Paths to Open Access

There are several ways to make your research Open Access. While this page focuses on journal articles, you may also make other research outputs Open Access as well.

• Publish in an Open Access journal (free or with a cost)
• Self-archive a peer-reviewed version of your work in Scholarship at UWindsor (free)

Need help selecting the right path to Open Access? Please do not hesitate to contact us!

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Publish in an Open Access journal

The academic publishing model is transitioning from subscription-based to Open Access. Journals may offer full Open Access (known as Gold OA) or the option for authors to publish their individual articles as Open Access (Hybrid OA). 

Open Access journals with article publishing fees

 Check out our license agreements with OA publishing rights, or learn more about this evolution of the academic journal business model

Some journal publishers, mainly commercial publishers (e.g., Elsevier, Wiley, Springer Nature), may require authors to pay an article processing charge (APC) in order to publish in a Gold or Hybrid OA journal. This fee can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, which can be charged to most research grants.

Leddy Library and other academic libraries are negotiating transformative agreements that include Open Access publishing rights in their subscription fees. This allows researchers to publish Open Access immediately without additional cost or with a discount, saving thousands of dollars in Article Processing Charges.

Open Access journals with no fees

The majority of Gold Open Access journals don't charge any article processing charges (APC) or additional fees. These types of journals are referred to as Diamond Open Access, are more common from non-profit journal publishers such as societies, university presses, and academic libraries.

Search the Directory of Open Access Journals or try the B!SON tool to identify quality Open Access journals that do not charge an APC.

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Self-archive in Scholarship at UWindsor

 Learn more on how to use our institutional repository

UWindsor's institutional repository, Scholarship at UWindsor, can help you achieve Open Access to your work at no charge (Green OA). You can publish in a traditional, paywall journal (at no cost) and then deposit a peer-reviewed version of your work in our repository. The deposited copy will become discoverable in many academic databases and websites alongside the links to the paywalled copy on the publisher's website.