The traditional publishing method requires readers or Libraries to pay a subscription or fee to access and read research. Open access (OA) publishing provides free access to research for anyone to read.
Research, Dissemination and Authorship Procedures
Southern Cross University
Outlines Open Access requirements for SCU researchers in Clauses 83, 84, and 85.
Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research
National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, and Universities Australia
The updated 2018 Code and supporting guides establish a framework for responsible research conduct in Australia. The Code is supported by guides that include recommendations concerning open research principles, particularly open access to research outputs. Key documents include the Publication and Dissemination of Research Guide and the Management of Data and Information in Research Guide.
ARC Open Access Policy
Australian Research Council (ARC)
The ARC Open Access Policy applies to all research outputs arising from ARC-funded research, and their metadata.
NHMRC Open Access Policy
National Health and Medical Research Council
The aims of the NHMRC Open Access Policy are to mandate the open access sharing of publications and encourage innovative open access to research data. This policy also requires that patents resulting from NHMRC funding be made findable through listing in SourceIP.
There are different OA publishing models:
These models can be split into:
There are three main models of publisher-based OA:
Most publisher-based OA involves the author paying an article processing charge (APC) to cover the costs of publishing. The exception to this is diamond OA where the cost to publish is covered by the institution or organisation who runs the journal.
| Gold OA | Hybrid OA | Diamond OA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publish | Author pays APC |
Author pays APC Author publishes via traditional route* |
Free |
| Read | Free |
Free if author has paid APC Reader pays a fee or subscription if published via the traditional route |
Free |
*If an author publishes in a hybrid journal via the traditional route they may be able to make the author accepted manuscript available via repository-based or green OA (see below).
A key feature of OA publishing is that a Creative Commons (CC) licence is applied to the article. This licence allows others to share, remix or reuse the material depending on the CC licence applied.
SCU Library participates in R&P agreements with selected gold and hybrid journals. These agreements are negotiated by CAUL and enable SCU staff and students to:
Eligibility requirements apply to authors seeking to publish in these journals. See Read and Publish Agreements for more.
Be aware that in addition to an APC, journals may also charge other fees that are not covered by our agreements including:
Always check a publisher's website to see whether they charge any of these additional fees.
Use the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) to find:
Repository-based OA, or green OA is where you publish your work in a journal of your choice then self-archive a version of your article in a subject-based repository or institutional repository (i.e Cross Connect).
This model can be used to make your research open if you have received grant funding with an OA requirement but you're unable to publish via a publisher-based model.
Generally, you can submit an author accepted manuscript (AAM). This is the final draft of an article or chapter that has been accepted by the publisher. While the content is identical to the published version, it does not contain the publisher's typesetting or formatting. The AAM is sometimes also called a post-print.
Be aware that publishers may have self-archiving policies that require:
Use the following tools to determine the self-archiving policy of your chosen journal or publisher:
| Tool | Information available |
|---|---|
| Open Policy Finder |
|
|
Journal or publisher's website Publisher's copyright agreement* |
|
* Email crossconnect@scu.edu.au for assistance with interpreting the publisher copyright agreement before you sign it. Once you have signed the agreement, you will not be able to negotiate the clauses with the publisher
Let the publisher know you intend to publish your AAM via the green OA route when submitting your article to the journal. This can be done through:
The NHMRC provide the following suggested wording for any addendum or statements added to an agreement, for NHMRC funded research:
This research was funded in whole or in part by the National Health and Medical Research Council [Grant number]. For the purposes of open access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.
You can only enact your rights retention and deposit an AAM with a CC BY licence if you are the original creator of all the material in the publication. If there are third-party copyright materials (e.g. images or figures) included in the publication you will need to obtain permission from the copyright owner before applying this licence.
Southern Cross University acknowledges and pays respect to the ancestors, Elders and descendants of the Lands upon which we meet and study.
We are mindful that within and without the buildings, these Lands always were and always will be Aboriginal Land.