Open access is the free and immediate access to peer-reviewed academic research, which helps reduce barriers to education. Open access research helps increase the impact of your work because it is not restricted behind a paywall, some of which can be very cost-prohibitive. In order to assess the “openness” of the publishers you are working with, there are several sites you can use. In addition to this, you may choose to license your work openly (e.g. with Creative Commons licenses) so that researchers gain immediate rights of reuse, thus enabling the wider research community to build on your work. For more information, please see the sources in the next box.
The Open Access Explained video by Jorge Cham, PhD in Mechanical Engineering and creator of PhD Comics, featuring Nick Shockey and Jonathan Eisen explain open access, why it is important, and what it is all about.
This video was produced in partnership with the Right to Research Coalition, the Scholarly Publishing and Resources Coalition, and the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license (CCBY).