Open Access – What’s in It for Me?

When your work is published behind a paywall, it’s only those with a subscription who can access it. Even then, they have to be logged in, sitting within their institutional IP range or using a remote access method. Although there are many initiatives and technologies designed to make this easier, readers often need to put in the extra effort to access your paper. When work is published open access it’s immediately available to everyone, with no extra steps, logins or barriers to get over. Simply put, if someone wants to read your work, they can do so effortlessly.

So, it makes sense that open access papers are downloaded more times than papers published behind the paywall. We analyzed the difference and found an average increase of 70% higher downloads for open access than non-open access. And to make the comparison more accurate we took papers published within the same journal, to minimize any differences for subject area and reach between different journals.  The same uplift was evident when it came to citations, with open access papers being cited 15% more than non-open access articles in the same journal.

Open access means free to everyone, and access is no longer restricted to researchers at institutions who have paid for it. We’ve heard many times that authors publishing open access have been surprised at some of the connections they have made. Your work can reach the public, journalists and experts in other fields. By publishing open access, you can open doors to unexpected connections and collaborations, and who knows what insights might emerge?

Many authors want to get their research out there as soon as possible, and use early sharing platforms such as arXiv. These are called pre-prints, which refers to the version of an article before peer review or editing. In other words, exactly the way it was submitted to the journal.

Preprints are freely available, so some authors question the need to publish their paper open access. But the final version, or ‘version of record’ – the one that undergoes peer review, editing formatting and typesetting – is widely acknowledged by the scientific community as the preferred and most credible source. Open access ensures that this version reaches a wider audience complete with enhancements and corrections.

In summary, open access isn’t just about breaking down paywalls, it’s also about increasing impact, fostering connections and sharing your research in its best form. A win-win for you and the global scientific community. To find out more about open access and our helpful tools, visit our Open Access Resource Page.

Did you know? Many researchers can publish open access at no cost to themselves through a transformative agreement. Find out if your institution could cover your open access costs.