What is Open Access?
Open Access (OA) is the practice of providing unrestricted online access to published and peer-reviewed research, made available free of charge to the reader – to share and re-use without financial, legal or technical barriers (other than access to the Internet).
What is Open Access not?
- OA is not an attempt to bypass peer review. It is compatible with and insists on the importance of all peer review.
- OA is not an attempt to violate or abolish copyright. It is compatible with copyright law. OA depends on author consent.
- OA is not costless, although it is less expensive than traditional publishing.
- Authors are free to publish with the journal / publisher of their choice.
- OA does not make plagiarism easier, in fact, it becomes more difficult because the content is indexed and available.
Benefits of Open Access
- OA transforms knowledge sharing. Academic research can be more widely read and shared, leading to a greater impact on the world. The value of research is maximised through wide use.
- Rising journal prices creates access barriers to research, and in turn access gaps to valuable information researchers want to see. OA removes such barriers.
- OA increases a researcher's visibility, with a significant increase in citations as a result.
UFS Open Access policy
The UFS Open Access policy.
KovsieScholar
KovsieScholar is the UFS's open access research repository for published research articles and completed theses and dissertations. See our guide or video for the self-submission of theses and dissertations. More information about files, formats, and embargoes.
Copyright
Read the UFS policy or contact us if you have any questions about copyright or intellectual property.
Publisher's policies
SHERPA/RoMEO is a website with publisher copyright, sharing, and self-archiving policies.