Arguments for Open Access

The More People With Access to the Research Results, the More Valuable It Becomes

By removing the barriers to accessing a publication, more people can access them. Many institutions, and particularly low-resource institutions in the third world are unable to access traditional journals due to the high subscription prices.

The process from Accepting Your Article to Publishing Can Be Accelerated

If you publish your research in Open Access, you can generally self-archive as soon as your publication is accepted, and in some cases, even earlier. The publishing process is thereby faster and your research can be used earlier by your colleagues. Today, many publishers allows the author to immediately publish a copy of the adopted article in an open archive.

Your Article May Be Read by More People and Cited More Often

There are indications that open access articles are read by more people and cited more frequently.

You Have Greater Control of the Material by Publishing in Open Access Journals

You do not sign off your copyright to the publisher. Thus, you have greater control of how you use the material, e.g., in your teaching.

Research That Is Partially Financed with Tax Credits Should Benefit Everyone

Most of the traditional journals have high subscription fees and profits. These high prices have led to the absurd situation that universities and colleges must pay subscriptions fees to gain access to the research results they themselves have funded. During Open Access publishing, everyone can access the research results.

Reference

Eysenbach G (2006) Citation Advantage of Open Access Articles. PLOS Biology 4(5): e157. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0040157