Types of Open Access
Open Access is an umbrella term that encompasses a number of different forms of publication and payment structures.
Traditional Publishing, Closed Access:
Green OA: Research can still be accessible without publication in an open access journal or book when researchers choose to deposit their work (typically in the form of a pre-print version) in an open repository, like Amherst College’s Octagon. Choosing to make your work open in this way can involve negotiating with a journal or book publisher over embargo periods (publishers can require the work to be accessible in their version for a period of time before it is made open).
Gold OA: When research is published in an OA book or journal. There are also hybrid models in which journals make some articles available as open access.
Bronze OA: Access may be temporarily available, as happened with the sudden closure of university campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic when many university presses temporarily opened access to many of their scholarly books and journals.
Platinum/Diamond OA: Open access publishing with no fees to authors, readers, or their institutions.
Finding OA Material
The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) provides a searchable index of high-quality, peer-reviewed open-access journals and articles that meet DOAJ's criteria for inclusion.
The Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) provides a searchable index of peer-reviewed monographs and edited volumes that meet its publishing requirements.
The Open Access Directory provides lists of open-access resources like data repositories, courses, OA book business models, publishers of OA books, events, and more.