1. I am obliged to publish Open Access in a project, where should I look, where to publish?
If you need to provide immediate access to a published article, ie. the golden way of Open Access, you need to choose an Open Access journal. You can search for such journals in the Directory of Open Access journals (DOAJ) database. The journals included in the database are continuously checked for quality.
2. I have an obligation to publish Open Access, but I do not have the money for the publishing fee, what can I do?
In the Directory of Open Access Journals, you can filter journals that do not require fees — limit the search to journals and you can select the APCs-No filter in the left sidebar.
Another way to meet the requirement for Open Access is to publish in a traditional closed journal and subsequently self-archive the article — publish it in an open repository (eg in the TBU repository). You must pay attention to the time limit within which you must publish the article. Although many publishers allow articles to be archived, some apply a time embargo of up to 3 years (some journals from Elsevier) while other publishers to publish postprint version of an article immediately after its publication in a journal (eg IEEE). You can quickly check the policy of individual journals in the Sherpa/Romeo database, information should also be available on the journal’s website (Open Access Policy, or in the guidelines for authors)
The costs of open publishing are eligible in science and research grants, so keep them in mind when writing project applications.
3. They rejected my article in a selected open journal. Where else can I publish?
If the editors have rejected your article, be sure to request reviews and correct any errors that you have been accused of. Then you can try submitting the article to another open journal. In DOAJ, you can browse journals by subject categories (Browse Subject) and find other journals in which your article will fit thematically. Another option is to search the DOAJ for articles on the topic and see in which journals they have been published.
4. There is an obligation in the Rectore’s Directive to store postprint. Where do I get it?
The postprint is the version of the article after the review procedure, which, however, does not yet have a typographic modification of the journal in which the article is published. For the purposes of self-archiving, it is appropriate to select the latest version of the postprint (ie the content of the postprint is identical to the published article). Some publishers allow you to easily download a postprint. A correspondent author should have postprint as he communicates with the editors and sends individual versions of the article to the journal. It would be appropriate in the author’s team to agree on the storage of all versions and communication with the editors.
The Library then stores the postprint in the TBU repository and publishes it when it is possible. Your article can be read (and cited) by researchers whose universities do not subscribe to the databases that contain the journal where the article was published.
5. What are Creative Commons licenses?
Creative Commons licenses are public licenses through which the author of a work enters into a license agreement with an unlimited number of participants. The author grants them some rights to the work and defines others. Creative Commons are an extension of copyright law and are internationally understandable. License conditions are graphically expressed using simple pictograms and abbreviations for individual license elements. The freest license is the CC-BY license, which requires the user only to state the original author of the work. Using the ND (No Derivates) element will limit the potential use of your work, because no one will be able to build upon it. The NC (No Commercial) element prevents companies from commercially using their ideas. The SA (Share Alike) element requires the same license for derivative works, which can complicate the combination with other works. You can read more about Creative Commons.
6. How do I know that a journal is trustworthy?
Quality journals should adhere to certain publishing standards:
- the journal is published on time and regularly,
- it has a clear and informative title that is not easily confused with another journal,
- it is assigned an international ISSN,
- for the articles, the authors and their complete affiliations are listed,
- the publisher of the journal is easily identifiable,
- articles properly cite the used literature,
- the peer review is clearly described,
- the rules for the formal editing and insertion of articles are clearly described,
- the editors and the editorial board are made up of experts from different countries, contact details and affiliates are given,
- true information about important metrics (impact factor, article influence score, scimago journal ranking, etc.),
- clearly defined thematic focus of the journal and requirements for contributions,
- clear information about copyright and license conditions, possibilities of auto-archiving of the article,
- clear information on possible fees.
7. My relationship with the university ends. How do I continue to access scientific resources?
A lot of scientific information is published in Open Access mode. You can find freely available professional information, for example, in the Directory of Open Access Journals, the Directory of Open Access Books, OpenAIRE, you can access open scientific data via the Registry of Research Repositories.
8. How do I find out whether the chosen journal is an Open Access journal?
Information about openness should be traceable on the pages of the journal, but it is not always easy – look about About the Journal, Open Access Policy, Instruction for Authors. The magazine’s website or directly for individual articles should also contain information on under which Creative Commons license the content is published.
Another way to try to find this information is through the Directory of Open Access Journals, or search the Sherpa/Romeo database. However, it is always best to rely on information directly on the journal‘s website.
9. Why is it problematic to publish in hybrid journals?
When publishing in hybrid journals, the university pays double — for the subscription of the entire collection of journals and for open access to the article from this collection. Publishing in some hybrid journals is also more expensive than in fully open journals. This is an inefficient use of the money available to the university.
10. Why should OA publication be mandatory?
Most scientific research is funded by public money, but the public does not have access to the results. Universities and scientific institutions will struggle with the increasing subscription of professional information. An open approach allows these obstacles to be overcome and the rapid exchange of information can help the development of science.
11. What benefits will OA bring me?
By making your article freely available on the Internet, and not just for subscribers, it will gain a wider audience and potentially more citation. It will also reach scientists whose institutions do not have prepaid increasingly expensive databases of scientific information.
Your article is easily accessible and traceable, it is also much easier to prevent plagiarism — it is always easy to find where the information appeared first.
When it is possible to auto-archive and publish articles in more places, its better searchability is ensured, and readers will have access to the text even after the eventual dissolution of the publisher.
12. Why is it paid to publish OA?
Because articles are freely available on the Internet, publishers lose their subscription income and have to pay for the costs of publishing the journal from other sources — either from the budget of the institution that publishes the journal (often for journals published by universities and professional institutions) or through fees (APC — Article Processing Charge). These are usually not paid for by the author himself, but by his institution. APCs are eligible costs in applications for research grants, so it is appropriate to think about them when writing grant applications.
In the DOAJ database, you can filter journals for which Article Processing Charges (APC) do not apply — limit the search to journals and you can select the APCs-No filter in the left sidebar.
13. What else can be expected in the field of OA?
It is good to be prepared for the fact that publishing in the Open Access mode will become mandatory for publicly funded research. At the national level, this is envisaged in the Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Strategy of the Czech Republic’s Open Access to Scientific Information, which envisages the introduction of an open approach on 1 July 2020. Support for open access should also be reflected in the new National R & D & I Policy 2021+. Open access is also supported by the European Commission, and the ambitious Plan S, for example, envisages the widespread introduction of open access.
We can also expect more pressure to make research data available (open data).
14. Does Open Access mean anything other than that the information is available for free?
Yes. Information in Open Access mode is not only available to you free of charge, but you are also given some rights to use the information (for example, you can translate the article and share it with students). Creative Commons licenses are used to license open works, which define exactly what your rights and obligations are.