Medicine

Why should you consider publishing in an Open Access journal?

Open Access means that your work can be accessed by a wider audience. Yes, many well funded universities have lots of academic journal subscriptions which their students, faculty and staff can take advantage of. HOWEVER, subscriptions can cost thousands of dollars; UT alone spends millions of dollars on subscriptions each year. Think about the people who may not be able to read your work that is published in a subscription journal. For example:

• Researchers who do not have the financial support and resources of a large university or company.

• Researchers or students in developing or less-resourced countries.

• Small practice doctors, rural hospitals, or any other professional or student who cannot afford the thousands of dollars that a university routinely spends on subscriptions.

Consider helping promote the democratization of research; publish Open Access.

What are the different types of Open Access journals?

There are three main types of Open Access journals:

1. Gold Open Access: This is where the author has to pay an article processing fee (APC) before their article is published. This fee differs from journal to journal and there are often circumstances in which a journal is willing to waive the fee. 

2. Diamond/Platinum Open Access: This is where, instead of the journal charging the author an APC, a third party sponsors the journal and pays any processing fees. This might be the government, a publishing company, or an interested organization. 

3. Green Open Access: This is where an author takes the pre-print of a publication and submits it to a repository, where it can be viewed freely. Support your UT community by posting your pre-prints to UT supported repositories, like Texas ScholarWorks and Texas Data Repository, which are supported by the Texas Digital Library. 

In addition to the three main types of Open Access journals, another option for promoting your article and making it more widely accessible is posting your pre-prints to any professional profiles you may have. Always double check any restrictions or embargo periods your publishing journal may have by reviewing the publisher's copyright agreement or by checking Sherpa Romeo, an online resource that provides summaries of publisher copyright and open access archiving policies on a journal-by-journal basis.