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Authors' Rights: Publishing, Copyright, & You

A guide to resources for the "Publishing, Copyright, and You" Library Workshop

Expanding your Impact with Open Access

Open Access, "the free, immediate, online availability of research articles," is one option for authors who want to share their research and hold onto their copyrights. There are two paths to Open Access (OA), the gold route (OA publishing) and the green route (Self-Archiving). 

You can learn more about Open Access on our  Open Access Library Guide:

Evaluating Open Access Journals

One way you can evaluate an Open Access journal is by searching for it in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). DOAJ indexes most Open Access journals that are known to be of high quality. If the journal you're considering isn't on their list, you might want to inspect it more closely. 

Another option for evaluating journals is to follow the Think, Check, Submit checklist. The Think, Check, Submit video below lists the following items (and more!) you should look out for when evaluating a journal:

  • Do you or your colleagues know the journal?
  • Can you easily contact the publisher?
  • Are the articles published in the journal indexed in a well-known database or service that you use?
  • Do you recognize the editorial board members of the journal?
IMPORTANT: No matter how you intend to publish your work, you need to evaluate your options to make sure you're going to the right place. Whether you are considering an Open Access journal for publishing your work or a traditional, subscription-based journal, you need to evaluate the resource to make sure that it is right for your needs. 
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Abbey Elder
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