Open Access
Open Access Explained
How do I comply with the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications?
To find out, use the Open Access Interactive Tool
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Open Access Explained
As of May 1st, 2015, open access is mandated by the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications. Open access refers to scholarly research that is made freely available on the internet. In a scholarly environment, open access often focuses on journal articles.
Open access is a growing international movement that continues to gain momentum worldwide. Based on the principle that all research should be freely accessible online after publication, open access removes barriers that once restricted public access to scholarly research and knowledge.
The Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications has required all researchers funded by NSERC, SSHRC, or CIHR from May 1, 2015 to make their peer-reviewed journal articles freely available online within 12 months of publication.
The compliance requirements for health researchers have not changed, but CIHR-funded researchers must now refer to the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications
Several funding agencies already mandate open access. Visit Sherpa Juliet, a database of research funders' open access policies, to learn more.
McMaster University Senate recently passed a motion to sign the Berlin Declaration encouraging McMaster researchers to make their work open access.
Open access journals make research freely available online to anyone with access to the internet.
It can provide immediate, public access to research funded by taxpayers.
Open access means greater dissemination of knowledge, a larger research impact, and potential for higher citation rates. Evidence for increased citations with open access can be found at the Open Access Citation Advantage Service website.
Altmetric tools such as ORCID, are available to help track your research impact with accuracy.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): provides access to full text, quality controlled, scholarly open access journals in a variety of disciplines.
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MacSphere: An online institutional repository of McMaster’s open access scholarly output.
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OpenDOAR: A global directory of open access institutional or subject-based repositories
Yes. Many open access journals are peer-reviewed. Most self-archived articles have also been peer-reviewed.
Open access is free to users, but all publishing has a cost. A number of business models support open access publishing. Some open access journals charge a publishing fee to offset these costs.
Some open access journals charge authors a publishing fee. Many non-open access journals also make page or author charges in addition to subscription charges to readers. The Tri-Agency Open Access Policy identifies the cost of publishing as an eligible expense under the Use of Grant Funds
Use Sherpa Juliet to find more info about research funders’ open access policies
McMaster University does not offer grants for Author Processing Charges (APC). However, researchers at McMaster are currently eligible for some open access publishing discounts as a benefit of subscriptions paid for by the McMaster University Libraries. To learn more about the discounts, please see the "Library Support for Open Access" tab on the Open Access web page.
Funding Sources - Some granting agencies allow author costs as an eligible expense. Grant opportunities and their related policies can be accessed through the following websites:
Copyright & Open Access
Copyright & Open Access
What are the Publishers Copyright & Self Archiving Policies?
Open Policy Finder (formerly Sherma Romeo) - a database of publishers’ copyright and open access archiving policies from around the world
Wish to retain more control over copyright? Consider the SPARC Canadian Author Addendum:
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Allows authors to retain select rights such as reproduction, reuse, and public presentation of their published articles for non-commercial purposes
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Helps Canadian researchers comply with granting council public access policies, such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Policy on Access to Research Outputs
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Reflects Canadian copyright law
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Adapted from the SPARC Author Addendum
Alternatively use the wording in the template below (provided by the Government of Canada):
[Journal] acknowledges that the researcher will be entitled to archive an electronic copy of the final, peer-reviewed manuscript for inclusion in (name of repository). Manuscripts archived with (name of repository) may be made freely available to the public, via the internet, within twelve months of the official date of final publication in the journal.
More information about authors’ rights:
Open Access Resources
Open Access Resources
Open Access Overview (Peter Suber)
Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, 22 October 2003
Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI)
- See the Budapest Open Access Initiative: 20th Anniversary Recommendations 15 March 2022
Open Access Curricula for Researchers & Library Schools (UNESCO)
Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)
Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications
- For questions, see Tri-Agency Open Access Policy: Frequently Asked Questions
- Consult the Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER), 25 November 2019
Library Support for Open Access
Library Support for Open Access
McMaster University Libraries Investment in Open Access
Publishing Agreements at McMaster: APC Waivers
McMaster University researchers are entitled to waivers or discounts on Article Processing Charges (APCs) in the following journals or journal packages as a result of memberships negotiated and paid for by the Library. Corresponding authors are asked to submit articles using their @mcmaster.ca email address to receive the discounts. Many of the agreements come through our national consortium, CRKN (Canadian Research Knowledge Network). More details about the CRKN agreements are available directly from CRKN's site.
Search by Journal for APC Waivers and Discounts across all Publisher Agreements:
- Berghahn Open Anthro - Publish without fees in 16 Berghahn Anthropology journals.
- Brill Journals - For 2025-2029, McMaster authors can publish Open Access without author fees in Brill's 366 fully open and hybrid journals.
