What is Open Access?

Open Access articles are permanently available to anyone with Internet access. These articles are not restricted in any way, including full or partial use or dissemination and reproduction on any media, provided the author is given credit in the manner specified by the original work and the publication source is cited.

Open Access publications go through the same selection, peer-review, editorial, and production processes as in the traditional subscription-based publishing paradigm.

The common business model in publishing is based on publishers charging a fee for the reader to gain access to published research output. In Open Access, published results are considered the last, finishing stage of research and they are financed from the same sources as the research itself. Instead of charging readers a fee for access to the content, the publisher is paid by whoever is funding the research or any other authorized organization. A manuscript can be deposited in open access immediately upon its being approved for publication. Even if the authors are often held responsible for payment, they usually do need not contribute anything from their own pockets, since this is done by sponsors, scientific foundations, and institutions where the research has been carried out.