There are several ways to publish Open Access. Depending on the subject area and funding institution, different requirements apply.
Traditional Road (Closed Access)
In the traditional way of publishing, scientific articles or books can only be read against payment. At universities, libraries license various electronic journals and purchase electronic books so that university members can access the content from anywhere at any time.
Open Access
Source: swissuniversities
Along with the first publication in the traditional (i.e. paid) manner, a freely accessible version is published simultaneously or with a delay (the so-called embargo period). This so-called second publication usually takes place via an Institutional Repository such as the IRF or via the authors' website. Second publications are for the most part academic articles, but other types of documents such as monographs, research reports and conference papers can also be published in this way.
Post-print: Usually differs from the publisher's version in layout but not in content. There are two different versions for post-prints:
Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM): The accepted author’s version has already gone through peer-review and been accepted for publication. This version differs from the publisher’s version in terms of formatting, layout, or pagination.
Version of Record/Publishers Version: Version published by the publisher.
Pre-Print: Submitted version or manuscript version that has not yet undergone peer review.
Rights clearance: Prior to a second publication the publishing rights have to be clarified. The willingness of publishers to allow a second publication of post-prints or pre-prints varies. Sherpa Romeo provides an overview of the publishers' conditions.
If you are unsure, or, if a journal is not listed with Sherpa Romeo, it is worth checking your contract or contacting the publisher directly. The Open Access Departement at FHNW will be happy to support you
The first publication is Open Access from the outset. This often involves fees for the authors. These are known as APC (Article Processing Charge) or, in the case of books, BPC (Book Process Charge) or BCPC (Book Chapter Processing Charge). The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) support researchers in their search for suitable and quality-checked OA journals and book publishers.
In this Open Access model, authors do not incur any costs. Funding is provided, for example, by universities or by the association of various institutions.
Bronze publications are freely accessible via the publisher’s website but are not published under an open access license. They can be downloaded and read free of charge, but not redistributed or used.
Against payment of a publishing fee (APC/BPC), an individual article is published Open Access in a subscription-based journal or in a fee-paying collective collection. However, the journal or book itself remains subject to subscription (‘closed access’). On the hybrid route, double costs are incurred - for the licensing of the journal and for the free purchase of the article publication (double-dipping).
Source: swissuniversities