- Cambridge University Press (CRKN)- For 2022-2026, authors can publish an unlimited number of articles as open access in Cambridge hybrid and gold journals at no charge. Corresponding authors must identify their McMaster affiliation to receive the waiver.
- Canadian Science Publishing (CRKN) - Starting January 2023, corresponding authors from McMaster can publish APC-free in the following five journals: Biochemistry and Cell Biology; Canadian Journal of Physics; Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology; Genome; and Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering. McMaster authors are also eligible for a 25% discount for publication in all CSP Hybrid journals. Authors must identify their McMaster affiliation at the point of article submission.
- Company of Biologists (OCUL) - Starting in 2024, corresponding authors can publish Open Access research articles fee-free in the Company of Biologist's five hybrid and fully open journals.
- De Gruyter Journals (OCUL) - For 2024-2028, McMaster authors can publish Open Access without author fees in De Gruyter's 450 fully open and hybrid journals.
- Elsevier ScienceDirect (CRKN) - For 2024-2026, corresponding authors affiliated with McMaster can publish in more than 1,800 Elsevier Hybrid journals with no article processing charge (APC). Authors publishing in Elsevier’s Gold open access (fully open) journals will continue to benefit from a 20 per cent discount on their APCs in 2024, 15 per cent in 2025 and 2026, and 10 per cent in 2027. Cell Press, Lancet, and some other society-owned journals are excluded. See a complete List of Included titles
- IGI-Global - Six APC waivers per year are available to McMaster faculty whose works are accepted in an IGI Global publication. Faculty members will be notified that a waiver is available to them if they would like to publish their article as Open Access. Articles can be opened retroactively as well.
- Institute of Physics (CRKN) - McMaster authors will be able to publish an unlimited number of their articles as open access in most IOP hybrid and gold journals for the duration of the CRKN agreement (2022-2027). Authors will be automatically recognized by affiliation.
- International Water Association Journals - Through the library's 'subscribe to open' support (2025-2027) McMaster corresponding authors can publish an unlimited number of articles in IWAP's 10 research journals with no APC fee. See the submission instructions
- Microbiology Society Journals (OCUL) - McMaster's agreement covers all six of the Society's peer-reviewed monthly journals. Any article published in the journals where the corresponding author is affiliated with McMaster will be Open Access by default. There is no limit on the number of articles authors can publish during the term of the agreement (2022-2027).
- Oxford University Press (CRKN) - For 2024-2026, McMaster corresponding authors will be able to publish APC-free in Oxford's 350-plus hybrid journals, and will receive a 10% APC discount for publications in Oxford's fully open, "gold" journals.
- PLOS One and Seven additional PLOS journals (CRKN) - From June 2025 through December 31, 2026, McMaster corresponding authors can publish in the following 7 PLOS journals without paying an APC: PLOS One, PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS Complex Systems, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and PLOS Pathogens. PLOS must accept the article within the agreement period. More information on the PLOS agreement, including a timeline advisory, is available.
- Portland Press - Biochemical Society (OCUL) - From 2024 onwards, corresponding authors can publish fee-free in all 6 of the Biochemical Society's journals.
- Royal Society (OCUL) - From 2024 on, McMaster corresponding authors can publish without author fees in any of the 10 Royal Society journals.
- Royal Society of Chemistry (CRKN)- Starting January 2025, McMaster authors can publish in the RSC's hybrid and gold journals without paying author fees. Articles accepted 2025-2027 will be covered.
- SAGE Journals (CRKN) - For the term of this CRKN agreement (2024-2026), McMaster authors can publish open access in over 900 SAGE Choice journals with no APC. A small number of titles are excluded. The fee waiver is applied automatically when authors identify their McMaster affiliation during the submission process. In addition, the agreement includes a 40% discount on the APCs on SAGE's gold open access journals.
- Wiley Hybrid Journals (CRKN) - As of January 15, 2023, McMaster corresponding authors are eligible for APC-free publication in Wiley's hybrid journals. Wiley's fully gold open access journals are not covered by this agreement and authors will continue to be charged full fees. Information on the submission process and journals covered is available from Wiley's information page for Canadian institutions.
Claim APC Discounts:
- American Chemical Society (ACS) - Receive a $250 USD flat discount upon submission of a manuscript. Authors must identify their McMaster affiliation in order to qualify for the discount.
- MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute) - Starting in March 2021, McMaster authors may receive a 10% discount on APCs when they publish their articles with MDPI.
- Royal Society of Chemistry - McMaster authors receive a 15% discount for publication in RSC hybrid journals. Authors must specify their affiliation when submitting.
- Taylor & Francis - Receive a 25% discount in Taylor & Francis Open Select journals. Authors must choose the open access publishing option. When the APC is generated, authors can select McMaster University from the drop-down menu, and the discount will be automatically applied. The author can select a Creative Commons license to sign once they accept the quote.
