What is Open Access?
Open Access refers to publications, data, and research that are freely accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Sometimes, this information is made freely available through article processing charges, but ideally these publications will be free of charge to both authors and readers alike.
Why should I publish Open Access?
Studies have shown that scholarly work that is published open access may lead to increased citations and visibility!
For those looking to apply for federally funded grants, there are new guidelines about publishing and sharing data openly that will take effect in 2025, and many federal funders are already beginning to implement changes to support these requirements. To learn more, check out Indiana University’s blog post about the guidelines.
There are several ways to make your research openly available. For publications such as journal articles, you have several options! You can publish in an open access journal or make previously published research available in an institutional or other repository, depending on the publisher’s copyright policy. For data and other research, they can often be made accessible through general or discipline-based repositories.
Complete today’s challenge!
To complete today's challenge, follow the below steps:
- First, learn the basics of avoiding predatory publishers.
- Next, browse the Directory of Open Access Journals to find reputable journals in your subject area that are within the scope of your current research.
- Finally, use UNLV Libraries Author's Checking for Evaluating Journals OR Think. Check. Submit. to help determine if the journal is a quality open access publication.
Bonus challenge
Take it a step further and consider depositing your scholarship in UNLV's institutional repository!
Did you know that UNLV has a free open access repository for faculty and student scholarship, called Digital Scholarship@UNLV? To add your scholarship, you can quickly and easily submit your publication via the submission form, or by contacting digitalscholarship@unlv.edu.
Events to help with today’s challenge
The Impact of Publishing Open Access
Instructors: Christina Miskey, Michelle Shannon, and Andrea Wirth
Time: 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Location: Online via Zoom, or Pioche Classroom (Lied Library 1st Floor)
Have you ever considered publishing open access? Are you unsure where to begin? This workshop will cover resources for authors that are interested in publishing open access, ways to find the impact of your open access publications, and how to add your scholarship to open access repositories. Authors at all career stages are encouraged to attend!
