While publishing open access (OA) is becoming more widely adopted, there are still lingering questions about what it means for you and your work. We’re here with the answers to common questions and to talk about the benefits of publishing open access for researchers and how far it can take your work.
Understanding open access
OA makes research outputs immediately and freely available online to anyone, anywhere. Choosing to publish your work OA enables your research to be read, cited, and shared by many more people, which means greater engagement with your findings.
In fact, when compared with our subscription-based articles, our OA articles see:
✔ 4x more views | ✔ 2x more citations | ✔ 2x more shares
This increased engagement can lead to additional benefits such as interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities, recognition, or career progression.
What you need to know about open access models
At AIP Publishing, we support several routes to OA publication enabling our authors to comply with public access mandates their funder or institution may have in place. For all our OA publishing, Creative Commons licenses allow others to share and reuse published work, while ensuring authors receive appropriate credit.
- Gold open access: Gold OA journals rely on Article Processing Charges (APCs) or publication fees to cover the costs of publishing such as a robust peer review process, editing, typesetting, and more. APCs may be paid by an author, although many institutions and funders may also cover these costs. Our Gold OA journals uphold the same standard of quality as our subscription-based (hybrid) journals with the final published article, or Version of Record (VOR), immediately, permanently, and freely available to the public. No subscription is needed to access Gold OA journals or articles.
- Diamond open access: In Diamond OA publishing, APCs are sponsored by a research institution or a private organization. This means authors publish OA for free and the journal content is freely accessible to read by all.
- Green open access: Our Green open access policy allows our authors to self-archive their accepted manuscripts immediately upon acceptance; at no cost and with no embargo period. This enables the immediate sharing of work and provides readers with faster access to the latest discoveries.
- Author Select®: Open access publishing is available in all our hybrid journals through Author Select®. An Article Processing Charge (APC) covers the costs of publication and archiving, making the article freely available to all readers worldwide. No subscription required.
Answering your open access questions
1. Why should I publish my work open access? How does it benefit me?
Publishing your work OA increases access to your research and its findings, so there’s no limit to who you can reach, including fellow researchers, practitioners, policymakers and members of the public. You can expect increased global discovery, enhanced visibility, and greater impact of your work. Plus, open access publishing benefits everyone. You can take pride in supporting a fairer and more equitable scholarly ecosystem, while knowing that your work has the greatest potential to make a real-world impact.
Other benefits of publishing OA:
- Helping fuel discovery and innovation.
- It empowers researchers from any socioeconomic or geographic background to use or build upon your work.
- Open research nurtures public trust in science by increasing transparency and accelerating scientific progress by making discoveries more accessible.
2. How does peer review work in open access journals?
Reputable publishers use the same robust peer review process across their OA and hybrid journals. It is not true that OA undermines peer review. At AIPP, we uphold the same standards for our reviewers and editors across all of our journals, regardless of publication model. APCs have no influence over the outcome of peer review, so you can be confident your article will undergo our rigorous peer review process.
Our peer review process is designed to:
- Match your manuscript with qualified reviewers: We pair your work with experts who understand your field and can offer fair, constructive, high-quality feedback.
- Provide feedback that strengthens and validates your work: Our authors consistently report that peer review clarifies arguments, improves methods and presentation, and increases confidence in conclusions.
- Safeguard research integrity: Our transparent policies, conflict-of-interest disclosures, and confidentiality standards ensure that robust, reproducible work enters the scientific record.
3. Does publishing open access mean I lose ownership of my work?
On the contrary. Authors publishing in our OA journals or through Author Select® retain copyright of their work through Creative Commons licenses. Authors can seamlessly meet common funder mandates. Be sure to check with your funder and choose the CC BY 4.0 license and journal that’s best for you and your research.
4. How much does it cost to publish open access?
We’re committed to making OA publishing available to everyone and offer multiple options:
- Read & Publish and AIP Fusion agreements: These partnerships enable authors at participating institutions to publish OA with APCs pre-paid. Check to see if your institution is covered by Read and Publish or AIP Fusion.
- Diamond open access journals: Offer free OA publishing opportunities for authors and greater access for readers.
- Waiver & Discount policy: AIPP allows eligible authors from low- and lower-middle-income countries to receive either a full waiver or a discounted APC when publishing in our Gold open access titles. View the full list of eligible countries.
- Green open access: Empowers authors to comply with funder mandates and reach wider audiences quickly, enhancing the discoverability and citation potential of their work.
5. Do research funders require open access publishing?
Many key funding bodies require the research outputs they finance be openly accessible to maximize engagement with the results they enable. This is why AIPP offers several routes to OA publishing, including Author Select®. Author Select® lets researchers publish open access in any of our hybrid journals, giving them the flexibility to publish in the journal best suited to their research while meeting specific funder or institutional requirements. Because funder policies can vary, authors should always verify their specific funder’s open access requirements before submission.
Learn about Author Select® and our public access policies that help our authors meet their mandates.
Now you know!
Publishing open access not only makes your research more visible, more impactful, and more connected, it opens new possibilities for the scholarly community and beyond. Remember, OA articles at AIPP benefit from 4x more views, 2x more citations, and 2x more shares. Why not explore your options and see where open access can take your research?
Read about our commitment to open science.