Open Access

"In general terms, scholarly research that is published in open access is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions (although it does require that proper attribution of works be given to authors)." (definition by CARL)

See also the UNESCO/Berlin Declaration definition.

⦁ Accelerate the development of science;
⦁ Democratize worldwide access to knowledge;
⦁ Potentially increase the visibility and impact of scientific research. Open access articles are generally more widely downloaded, cited and consulted;
⦁ "UNESCO advocates for a fundamental role for Open Access to Scientific Information to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)." (2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development)

Cost of Journal Subscriptions

The open access movement is a response to the sharp rise in the cost of scholarly journal subscriptions and the resulting reduced access to knowledge. Many academic libraries can no longer afford the full range of subscriptions that would meet their community's needs.

Cost of Open Access Publishing

To publish in open access, particularly the gold open access, authors of an article generally have to pay publication fees (article processing charges or APC). The APCs imposed by major publishers can be particularly high. In this context:

The link between open access publishing and poor quality research is a misconception that persists in the scientific community. Although some deceptive publishers have taken advantage of the advent of open access to set up predatory journals, which should be avoided, the majority of open access journals are reliable.

Do you have doubts about the quality of a journal? Contact biblio@polymtl.ca or consult Assessing a Publisher's Reliability.

Consultez la version française de ce guide.