Open Access (OA) refers to the ability for anyone, anywhere, to access the results of academic research free of charge. This seems a simple concept, but in practice the term is used in a variety of different ways. Commonly publishers refer to the distinction of ‘Green’ OA (to refer to the practice of archiving an earlier, ‘pre-published’ version of a work) and ‘Gold’ OA (to refer to a fully published open access work). More recently, additional shades have joined the OA lexicon, including Bronze and Black. 

Resources for you

Open Access Library Guide

This LibGuide introduces the basics of Open Access, including different pathways to making your work open, the benefits of OA, OA policies, OA at the University of Melbourne, and more…

This guide is specifically concerned with the ‘openness’ of research outputs, including journal articles, books and book chapters, reports, theses, conference papers and creative research outputs. It does not explore the broader principles of Open Science which focuses on making all aspects of the research life-cycle open, including research methods, research data, the peer-review process and learning materials. Open Access can be considered a component of this move towards making research open, transparent and accessible. For a useful overview of the principles of Open Science, see the What is Open Science? page managed by FOSTER (Facilitate Open Science Training for European Research).

Open Access Library Guide

An open-source and fully interdisciplinary journal matcher

Looking for a relevant open access journal to publish your research? Check out the open journal matcher below:

Open Journal Matcher

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