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Open Access (OA) applies to a wide range of freely accessible publications. The intention of OA is to allow access to scholarly research material without cost. Another focus to enable free public access to important scholarly works and allow reuse under appropriate licenses.

Why is publishing OA important?

  • Increases visibility and impact.
  • Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in low-resource settings can access knowledge freely.
  • Freely available research fosters interdisciplinary and global partnerships.
  • Easier access to findings speeds up scientific progress and translation into practice.
  • Many funders now mandate that research they support be published OA.

Publishing models

There are three key publishing models utilised by publishers and researchers for OA:

  • Gold: Authors are charged a publication fee by the publisher to made their work freely accessible to readers immediately and without restrictions. The fees are one-off and known as ‘article processing charges’ (APCs).
  • Green: Authors provide access to their publications by adding them to an open access institutional research repository. Authors may only provide their works in this way if they own the copyright.
  • Diamond: Authors are not charged publication fees and readers are not charged subscription or access fees. Authors may retain copyright of the work..

Recommended resources:

Prabhakar, P.K. (2023). Understanding Open Access Journals and Their Types.

Open Data refers to research data that is freely available for anyone to access, use, modify, and share without restrictions. It is typically provided under an open license that ensures transparency and accessibility.

Why is publishing publishing data openly important?

  • Allows other researchers to verify and replicate findings, improving scientific integrity.
  • Researchers can reuse and build upon existing data rather than collecting new data from scratch.
  • Studies with openly shared data receive more citations and engagement.
  • Sharing datasets avoids redundant data collection efforts, saving time and resources.

How to share data openly

Recommended resources:

Washington University. (2019). The case for open data.

Using a rights retention statement allows authors to easily share their revised manuscripts right after they're published.

Why is rights retention important?

  • By including a rights retention statement in their article or paper submissions, authors can keep the rights to share their manuscripts without any delays, in open access research repositories, such as the Monash Health Research Repository. 

How to retain your rights

  • Retention statements can be placed in the Acknowledgements section of an article submission or with an accompanying cover letter.

  • You should include the statement before or at the point of submission, not after.

Example

Plan S has created templates for rights retention statements at pre-submission or during submission.

Recommended resources:

Knowledge Rights 101. (2024). Rights retention and secondary publishing rights – Sally Rumsey.

Monash Health acknowledges the Bunurong/Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples, the Traditional Custodians and Owners of the lands where our healthcare facilities are located and programs operate. We pay our respects to their culture and their Elders past, present and future. 

We are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment that embraces all backgrounds, cultures, sexualities, genders and abilities.