Publish a journal article open access
There are many routes to publish your journal article open access. Some of these routes will depend on whether your research is funded by a funding body or not.
It is best to plan where you want to publish your article as early as possible and make it open access from the start.
If the research you are publishing received a grant or award from a funder to support it (partially or fully), this counts as funded research. If you or another co-author of the work received a studentship, scholarship, or fellowship from a funder to do this work, this will usually also qualify your work as funded.
However, if your salary or stipend is paid by a funder, this does not automatically mean that all of your research qualifies as funded. Many researchers do side projects unrelated to their funded work, and the funder may not apply their open access support and policies to such work. Always check conditions with your funder(s).
Your research being funded does not automatically mean the funder will pay if you choose a paid open access route. Make sure you check your funder's policy.
Publication routes for funded research
If your research is funded, there are five different routes available to publish your work open access.
When you choose a publishing route, make sure it meets your funder's open access policy.
1. Publish open access for free
You can publish in a journal that is open access and has no publishing fee. These journals are known as 'diamond journals'.
Use the Directory of Open Access Journals to find diamond journals. All of the journals in this database are peer-reviewed and fully open access.
2. Publish in a journal where the University has already paid
Choose a journal covered by the University's publishing deals. This will make your journal article open access, but a fee is paid on your behalf by your academic division / the University.
You will need to ensure the journal you choose is eligible to use this route.
3. Publish open access and ask your funder to pay
If you are funded by UKRI, Wellcome, British Heart Foundation or Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the journal you would like to publish in is not covered by a publishing deal, you may be able to apply to a block grant to publish your article.
Please check your eligibility and funder conditions before you apply for a block grant.
4. Publish open access and pay
If the journal you want to publish in is not covered by a publishing deal and your funder does not provide a block grant, you may be able to access additional funds to support this:
- check whether publication costs are covered in your original grant;
- check an individual funder's policy on whether you can apply for financial support.
If you aren't sure how to access these additional funds from your funder, please contact the Open Scholarship Support team.
5. Publish in a closed journal but deposit on ORA
You can publish your article in a closed (subscription-only) journal but also deposit the author accepted manuscript in ORA to make it open access.
Check the journal's conditions. If you would like help interpreting these, please contact the Open Access helpdesk.
Publication routes for unfunded research
If your research isn't funded, there are three different routes available to publish your work open access.
1. Publish open access for free
You can publish in a journal that is fully open access and has no publishing fee. These journals are known as 'diamond journals'.
Use the Directory of Open Access Journals to find diamond journals. All of the journals in this database are peer-reviewed and fully open access.
2. Publish in a journal where the University has already paid
Choose a journal covered by the University's publishing deals. This will make your journal article open, but your academic division / the University pays a fee on your behalf.
You must make sure you are eligible to use this route.
3. Publish in a closed journal but deposit in ORA
You can publish your article in a closed (subscription-only) journal and also deposit the author accepted manuscript in ORA to make it open access.
Check the journal's conditions. If you would like help interpreting these, please contact the Open Access helpdesk.
Deposit in the Oxford Research Archive (ORA) no matter the route
Whether you have chosen to publish open access or not, you should always deposit your work in ORA as well.
This will ensure your work is preserved even if the journal goes offline or ceases to exist.
Contact us
The Open Scholarship Support team in the Bodleian Libraries can help you understand the process and your options for publishing open access. If you have any queries, contact us.
