Open Access publishing can be done in several ways in order to make your research results freely available and thus enhance the effect of your publications.
You can publish in a subscription based journal and deposit a copy of your article in an open archive like DiVA (self-archiving), or you can publish in an Open Access journal.
Publish in a subscription based journal and in an open archive (DiVA)
Two out of three journal publishers allow self-archiving of scholarly articles, which represents 95% of all academic journals (source: Eprints.org 
, July 2011). These include most of the big journal publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, Nature Publishing Group and AAAS (Science).
Check the journal's/publisher's policy regarding self-archiving in
Sherpa/RoMEO
For more information on self-archiving in DiVA see: Self-archiving in DiVA.
Publish in an Open Access journal
Open Access journals are freely available academic journals. They are subject to peer review in exactly the same way as traditonal scholarly journals, but they are financed in ways other than subscriptions. Authors usually retain copyright to their articles.
Find an Open Access journal in your subject area:
DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)
Here are some large, established Open Access publishers:
- BioMed Central – over 220 journals in the areas of science, technology and medicine. Part of the Springer group.
- PLoS (Public Library of Science) – 7 high ranking journals in the areas of biology and medicine. PLoS Biology and PLoS Medicine have impact factors of 14.6 and 13.1.
- Hindawi – over 300 journals in the areas of science, technology and medicine.
Hybrid journals with Open Access
In some subscription based journals authors can make their articles freely available by paying a fee. Most of the larger journal publishers have such hybrid journals. List of publishers with an Open Access option
Grey zone OA publishing houses
There are appearing open access publishing houses whose seriousness is in doubt. Read more about what to consider before submitting an article to an unknown journal
Guard your rights
Copyright always belongs to the author of a text from the outset, but when a text is published, the publisher usually requests the copyright to be transferred from the time of publication. This means that it is the publisher and not the author, or authors, who control how the publication can be used and disseminated.
By using alternative agreements you can retain some or all of the rights to your own publication.
Here are some examples of alternative agreements:
- SPARC Author Addendum – various additions to agreements for journal articles giving the authors increased rights including the right to self-archive the article
- Copyright Toolbox – an alternative licence for publishing journal articles and various kinds of drafts that can be used as addenda to publishing agreements
- Creative Commons – various licence agreements all of which give the authors extended rights. These licences can be used for all kinds of publications
- European Commission's FP 7 Open Access pilot – includes an addendum to agreements for the publishing of research findings that have been financed by the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme and are part of the programme's Open Access Pilot
