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Open Access: Introduction

Guide to the what open access is, how it is published, and why it is important for the future of higher education and publicly available research.

What does Open Access mean?

Open Access is the free, immediate, online availability of research articles combined with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. Open Access is the needed modern update for the communication of research that fully utilizes the Internet for what it was originally built to do—accelerate research.

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Why Does Open Access Matter?

Having research published openly and free to the public allows:

  • Funders invest in research to advance human knowledge and ultimately improve lives.
  • Breakthroughs often come from unexpected places.
  • Researchers benefit from having the widest possible audience.
  • The research enterprise itself benefits when the latest techniques can be easily used.

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The Fair Open Access Principles

The Fair Open Access Principles

  • The journal has a transparent ownership structure, and is controlled by and responsive to the scholarly community.
  • Authors of articles in the journal retain copyright.
  • All articles are published open access and an explicit open access licence is used.
  • Submission and publication is not conditional in any way on the payment of a fee from the author or its employing institution, or on membership of an institution or society.
  • Any fees paid on behalf of the journal to publishers are low, transparent, and in proportion to the work carried out.

Levels of Open Access Publishing

Librarian

Open Access Chrome Extension

Important News on Open Access

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