Open policy finder (Jisc)
Open policy finder by Jisc (formerly Sherpa Romeo / Sherpa services) helps authors and institutions to make informed and confident decisions in open access publication and compliance. We have gathered information about what Open policy finder is, why it is useful and how it can be used when publishing articles, monographs and chapter in books.
What is it and why it is useful
In Open policy finder you as an author can find:
- information about how you are allowed to use your article, monograph or book chapter, in the different steps of the author flow: submitted, accepted and published.
- important policy links to the publishers web page related to publishing fees.
This can answer questions, such as:
- if you can self-archive a manuscript copy and in which repository
- if you retain the rights to your publication
- which CC-licenses are offered
- how much the publication fee is
How to use it
Go to Open policy finder and type in a journal title, publisher or funder in the search field.
In this example we will search for publisher Edward Elgar.
There might be several different options for the same publisher in the result list. Choose the alternative corresponding best to your publication.
How to use it for articles
After choosing the publisher, the result page presents the Journal listings for articles.
Click on a journal to see what rules apply to the title.
All journals are divided into the different stages of the author flow: submitted, accepted and published. What the author is allowed to do in each of these stages depends on several factors, such as: which open access model is used, if the publication is associated with funder requisites and which CC-license is used.
The journal used in this example, Advances in Economics, has the following options:
| Submitted | Options with no embargo - (not specified, but when funder-requisites) |
| Accepted |
Options with 6 months embargo - when no funder-requisites Option with funder-requisites, no embargo & CC BY license - when funder-requisites (UK) Option with funder-requisites, no embargo & CC BY license - when funder-requisites (all) |
| Published |
Option with associated OA fees, no embargo & CC BY-NC-ND-license - when no when funder-requisites Option with funder-requisites, no embargo & CC BY license - when funder-requisites |
| Policy links | Links to the publisher for more in-depth information on self-archiving and publishing fees. |
Options linked to funding requirements are usually more generous regarding open access, as there are less frequently embargoes or restrictive CC licenses, and fewer limitations on authors' rights.
By clicking on each stage of the author workflow, you can see in detail what applies to the following:
| OA fee | If there is an OA publishing fee |
| OA publishing | If the option includes OA publishing |
| Embargo | Whether there is an embargo |
| License | Whether and which CC-licenses options there are |
| Copyright owner | If the author retains the right to the publication |
| Locations | If and where self-archiving is allowed |
| Conditions | Other conditions applying to the publication |
| Notes | Notes applying to the publication |
Not all of these are specified everywhere. There is a glossary related to the Open policy finder: Open policy finder glossary
How to use it for monographs and book chapters
After choosing the publisher and the result page presents the Journal listings for articles click on the "Open Access Book Policies" option in the top meny. The "Policy type" should be "Monograph", but can also be changed to "Book chapters".
Here the same options as for articles appear informing what you as an author can do in each stage of the author work flow. In the policy links information about publishing fees can be found.
