There are several models of open access publishing:
Note: Some journal websites will refer to this option as 'Gold open access' as the content is immediately available, but true 'Gold open access' refers only to a publication in a fully open access journal.
Most publishers permit the author accepted manuscript (AAM) version to be made available open access via the RMIT Research Repository. The author accepted manuscript is the final author-created, peer-reviewed version that was accepted for publication.
You can find publishers’ self-archiving policies on the journal’s website and the Open Policy Finder database.
Publishers use the following names for the different versions of manuscripts (see image).
It is important that you know the difference between them, so you understand your
rights when signing and complying with an agreement.
Image: "Preprint postprint published.svg" by Thomas Shafee is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Selecting an appropriate publication type for your work is critical, so consider:
See the following tabs for more information on publication types.
Also see the Library Guide on Strategic publishing.
Open access journals (or OA journals) are electronic-based journals that make their published content available freely to all immediately upon publication. They differ from traditional subscription journals in that their business model is not based on subscriptions, i.e. readers are not charged fees to access the journal’s content.
For this model to work, authors can be charged an article processing charge (APC), to move the cost from the readers to the authors. Publishers who take advantage of authors looking to publish quickly and easily and who are willing to pay the APC are referred to as predatory or unethical publishers.
Publishing in an open access journal is often referred to as gold open access. With this model, the final peer-reviewed or published version of the article is freely available from the publisher’s website.
Search the following resources to find an open access journal that is relevant in your area:
You may choose to publish your research as a book or book chapter. There are several open access publishing models covering these.
Many open access book publishers offer a hybrid open access model. An online or PDF version of the book is available for free while other editions are available for sale, either as print-on-demand hard copy or as an e-book.
This model is comparable to gold open access where an article process charge (APC) ensures immediate and permanent free access.
It is a common model with university or library-based presses, who may provide support in the form of infrastructure or staff while charging a fee to allow the book to be published open access. Commercial publishers may also charge an open access fee. These fees would generally be covered by the author's funder.
If you wish to publish your research as an open access book, consider embedding the fee cost in your funding application.
Some academic libraries are developing models which dedicate some of their budget to support open access book publishing, sometimes through consortia such as Knowledge Unlatched.
Note: RMIT University Library does not currently offer financial assistance for open publishing of research outputs.
Mainly used to provide open access to back titles, as the name suggests this model invites donation towards releasing a book as an open access publication.
Similar to green open access publishing for journal articles, this model allows for a version of a book to be made open access online (for example in an institutional research repository), while a printed edition is sold to cover the costs. If your research output is ERA compliant, you may choose a publisher that allows an open access version to be submitted RMIT's Research Repository.
Some publishers are now offering to publish books or book chapters fully open access on a fee basis. See IGI Global for an example of one such model. The MIT Press have launched the Direct to Open (D2O) framework on their MIT Press e-book platform. Liverpool University Press and The University of Michigan Press have also committed to open access models.
Ferwerda, E. (2014). Open access monograph business models. Insights, 27, 35-38. http://doi.org/10.1629/2048-7754.46
While platforms exist for self-publishing monographs at minimal cost, these may be predatory publishers. Be wary of print-on-demand, vanity publishers and publishers specialising in thesis publication.
Such publishers:
The Open Access Australasia website lists some reputable publishers offering open access models for monographs and provides indicative costs for various publishers.
When choosing to attend a conference be aware of the following:
Non-Traditional Research Outputs (NTROs) which are not published with an academic publisher include data sets, conference posters, government or non-governmental reports or policy documents, recordings of presentations, etc.
ERA accepts the following eligible NTRO for reporting:
Commercially published work will usually have an identifier such as a DOI (digital object identifier) or ISBN assigned by the publisher, making them easily findable in databases or the reference lists of other publications, and shareable within research communities.
Work not commercially published can also be assigned a persistent identifier to aid discovery and access. Many hosting platforms can mint DOIs and there are many other kinds of persistent identifiers.
You can host your NTRO and datasets in the RMIT Research Repository or any other stable and shareable location.
A preprint is a version of a scholarly research output that has not yet been through peer review and publication in a scholarly journal.
Preprints have been most notably part of the research landscape in the field of physics for some decades. Increasingly, researchers in the biological sciences have moved towards offering preprints, a trend that has rapidly accelerated with the urgent need to release scientific findings in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus.
There are now preprint platforms for virtually all disciplines, including the humanities and social sciences.
What are Preprints? (4:00 mins) by YourekaScience is licensed under CC BY 4.0
| Preprints | Peer-reviewed articles |
|---|---|
|
Rapid communication of new research. |
The publication can take from months to a year from submission. |
| Announce a new discovery and establish your priority. | Work may be rejected if considered of low significance for the journal, or if the author is not established, even if the study quality is high. |
| Potential for quick feedback from a large group of scholars, improving scientific rigour. | Anonymous review and resubmission process meets rigorous standards. |
| Policies regarding screening, correction, or withdrawal of research found to be lacking. | Quality journals have clear editorial policies. |
| Fully open access. | Often behind a paywall. |
Adapted from "Preprint FAQ" by ASAPbio is licensed under CC BY 4.0
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