The term Open Access (OA) refers to information available freely online without barrier or paywall to read or use. Typically this means scholarly material that holds a Creative Commons license or exists in the public domain rather than under traditional copyright.
Many journals have moved to OA models where all or some of their content is made freely available to the public upon publication. Some journals levy Article Processing Charges (APCs) on authors in order to pay for their published article be Open Access. It's important to check the author guidelines for any journal with which you are publishing to review their policies regarding OA publishing.
Visibility and increased readership - Without the obstacles of paywalls, your work will be more readily accessible to its audience. Researchers can easily find and read your research.
Citations and Impact - Given the increase in eyes on your work, there is a likelihood that you will receive more citations and impact further research on your subject.
Collaboration - OA publishing can help to connect you with researchers working on similar projects. When your work is open and can be viewed without additional steps and payments, you may find that other experts in your field area reaching out to share ideas and project roles.
Diamond OA publishing refers to the most pure form of OA - journals that are free to publish in and to read. The cost of running and maintaining the journal remains and has to come from other sources such as the institution or company who sponsors the journal.
Green OA refers to self-archiving of published or pre-publication works for free public use. Authors provide access to preprints or post-prints (with publisher permission) in an institutional or disciplinary repository such as Social Science Research Network (SSRN).
Gold OA refers to articles published in an open access journal and accessed from the journal or publisher's website.
Hybrid OA is when journals offer authors the option of making their articles open access for a fee. Journals that offer hybrid OA are essentially subscription journals with an open access option for individual articles. They do not meet the definition of open access journals, rather they are standard publications who will publish articles OA if an Article Processing Charge (APC) is paid in advance.
Bronze OA refers to articles that are free to read on a publisher's homepage, but without transparency on the licenses and permissiosns covering an article. For example, this might be due to a temporary release of that article.
