Open Access
A publishing model that makes research outputs freely available online to read, without subscription or paywall barriers.
Open access is a publishing model in which research outputs are freely available to any reader online. It takes several forms: gold, where the journal makes the article free immediately, usually funded by an author-side processing charge; green, where authors deposit an accepted manuscript in a repository; diamond, where journals are free for both readers and authors; and hybrid, where a subscription journal sells open access per article. Many funders and universities now require some form of open access for the work they support.
For a thesis writer, open access matters in both directions. As a reader, repositories and open journals let you reach full texts your library may not license, which broadens your literature base. As an author, your thesis itself will often be deposited in an open university repository, and any articles you publish from it may fall under funder mandates. Check those obligations and any embargo rules before submission.
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