How to publish open access?

"Make open access the rule for all University scientific publications"
— Single Document for Open Science (Université Paris-Saclay), 2022

There are several ways to publish open access:

  • Deposit your publication in an open archive (green path):
    in particular via the HAL institutional portal and the BiblioHal tool to deposit the full text in a few clicks. However, be careful about which version of the document you deposit (manuscript submitted for publication or pre-print, author accepted manuscript or publisher-edited version)! For more information
  • Publish in a free, open-access journal (golden way):
    once accepted, your article is published as an open access article, subject to payment of an article processing charge (APC).
  • Publish in a paid-for journal with immediate open access (a so-called "hybrid" journal):
    • a hybrid journal contains both subscription and open access articles. The journal offers authors the paid-for option of publishing their article open access on the journal's website (publication fees or APC (article processing charges)). The remaining articles are available by subscription.
    The University discourages researchers from publishing in these subscription-based journals, which charge publication fees, as this introduces a double payment (once to subscribe to the journal and a second time with the publication fees for the articles).
  • Publish in an inherently open journal (diamond route):
    • these journals are inherently open, with free access, no consultation fees for readers and no publication fees for authors. They can be consulted either directly on the journal's own website or on publishing platforms (e.g. OpenEdition for the humanities and social sciences, Centre Mersenne for mathematics)
    No publication fee is required from the author.
  • Publish in alternative editions (diamond route):
    initiatives are also developing alternative publishing methods based on the evaluation and publication of articles from manuscripts submitted directly to pre-print directories such as Episciences, Peer Community In, Sci-Post and others.
    No publication fee is required from the author.

Beware of predatory publishers

Some publishers are taking advantage of the transition to Open Access to create so-called predatory journals. These charge APCs without providing the quality services expected of a scientific journal (in particular peer-reviewing). They can be difficult to spot: the website is clean, the name is similar to the names of well-known journals, an impact factor is indicated (sometimes falsely), the names of real researchers are listed on the editorial board (but without their agreement), etc. Here are a few clues to help you spot them:

  • The researcher is contacted by e-mail. The address used may be non-professional (such as gmail), and the content of the message is often complimentary;
  • The journal promises to publish you quickly;
  • The costs are very low or very high, depending on your field.

If in doubt, here are a few ways to check:

  • Use testing tools: e.g. Think. Check. Submit or Compass to Publish, a tool developed by the University of Liège library to identify predatory journals.
  • Consult sites that list reliable journals, such as the DOAJ.

    Don't hesitate to ask questions about the editorial board or how it operates, which is often opaque;
    If you still have any doubts, don't hesitate to ask your colleagues for their opinion or ask your research advisor.

Need help?

You can contact us at: science.ouverte[at]universite-paris-saclay.fr

or contact your research advisor.