Open Access means that scientific literature should be accessible free of charge and publicly on the internet. This implies that the content of research results, which are of scientific or social relevance, may be read, downloaded, copied, distributed, printed, searched and used in any legal way, without financial, legal or technical barriers.
(Cf. BUDAPEST OPEN ACCESS INITIATIVE 2002.)
The University Library supports all members of the University of Passau in publishing their research results in Open Access by providing information and support.
The University of Passau is an attractive and internationally visible university, known for its excellent, competitive research and strong, innovative teaching. Cosmopolitanism, the promotion of diversity and an open communication culture are our core characteristics.
Open access means that scholarly research and publications are accessible to all, at no additional cost and free from technical restrictions, via the Internet. As a result, open access publications are characterised by a high degree of accessibility and availability, and can be easily found using search engines and highly visible. If academic standards are properly adhered to, these publications can be used by academics throughout the world, thereby strengthening international and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
In accordance with the Berlin Declaration, the University fully supports the aims of the open access movement and supports academics who wish to publish their articles in an openly accessible way. As this is either done by primary publication in an open access journal (gold open access) or by secondary publishing in a repository (green open access), it is recommended that authors ensure that they retain the right of use of their work (Verwertungsrechte) for digital copies.
The University Library has suitable systems for open access publication and is the first port of call for academics who have any questions or need further information on this way of publishing.
The University has emphasised that the overarching aim for all publications of the University is that they be of the highest academic standard, whether or not they are open access publications. The University's Open Access Policy therefore constitutes a recommendation rather than a requirement, as the principle of academic freedom means, among other things, that authors are free to choose their means publication.
The University of Passau, December 2014
Predatory publishers exploit the open access publishing model for profit. They often do so by charging high publication fees without providing peer review and other editorial and publishing services associated with high-quality journals.
Especially with less well-known journals we recommend a detailed evaluation before submitting an article for publication.
The following criteria can be indicators of the legitimacy of open access publishers and journals:
For further indicators to assess the credentials of a journal or publisher, use the Think. Check. Submit checklist. For a more comprehensive overview see this presentation provided by Forschungszentrum Jülich: Predatory Publishers - Experiences and Recommendations (Wintermeier, M., 2018)
If you have questions, please refer to our contact persons for Open Access!
