Publishing

The first publication of literature in Open Access media (sometimes simultaneously with a print publication) is referred to as Gold Open Access.

Gold Open Access allows immediate, free and unconditional access to research results and various types of re-use. From a legal point of view, the authors have several licensing models at their disposal, ranging from liberal to rather restrictive licenses.

For Open Access publications, author fees (so-called APCs) may apply that may be paid for by authors, their institutions or by sponsors. Many institutions have set up publication funds or have negotiated open access agreements with publishers to cover these costs.

In contrast to Gold Open Access, the hybrid model allows making content from subscription-based journals freely accessible - usually upon payment of a fee. In some cases (e.g. through Open Access agreements with publishers) publication costs are offset against subscription fees.

Nowadays, more than 12,000 quality-assured Open Access journals have been established, and numerous publishers offer Open Access publication options. Directories such as DOAJ and associations such as OASPA provide an overview of the wide range of high-quality Open Access journals and publishers.

Unfortunately, there are also deceptive (so-called “predatory”) publishers who use Open Access business models with fraudulent intentions. Therefore, we recommend the use of databases and checklists for a quality assurance. Please do also check our information on Predatory Publishing and Fake Journals.

Costs

In contrast to the traditional subscription (or retail price) model, Open Access publications are paid by the authors or their institutions. Open Access makes production and marketing simpler, the costs become more transparent and allows everybody to access published research results.

Licenses

In order to be able to take advantage of the diverse possibilities of the digital world, the copyright model is increasingly being replaced by licenses such as Creative Commons.

Open Access Policies

Guidelines of numerous institutions and funding bodies demand Open Access for the publication of publicly funded research results in order to make them easily accessible and available for future use. In its Open Access Policy, the University of Graz stresses that research results shall be made available via the institutional repository unipub (Green Way). Moreover, the University of Graz strongly recommends first publications in quality-assured Open Access media (Gold Way).

OPen Access Publication Fund

Funding bodies such as the FWF usually cover the costs of Open Access publications for funded projects. At the University of Graz, researchers can apply for Open Access publication funding that may subsidize Open Access publication fees (APCs - Article Processing Charges, BPCs - Book Processing Charges).

Open Access journals

The University of Graz offers its scientific staff the possibility to publish their own Open Access journals on the repository unipub and supports them in many different ways: from structuring editorial processes with Open Journal Systems (OJS) to indexing and networking of your journal. (For detailed information see Intranet: Service for Journal Editors)

Repository unipub for documentation and archiving

Works published in Open Access are not exclusively bound to one medium and may be published simultaneously on other platforms. The repository unipub is also available for the secondary publication of works already published in Open Access which offers an additional platform for its documentation and archiving.

Unlike Gold Open Access (publication in "real" Open Access journals), Hybrid Open Access offers authors the possibility to publish Open Access articles in subscription-based journals - usually upon payment of a fee. Hybrid Open Access is controversial due to the fact that publishers earn both from journal subscriptions and APCs and often both costs are financed by public funds. The University of Graz has negotiated agreements with a number of publishers that significantly reduce or exempt the APCs and minimize administrative workload for authors.

More information can be found under Open Access agreements.