The scholarly publishing landscape is undergoing its largest structural transition in history toward Open Science. Understanding publishing models empowers researchers to comply with grant conditions while maintaining financial sustainability.
Understanding Open Access Flavors
- Gold Open Access: The final published Version of Record (VOR) is immediately freely accessible under a Creative Commons license (CC-BY). Authors or institutions typically pay an APC.
- Green Open Access (Self-Archiving): The author deposits a peer-reviewed accepted manuscript (postprint) into an institutional or disciplinary repository (e.g., arXiv, PubMed Central) after any publisher embargo.
- Diamond / Platinum Open Access: Completely free for readers and free for authors, sponsored by academic institutions or scientific societies.
- Hybrid Journals: Subscription-based journals where authors can pay optional fees to make individual papers open access.
