Open Access
What is Open Access?
Simply put, Open Access is free, unrestricted online access to research outputs.
Research is published in journals and other scholarly forms to ensure that the results of research are recorded and communicated to the wider community. However, traditional ways of publishing no longer reach the whole of the research community. Most publishers also require the transfer of copyright to them, reducing the freedom of researchers to leagally distribute their work.
Open Access refers to a range of ways to make research freely available to everyone who might want to use it.
Questions to think about
- How much of your research can be read by any researcher, regardless of financial circumstances?
- Have you ever not read an article because you couldn't get access?
- Have you ever wanted your students to read an article or book but found that they were unable to access it?
Who needs access to our research?
There are many people who would benefit from the research produced by the University of Bristol who do not have access to journal subscriptions. Many cannot afford to buy subscriptions or individual articles. There may be other ways to access the research, such as requesting an interlibrary loan or emailing the author, but this adds barriers to access and reduces the chance that people will use your work.
Watch one of the following two videos to see some examples of how people who wouldn't normally be able to access research can benefit from Open Access resources.