| The colours of open | Publishing open access | Open access publishing agreements | Article Processing Charge (APC) Fund | Managing your rights | Open research data | |
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Before contributing to the exciting world of open research, it is important to know that there are different kinds of open access. Things like research format and where you are publishing could affect what type of open access best suits you. Different open access types are often categorised using the below colour scheme.
The author archives a full-text version of their article as accepted for publication in a scholarly journal.
The copy of the article is deposited in an institutional or subject/discipline based repository and is freely available online.
| Does the model provide: | |
|---|---|
| Free, immediate access for the reader? | Varies |
| Open access to the published version? | Varies |
| A cost for the author to publish? | No |
| Comply with funder mandates? | Yes |
The author publishes in an open access journal and the publisher’s website provides free immediate online access to the research article. In this model the author may, or may not, be required to pay a fee.
For example, the author can pay the publisher of a scholarly journal an article processing fee where the publisher will then provide free online access to the full-text content of the journal. Variations of this business model include charges paid by an institution or a funding body, as opposed to the author. PLoS is an example of this model.
| Does the model provide: | |
|---|---|
| Free, immediate access for the reader? | Yes |
| Open access to the published version? | Yes |
| A cost for the author to publish? | Often |
| Comply with funder mandates? | Yes |
Refers to open access journals that are free for readers to access and for authors to publish in.
These journals are often community-driven and supported by institutions or by national or regional infrastructure.
| Does the model provide: | |
|---|---|
| Free, immediate access for the reader? | Yes |
| Open access to the published version? | Yes |
| A cost for the author to publish? | No |
| Comply with funder mandates? | Yes |
Refers to a freely available journal article that has no open license.
These articles are often free to read on a publisher page, but can be removed by the publisher at any time.
| Does the model provide: | |
|---|---|
| Free, immediate access for the reader? | Varies |
| Open access to the published version? | Varies |
| A cost for the author to publish? | Varies |
| Comply with funder mandates? | No |
The author pays an up-front fee to publish their article on the publisher’s website.
Hybrid open access usually refers to immediate open access of individual papers, in subscription-based journals, where the author or the author’s institution has paid a fee to have their article made freely available online.
In this model, institutions are also paying to subscribe to the journal. This business model is often viewed as ‘double-dipping.’
| Does the model provide: | |
|---|---|
| Free, immediate access for the reader? | Yes |
| Open access to the published version? | Yes |
| A cost for the author to publish? | Yes |
| Comply with funder mandates? | Yes |