Open access (OA) in this context means research literature that can be freely accessed by anyone in the world via the internet so that it can be used without licensing restrictions for research, teaching or other purposes.

Copyright holders control the right to permit open access and have the right to be properly acknowledged.

Open access is entirely consistent with the highest standards of quality, and all the major OA intitiatives insist on the importance of peer review..

Essential reading: Open Access by Peter Suber

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Open access to research increases its visibility, reaching a wider audience and therefore increasing its potential for:

• Greater citation
• Enhancing reputation
• Attracting potential collaborators
• Compliance with funder requirements
• Sharing knowledge from publicly funded research.

As well as benefits to individuals and the University, there is a strong argument that “free and open access to the outputs of publicly-funded research offers significant social and economic benefits as well as aiding the development of new research.” (UKRI policy on open access and supporting guidance).

The open access movement has been growing for over 20 years, with many research funders committing to achieving widespread OA. See more about funders' open access policies

Further reading: Budapest Open Access Initiative: 20th anniversary recommendations

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Please email:

openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk

Open Research on X: https://twitter.com/OpenResearchStA