Additional Support Initiatives and Memberships
The Library supports the following Open Access monograph publishing initiatives
- Bloomsbury Open Collections - opens 20 frontlist titles in African Studies and International Development, starting March 2024.
- JSTOR Path to Open - opening 1000 diverse, frontlist university press e-books, 2023-2025
- Knowledge Unlatched: supporting the open release of titles from two presses, IWA Publishing (International Water Association) and Language Sciences Press.
- MIT D2O Direct to Open - opening some 80 frontlist MIT Press academic titles per year.
- Open Book Collective (Open Book Publishers): a leading, independent Open Access publisher in the Humanities and Social Sciences in the UK. , allowing authors to publish open books with no Book Processing Charge (BPC). The Open Book Collective supports open monograph infrastruccture.
- SCOAP3 e-books - releasing scholarly books in physics from commercial scholarly publishers.
- University of Michigan Press, Fund to Mission - supporting the open access release of 75% of the press's annual frontlist.
Additional funding is provided to the following organizations to help support the open dissemination of content:
- Bioline International: quality research journals published in developing countries
- Erudit: Canadian social sciences and humanities journals
- Evolutionary Ecology Research: the world's oldest green-path open-access professional journal
- Héritage Project - Canadiana: digitized Canadian archival collections
- Open Library of Humanities: journals in a range of humanities disciplines
- PhilPapers: an index and bibliography maintained by the community of philosophers
- The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Our Library memberships support platforms, infrastructure, and open access initiatives more broadly.
- arXiv: an open access archive for scholarly articles in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, statistics, electrical engineering and systems science, and economics. Materials are not peer-reviewed by arXiv.
- Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR)
- Coalition Publi.ca: supporting Canadian journal publishing
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
- Library Publishing Coalition: an independent, community-led membership association of academic and research libraries and library consortia engaged in scholarly publishing
- ORCID Consortium in Canada (ORCID-CA)
- Public Knowledge Project (PKP): the leading developer of software such as Open Journal Systems (OJS) and Open Monograph Press (OMP)
- Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC): a global coalition committed to making open the default for research and education
For more information on journal publishing and library support, contact scom@mcmaster.ca
Open Access Week
Open Access Week
International Open Access Week - an annual event launched in 2008 by SPARC and partners in the student community
Open Access Week, McMaster University Libraries, October 25-31, 2021
Open Access Week, McMaster University Libraries, October 19-25, 2020
Open Access Week, McMaster University Libraries, October 21-27, 2019
Open Access Week, McMaster University Libraries, October 22-28, 2018
Open Access Week, McMaster University Libraries, October 23-27, 2017
Open Education Week
Open Education Week
Open Education Week - an annual event launched in 2012 by Open Education Global
Open Education Week, McMaster University Libraries, March 4-8, 2024
Open Education Week, McMaster University Libraries, March 7-11, 2022
Open Education Week, McMaster University Libraries, March 1-5, 2021
Open Education Week, McMaster University Libraries, March 2-6, 2020
Open Education Week, McMaster University Libraries, March 4-8, 2019
Open Education Week, McMaster University Libraries, March 5-9, 2018
Open Access Publishing
Open Access Publishing
McMaster Library supports Open Access Publishing (OA) and is happy to assist faculty and students that are interested in making their work freely available.
- You can adhere to the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications in one of two ways:
- "Submit your manuscript to a journal that offers immediate open access or offers open access to the paper on its website within 12 months of publication."
- "Submit your manuscript to a journal that does not offer open access, but will permit you to archive the peer-reviewed manuscript in a central or institutional repository within 12 months of publication."
- Final peer-reviewed version of your work will be openly available on the publisher's website and discoverable wherever the publisher has indexed it leading to:
- increased interaction resulting in increased number of views and citations
- improved education and public access
- Use the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) to browse journals connected to your research interests.
- Search for Open Access Journals using search engines and evaluate by considering:
- are articles from this journal being cited in other reputable journals?
- are reputable authors being published in this journal?
The development of Open Access Publishing has seen the rise of predatory journals that seek to exploit the OA model. The primary goal of these journals is to make a profit by engaging in questionable editorial and publishing practices.
A Predatory Journal may:
- appear as unsolicited spam from a non academic email account and include a lot of spelling and grammatical errors
- not provide the name of their editors or editorial board
- not provide an address or give a fake address
- promise rapid publication (i.e. little or no peer review)
- make false claims (i.e. regarding impact factor and indexing)
- advertise special offers (i.e. reduced fees or limited time discounts)
Although outdated, the archived Beall's List of Potential Predatory Journals and Publishers is one resource for determining whether a publication is predatory.
Resources for Assessing Journals:
- Follow Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) guidelines for assessing journals.
- See the McMaster University, How to Avoid Predatory Publishers and Conferences guide and checklist.
