Publishing Open Access

As a researcher, you have two main routes to make your work open access:

Option 1 - Deposit your work into an open access repository

After publishing in the journal of your choice, deposit your final, peer-reviewed manuscript into an institutional or disciplinary repository that will make the manuscript freely accessible. University of Toronto offers this option to faculty free of charge with our secure research repository,TSpace. For an example of other open access repositories see opendoar.org

Option 2 - Publish in an open access journal

Publish your research in a journal that offers immediate open access or that offers open access on its website within 12 months.The cost of publishing in open access journals is an eligible expense under the Use of Grant Funds.

There are a couple of ways to find open access journals that are reputable and relevant to your area of research:

1. Use the Directory of Open Access Journals' (DOAJ) search function to browse journals based on your area of research.

2. Search for an open access journal in your area of research using a search engine, then evaluate if the journal is reputable by answering three questions:

   1. Are articles from this journal being cited by other reputable journals?

   2. Are reputable authors being published in this journal?

   3. Is this journal sponsored or endorsed by an association?

Note: there are some questionable open access publishers. It's important to assess the journal you are interested in before publishing. We recommend using CARL's guide on How to Assess a Journal before submitting your work.