McMaster University

Open Access

What is Open Access?

Open Access is a growing international movement that uses the Internet to throw open the locked doors that once hid knowledge. It encourages the unrestricted sharing of research results with everyone, everywhere, for the advancement and enjoyment of science and society.

Open Access is the principle that all research should be freely accessible online, immediately after publication, and it’s gaining ever more momentum around the world as research funders and policy makers throw their weight behind it. (From: International Open Access Week)

For more information including an FAQ, visit What is open access (OA)?

Consider publishing in Open Access Journals: 

Who Pays?

Open Access Journals are free to users, but all publishing has a cost. Thus, there are a number of business models to support Open Access publishing: http://library.mcmaster.ca/scholarly-communication/open-access#who

Some research funding agencies including have mandate OA deposit of research. For example, Canadian Institutes of Health Research's (CIHR) Policy on Access to Research Outputs requires grant recipients to make their peer-reviewed publications freely accessible online within six months of publication. For a summary of additional funding agencies' policies, visit SHERPA/ JULIET

What is PubMed Central Canada?

PubMed Central (PMC) Canada is a free national web-based repository of full-text, peer-reviewed health and life sciences literature. The search interface allows you to browse, search and download articles. PMC Canada is part of the PubMed Central International network and a starting point for exploring Canadian health research.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has partnered with the National Research Council's Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information - Canada's national science library - in the creation of PMC Canada. The objective is to develop a stable, permanent, and freely accessible digital archive of the full text of peer-reviewed research publications arising from research funded by CIHR.

Later this year, PMC Canada will launch a manuscript a manuscript submission system that will allow CIHR-funded researchers to deposit articles that are accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. This will support CIHR's Policy on Access to Research Output.

An advisory committee consisting of Canadian health researchers and other stakeholders will guide the future development of PMC Canada.  (From: http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/index.html and http://www.cihr.ca/e/35664.html#a12)

 

Last updated May 24, 2013