Access and Reuse in Open Science
Open Access refers to a publishing model where research is made freely available online for the public to view. It allows for increased transparency and accessibility for those who may not otherwise be able to obtain and read scientific literature by removing the barriers of paywalls and subscriptions. There are a number of benefits for researchers who publish open access. For example, open access papers draw more citations from a broader readership.
Image by PLoS, from Wikimedia Commons
A study published in 2024 addresses long-standing debate about whether free-to-read papers have increased reach.
Other advantages of publishing Open Access:
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Easily comply with funder mandates related to publishing
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Increase the number of unique visitors who view your articles
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A BMJ Study showed that unique visitors were 23% higher for open access articles than for subscription access articles
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Help drive cross-disciplinary innovation by making research publicly accessible
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Increase the number of times your research is cited
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Several studies have shown that research articles published in Open Access journals garner more citations (see links below)
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Open-access papers draw more citations from a broader readershipNew study (24 Jan 2024) addresses long-standing debate about whether free-to-read papers have increased reach
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Open access publishing, article downloads, and citations: randomised controlled trialA BMJ study showed that unique visitors were 23% higher for open access articles than for subscription access articles.
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Self-Selected or Mandated, Open Access Increases Citation Impact for Higher Quality ResearchArticles whose authors have supplemented subscription-based access to the publisher's version by self-archiving their own final draft to make it accessible free for all on the web (“Open Access”, OA) are cited significantly more than articles in the same journal and year that have not been made OA. Some have suggested that this “OA Advantage” may not be causal but just a self-selection bias, because authors preferentially make higher-quality articles OA. To test this we compared self-selective self-archiving with mandatory self-archiving for a sample of 27,197 articles published 2002–2006 in 1,984 journals.
Open Access at TXST
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Publishing Open AccessLearn more about publishing your work Open Access.
Recommended Reading
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Current Problems in Scholarly PublishingThis article outlines how Open Access initiatives can help address current issues in academic publishing.
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Why Open Access MattersThis article provides an overview of why Open Access matters to society and the wider research ecosystem.
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What Faculty Can do to Promote Open AccessHandout with Tips on promoting Open Access
Attribution
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Open Science GuideThis guide was created using many resources, many of them are linked throughout the guide. This guide was also built using information from UTSA Libraries and Museums guide on Open Science by Rachel Davis.