Learn about OA publishing
What is Open Access
Integral to Open Science, Open Scholarship and Open Education, Open Access (OA) publishing leverages modern communication technologies to make relevant, up-to-date scholarly information more accessible and affordable to the public worldwide.
The OA movement recognizes the public’s right to access research findings funded by their taxes. Many major publicly funded granting agencies (e.g., FRQ and Tri-Agency) have adopted Plan S open access policies requiring that the results of funded research be made immediately and freely available in an OA repository.
Pathways toward OA publishing
Green road
Also known as self-archiving, authors can publish in any journal they choose and then deposit a version of their work in a repository. Many publishers impose an embargo period on the accepted manuscript or place restrictions on the published version as part of their default self-archiving policy, as verifiable on the Open Policy Finder platform. The version that can be self-archived (submitted manuscript, accepted manuscript, or published article) depends on the publishing agreement and licence.
Gold road
Authors publish in a fully OA journal with an article processing charge (APC), which makes the final version open access on the publisher’s website. While APCs vary widely, they typically range from $2,000 to $3,000+. The published version is made openly available on the publisher’s website. Learn more about article processing charges. Verify whether you are eligible for a (partial) waiver through Institutional memberships and discounts for Concordia authors.
Hybrid road
Authors may choose the paywalled subscription option or pay the APC, which makes the final version open access on the publisher’s website. APC pricing and institutional discounts are similar to those described above.
Diamond road
Authors publish in fully OA journals free of charge for both authors and readers. Diamond journals are typically community-driven by academics and their associations. Learn more about diamond OA. Start finding diamond OA Journals. Concordia University supports Diamond OA through its partnership in open access membership with CRKN and Érudit.
Spectrum: Concordia's Research Repository (Green OA)
Spectrum is a web-based repository where Concordia faculty, researchers and graduate students can upload their scholarly work to make it more widely available online. Spectrum supports a range of scholarly materials in addition to the theses that Concordia graduate students in thesis-based degrees are required to deposit. Authors may deposit materials such as peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, book chapters, presentations, images, and other research outputs that reflect their activity. Concordia University Library encourages deposits from authors, and does not charge fees.
Associated with the green pathway, versions of an article deposited typically include the submitted or accepted manuscript. Those who have opted for the open-licence associated with the gold or diamond pathway enable permissions for the deposit of the published version.
Depositing involves uploading the full text and adding basic citation information, a process that can take as little as 10 minutes. Each publication stored in Spectrum will have its own lasting web address.
Learn more about depositing in Spectrum.
Article processing charges (Hybrid and Gold OA)
Have you been asked to pay an article processing charge (APC)?
Typically used to support open access, an APC is a charge to authors of scholarly articles during the publication process in the gold and hybrid pathways. Authors support the journal's production costs instead of the subscription fees paid by libraries and readers. Ultimately, an APC enables the final version of an article or book to be made available without access restrictions. Benefits in the gold and hybrid pathways include the option to publish in top-ranking journals that charge APCs. Meanwhile, authors retain copyright over the final version typically through an open licence.To evaluate the costs, review our institutional memberships and discounts.
Note that diamond OA journals and green OA offer open access alternatives to costly APCs. In the diamond OA pathway, quality journals exist. In the green OA pathway, make sure that you meet the journal's self-archiving policy or have otherwise negotiated your publishing contract. See Open Policy Finder for your journal's open access policies.
More on open access
- Peter Suber, Open Access, MIT Press - Provides an introduction to open access, with chapters addressing the underlying motivations of the movement, varieties of OA, policies, scope, copyright, economics, casualties, and the future.
- Budapest Open Access Initiative
- Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) is a global call for researchers to move away from journal-based metrics and towards a more meaningful evaluation of research quality and real-world impact, which includes open scholarship and open science.
- Greater Reach for Your Research: Resources for Authors - The Canadian Association of Research Libraries' web page on important resources for authors about institutional repositories, copyright, etc.
- Plan S - an initiative created and supported by cOAlition S, an international consortium of funding agencies and related organizations, with strategies and resources to make grant-funded research immediately open access.
- SPARC - News and resources from an international alliance of academic and research libraries working to correct imbalances in the scholarly publishing system.