Publishing in Open Access publications is a great way of extending the impact of your academic research. Additionally, many funding agencies require your final product to be released to the public and open access publishing is one way that can be accomplished while maintaining the integrity and credibility.
More people can access your research when it is open access and not trapped behind a paywall. This leads to:
- More independent verification of your conclusions, leading to more credibility
- More new research being done using your research as a foundation
- Increases in the number of times your work is cited by others (your "impact score") which can lead to furthering your academic career
- More recognition within your field for the research you are doing.
The key difference between the traditional publishing model and and the open access (OA) publishing model is in the way they are funded.
In traditional publishing the costs are covered by subscriptions or access fees. These are often hundreds or sometimes even thousands of dollars and severely limit who can read the articles or access the data. As a member of the University of Michigan-Dearborn community, your access to many of these journals is paid for by the Mardigian Library, but for those outside the University without membership to another large institution there is no way to (legally) read these articles.
The OA or Open Access publication model aims to open up academic research to a wider audience. Therefore costs for these journals are covered by funders at the point of creation instead of being foisted on the readers. OA publishers charge a publishing fee or a APC (article processing fee) to cover their costs. As researchers, you have access to funding avenues that are not available to all readers. Often these fees are covered by the agency funding the research. The University also covers or reduces the APC for some publications through our Library subscription agreements (see the link to the list below). There may also be funding through your department so check there as well before paying the APC out of pocket.
For a list of OA publication agreements that the Mardigian Library has negotiated, click HERE.
For a list of data sharing requirements by federal funding agency, click HERE.
Many private funders, including the Gates Foundation and the Ford Foundation, also have open access polies as well so be sure to check the terms of your funding and contact the Library if you need any help.
A list of (and access to) many reputable scholarly OA journals can be found in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
As members of the University of Michigan community, you also have access to add your publications to Deep Blue and/or to add your data to the Deep Blue Data Repository which allow for open access to your work.
