Academic Publishing

SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) defines Open Access (OA) as "the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. Open Access ensures that anyone can access and use these results—to turn ideas into industries and breakthroughs into better lives."

Open Access is compatible with the features and services of scholarly literature and communication, including;

• copyright
• peer review
• revenue (even profit)
• print
• preservation
• prestige
• quality
• career advancement
• indexing

Open Access is free online access to the full text of research articles for anyone, website. 

Publishing in an open-access journal may lead to:

• Increased visibility, exposure, usage & impact of research.
• Readership expanded beyond subscribers to journals in which the research is published.
• Research impact has been typically measured by tools such as ISI Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports. Tools like Google Scholar measure the impact of a wider range of papers.

The Effect of Open Access and Downloads ('hits') on Citation Impact: A Bibliography of Studies

The Open Access Citation Advantage: Studies and Results to Date

Open Access Publishing Models

• Open access journal: All journal content is available for researchers to read, print, download, distribute, or link to without fees.
• Hybrid journal: Some content is open access, typically via publication or author fees.
• Embargoed open access: Also called delayed open access. This is a subscription model that provides open access to content after an period expires. For example, the most current content may only be available to subscribers, while the archived issues are open access.

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