001
- Hajjem, C., Harnad, S. and Gingras, Y. 2005. Ten-year cross-disciplinary comparison of the growth of Open Access and how it increases research citation impact. IEEE Data Engineering Bulletin, 28 (4), pp. 39-47.
- Norris, M. 2008. The citation advantage of open access articles. [Thesis] Loughborough University.
As well as benefits to individuals and the University, there is a strong argument that “ideas and knowledge derived from publicly-funded research must be made available and accessible for public use, interrogation and scrutiny, as widely, rapidly and effectively as practicable.” (RCUK position statement)
See more information at our Open access blog.
How can I find open access resources?
See our LibGuide for an introduction to a wide range of open access resources.
How can I make my research open access?
Open Access can be achieved through two main routes:
Route 1: Deposit or ‘self-archive’ in a digital repository
Subject to copyright, authors can deposit copies of their articles in repositories alongside their publication in normal journals. This is often referred to as ‘Green’ open access. The available evidence shows that this does not affect journal subscriptions, and 62% of publishers formally allow some form of self-archiving (Sherpa / Romeo statistics).
The system works by electronic versions being deposited into a repository such as Research@StAndrews: Full Text. The repository is set up so content can be found easily by search engines and service providers. Once a researcher finds a record, then they can view the full-text direct from the institutional repository without needing a subscription to the relevant journal. Details and links to the definitive published version are also provided to ensure correct citation.
To follow this route: add the full text of your research outputs in Pure. It is easy and quick to do, and the library can help with checking copyright and other queries.
Route 2: Publish in an open access journal
An alternative way of providing open access is to publish in an open access Journal, often known as the ‘Gold’ route. Open access journals make their articles available for free to all readers and use a variety of business models to achieve this. One model is to charge for publication services before publication, rather than charging for subscriptions. Open access publication charges can often be included within the costs of research funding, so the money for access comes through the research funder, rather than through the library budget. Of course, the initial source of the money is often the same (from government funding), but the economics of this model means that the overall cost is potentially lower[1].
There are a growing number of open access journals, with a journal available in most disciplines. A list of the ones currently available is provided by the Directory of Open Access Journals. The Public Library of Science (PLoS) who make all their content freely available, state: “As a researcher, publishing in an open access journal allows anyone with an interest in your work to read it - and that translates into increased usage and impact”. Biomed Central is a paid option the Library supports with a pre-pay membership.
Some publishers are now experimenting with ‘hybrid journals’. This is where the subscription version is still sold, but authors can choose to pay a fee for individual articles to be made freely available. The typical cost is around £2,000, and examples include Springer’s Open Choice and Elsevier’s Sponsored Article option. It has been noted that far from reducing costs, this model may increase the overall cost of publication. However, while Open Access catches on and publishers develop their business models, this is one way that articles can be made freely available.
In some cases the paid route may be the only option to comply with your funder’s requirements.
If I choose the 'green' route, which version should I deposit?
The type of content and correct version to deposit in a repository will depend on your subject discipline, and on copyright policies. Examples of the different practices include:
- Physics and Economics – commonly circulate unrefereed articles or working papers in advance of publication
- Computer Science - an accepted method of communication is through conference papers
- Arts & Humanities – research outputs are often book chapters
- Biomedicine - generally only circulate refereed versions of papers.
By accepting different types of content, repositories reflect and support the existing research culture of your discipline.
The Versions Toolkit provides useful explanations of the various versions of journal articles produced during the research process. Some commonly used terms are:
- ‘Submitted’ – also known as pre-print – the version submitted to a journal for peer review
- ‘Accepted’ – also known as post-print – the author-created version that incorporates referees comments and has been accepted for publication
- ‘Published’ – usually the publisher’s PDF – this version has been typeset and formatted for publication.
It is important to deposit the version that complies with publisher copyright policies. This is usually the accepted author final version following peer review but before the publisher’s copyediting and formatting. The Sherpa / Romeo database is a useful resource for checking details of standard publisher policies.
Top tip: Create and keep your own author-created submitted and accepted versions of research publications.
How can I get more involved with open access content?
If you are interested in starting your own open access journal, or want to know more about making content available in Research@stAndrews:FullText, see information about our journal hosting service and related repository services.
For practical advice on choosing an open access option, contact Jackie Proven in the Library.
[1] Houghton, JW. and Oppenheim, C. (2010) 'The economic implications of alternative publishing models', Prometheus, 28: 1, 41-54 DOI: 10.1080/08109021003676359
