There are many approaches to achieving the broad goal of open access (OA) to scholarly literature, largely because scholars, publishers, funders, and research organizations often have variant views regarding optimal functioning of the scholarly communication system. That said, it is generally understood that there are three basic types of OA:
- Diamond – free to read, free to publish in (no Article Processing Charges)
- Green – self-archiving of accepted (peer-reviewed) manuscripts in research repositories (such as the UofL's OPUS)
- Gold – free to read, but authors pay Article Processing Charges (APCs) to cover publication costs
- Bronze – free to read, but lack clear reuse permissions/licenses
- Hybrid – subscription journals that offer optional OA for individual articles when an APC is paid to the publisher or journal by the author, the author's organization, or the research funder. Examples of hybrid OA options include Open Select (Taylor & Francis), OnlineOpen (Wiley) and Sage Choice (Sage).
As APC fees (for paid Gold or Hybrid OA articles) can be quite expensive, some funding agencies treat APC fees as an allowable expense for successful grant applicants. For example, in the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide, APCs are an eligible expense under Dissemination of Research Results. Note that the Tri-Agency introduced an Open Access Policy effective May 2015 that applies to published articles arising from Tri-Agency funded research.
To determine publishers' OA policies, search SHERPA/RoMEO for the journals to which you are considering submitting your unpublished article. Keep in mind that not all journals are in SHERPA/RoMEO and because the database may not always contain current information, it is prudent to check the publisher's website as well.