What is Open Access?
Open Access means free, online access to research results. The main principle behind the movement is that results from publicly funded research should be openly available to everyone.
Requirements
The Norwegian authorities require that publicly funded research results are made openly available to all. In addition, the even stricter conditions of Plan S apply to publications from projects funded by the Research Council of Norway and the European Commission.
Find information about the different funder’s requirements and how to comply with them here: How to publish Open Access.
Three routes to achieve Open Access
Gold Open Access
Publishing in journals that allow their articles to be freely and immediately available online. The journal’s business model is based on authors paying for publishing instead of readers paying subscription fees. Gold Open Access journals can be found by searching in Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Preferred by public funders.
Hybrid Open Access
Publishing in subscription based journals that allow you to buy Open Access publishing for single articles. After 2024, this route will no longer be approved by Plan S.
Green Open Access
Publishing in a subscription journal, but making a peer reviewed, accepted manuscript version available in an open repository. Most publishers require an embargo for the shared manuscript. Plan S allows authors to share the manuscript immediately by the use of Rights Retention.
Benefits
Open Access increases the research’s impact.
Open Access ensures that researchers employed in all types of institutions can read and participate in research, regardless of their own institution’s purchasing power.
Open Access publishing allows the authors to retain copyright, i.e., the right to reuse their own work.
Open Access provides the opportunity to make articles available in institutional archives, which ensures access also in the future, and which is also a tool for collecting and highlighting the institution’s work.
Results that are openly available online are more often cited than if they are published behind a pay wall.
The traditional business model of the major publishers has been to have readers pay for access to the research articles. The Open Access movement is reversing this model to a system where journals make money by authors paying for the right to publish in journals, while access for readers is free.
More information
Open Science (openscience.no) General information site about open access, guides for researchers and institutions on how to publish, fund, and access research results. Run by Sikt (Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research).
Nasjonale mål og retningslinjer for åpen tilgang til vitenskapelige artikler (regjeringen.no) The Norwegian government’s guidelines for open access to scientific articles.
Åpen tilgang til publikasjoner (forskningsradet.no) The Research Council of Norway’s requirements for Open Access publishing.
Plan S and cOAlition S (coalition-s.org) cOAlition S is an international consortium of research funding organisations including Research Council of Norway and the European Commission. Plan S requires that scientific publications that result from research funded by public grants must be published in compliant Open Access journals or platforms.
Contact
For more information, contact the Library at library@unis.no.
