In a traditional journal, the journal makes money by charging institutions to access the articles through a subscription. This means that only researchers at large, well funded institutions have access to the article.

In open access journals, the author pays a fee - typically called an article processing charge (APC) - but the research is not behind a paywall. There is free access to the article, promoting the dissemination of knowledge.

Some journals are hybrid, which means they have elements of both open access and traditional models. Most of these hybrid journals let authors choose whether or not they want immediate open access, typically called "gold open access", or for the article to be locked behind a paywall or subscription until an embargo period passes, typically called "green open access."

Open access is similar to, but not the same as, open educational resources. To learn more about open educational resources, please view our Open Educational Resources (OER) guide.

Myth: Open access is not peer reviewed

Many criticisms of open access are actually criticisms of predatory publishing. Because predatory journals often mimic open access, the two are conflated, but they are completely different. Predatory journals are not peer reviewed, but legitimate open access journals are as stringent as traditional journals. Please select the Predatory Publishing tab on the left to learn more about predatory publishers and how to avoid them.

Myth: All open access journals charge a fee to publish

As of September 2022, there are 18,224 journals in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Of those, 12,603 (69%) do not charge article processing fees. Journals that do not charge fees may be volunteer run, funded through advertisements, or funded by a scientific society or philanthropic organization.

Myth: Open access journals don't have the impact of traditional journals

When most researchers think of traditional journals, they think of prestigious, high impact journals like the Journal of American Medical Association, the Lancet, or the New England Journal of Medicine. However, these journals are outliers. Most journals - traditional or open access - have similar, small impact factors.

Myth: Open access articles aren't protected by copyright

As soon as any work is in a fixed form - for example, when an article is in a final draft - it is protected by copyright. In addition, most open access journals use legally binding Creative Commons licenses. For more information on copyright, please view our Copyright Information guide.