About Open Access

What is Open Access?

Open Access is a publishing model whose core concept is to make research results freely available to all, so as to promote the wide dissemination and utilization of knowledge. According to the definition of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), Open Access refers to the free availability of literature on public networks, allowing any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, create hyperlinks, and use the literature as input data for software or for any other legal purposes. When using these literatures, users should not be restricted by economic, legal, or technical barriers. The only restriction is that the integrity of the literature must be maintained, and it must be ensured that the copyright of the literature is respected during copying and distribution—specifically, authors have the right to control the integrity of their works and ensure that their works are properly accepted and cited.

To achieve the goal of Open Access, the Budapest Open Access Initiative proposes two main approaches:

• Open Access Journals (Gold Open Access): Under this model, journals no longer charge readers for subscriptions or access, thereby eliminating the economic barriers to knowledge acquisition. To sustain operations, these journals may seek alternative funding sources, such as grants from research funding institutions, donations from government organizations, disciplines or associations, and may even require researchers to bear part of the costs themselves.
• Repository-based Open Access (Green Open Access): In this model, scholars self-archive their published journal articles in open electronic repositories. These repositories can be interconnected with other resource libraries to ensure the permanent preservation of articles. Through this approach, scholars can access Open Access repositories regardless of their location—even in regions lacking higher education institutions.

The implementation of Open Access aims to break down knowledge barriers under the traditional publishing model, promote global academic exchange and cooperation, accelerate the dissemination of scientific discoveries, and enhance the social impact of research results. By combining Gold and Green Open Access, this goal can be achieved more effectively, providing a broader range of knowledge resources for researchers and the public worldwide.