What is Open Access?

Green, Gold, and Diamond OA publishing

Open Access (OA) is a mechanism to promote the availability of peer-reviewed scholarly research. Authors who wish to make their work OA can do so by following one of these paths:

• DIAMOND Road: Authors publish in a fully OA journals free of charge for both authors and readers. Diamond journals tend to be community-driven by academics and their associations. Find out more about Diamond OA.
• GOLD Road: Authors can publish in a fully OA journal or in a subscription journal that has an Open Access option (for a fee).
• GREEN Road: Authors can publish in any journal they choose and then deposit a version of their work in a repository, such as Spectrum. Most publishers allow authors to self-archive a version of their work in a repository (typically not the publisher's PDF), however, some publishers impose an embargo period. The Sherpa/Romeo database can be used to verify a journal's self-archiving policy.