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Guide to: Open Access

What Is Open Access?

Open Access:  a simple definition

The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) defines open access (OA) as the free, immediate, online availability of research articles, coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment.

Why does Open Access Matter?

There are many benefits to open access including making scholarship available to everyone as well as wider dissemination of information, knowledge, research and data. Additionally, open access removes price and permission barriers. 

 

 

Source: based on Brinken, H. (2021). 10 Gründe für Open Access. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4643859 (CC BY 4.0 International). Adapted by Open Access Network. https://open-access.network/en/information/open-access-primers/what-does-open-access-mean