Open Access


Why use Open Access?

In mobility and transport research, current findings are published in a variety of journals. For the majority of these journals a subscription is needed. This means that as a reader you need to pay a fee to gain access to an article (Closed Access). The more scientific findings are subject to such restricted access, the more difficult it is for interested researchers of one's own or other scientific field to read or cite the reserch.

Open Access solves this problem: By publishing research findings openly accessible, the scientific process is simplified and authors gain more visibility within and outside their scientific community. More information about Open Access can be found e.g. on Open-Access.net.

A publication in Open Access is simple:

  • If you are currently looking for a channel to publish, then allow free access to your research findings in an Open Access Journal. This is either linked to a single payment of a publication fee, the so-called Article Processing Charge (Gold Open Access), or is free of charge (Platinum Open Access). 

  • If you have already published an article, then take advantage of the often existing option of a second publication (Green Open Access) to increase the reach for your research.

OA-Services

The Specialised Information Service is your contact to the many different publication channels in the mobility and transport research. Furthermore, we can help you with your questions regarding the financing of your publication. We will be happy to inform you about the impact of the different publication channels (Open Access, Closed Access), check possible alternatives with you and give you tips on how to publish your research to achieve a wide reach. Please feel free to contact us directly.

Tips on Publishing

One of the main advantages of the Golden Path in Open Access is that you as an author keep full control over the exploitation of your publication and make a direct contribution to the rapid and free circulation of your research. The FID is happy to support you on this path. From the selection of a suitable and quality assured Open Access journal, to questions about any necessary financing of publication fees, to advising on user and license agreements, we can actively accompany you during the process.

Tip: The „Directory of Open Access Journals“ (DOAJ) provides an overview at doaj.org where you can search for journals matching to your research field.

You have already published a paper and now you want to make your valueable research findings available to the wide public by re-publishing them via Open Access? In many cases authors have the right of secondary publication. This means that the publisher of your first publication gives you the option to make your article (e.g. as a postprint) available in a non-commercial repository after the embargo deadline. A repository is a publicly accessible database, in which your article is available as a full text and information about its content and authorship is indexed and findable. Other researchers can then find your paper both at the publisher and in your choosen repository.

Tip: If you haven't published in an open access journal, you can catch up on the secondary publication via open access later. This is particulary easy to do if you keep your accepted author manuscript and your publication agreement. Furthermore, you should take note of the so-called embargo period of your journal. After this period, usually 6, 12, 18 or 24 months, you can republish your secondary publication in an open access repository at no additional cost

If you have chosen a scientifically recognised open access journal and your article has been accepted for publication, you may be required to pay an article processing charge (APC) to the publisher. In many cases (if certain criteria are met), this fee can be covered by a third party, such as publication funds of your institution or library.

Funding of article processing charges is not possible if

  • it is a closed access journal that only supports the option of Open Access (Hybrid Journal).
  • the Article Processing Charge is too high.
  • it is a fake journal or a junk journal.

We will happily support you in finding a funding option.

Tip: Often special contracts exists between your institution and the publisher of your choosen journal. That can result to reduced article processing charges or no charges at all because a flat-rate agreement exists.

In addition to journals that are only accessible to readers after paying a fee, there are many open access alternatives. Some of these open access journals are published by large publisher or by well-known research institutions and non-profit organisations. These open access journals already cover a wide range of topics and offer both readers and authors many advantages, for example in terms of user agreements and accessibility.

We are happy to support you in selecting a suitable, quality-assured journal that suits your publication and your requirements. To do this, we will look with you at the type of publication you intend to publish, the topic and the target group you are addressing together and include keywords and impact criteria in the search.

Tip: Directories such as the "Directory of Open Access Journals" (DOAJ) provide a good overview of currently active journals. In addition, Scopus and Web of Science can be used to support a search for suitable open access journals.

The publication and publishing landscape is very diverse. For this reason, FID always keeps an eye on the scientific publishing environment. In some cases, there are publisher who do not adhere to the high standards of scientific publishing. If you are unsure how to evaluate a particular journal, we will be happy to help you.

Tip: On the website Think-Check-Submit, you can receive valuable tips to help you recognise dubious journals before a possible submission.

Every discipline and field has its specific requirements and expectations when it comes to publishing scientific information. These expectations are not always optimally served by existing journals or there is a complete lack of a suitable medium. In this case, you can become the editor of a scientific journal yourself - quickly, easily and with the active support of the FID. We provide you with the necessary technical devices so that you can set up and manage your journal yourself.

The FID uses the Open Journal Systems, which has been tried and tested hundreds of times worldwide. On this basis, you can control all the steps in the process, from contacting potential authors and reviewers to the final layout of a journal issue. Through training and technical support, we ensure that you can concentrate on the important tasks.

Tip: Many scientists are already working voluntarily as reviewers for large profit-oriented publishers. By contributing to an Open Access journal, reviewers can make an active contribution to the Open Access transformation. With the help of Open Access, scientific findings can be used without restrictions in the research cycle.

By using a unique personal identifier (e.g. ORCiD), you can assign all your scientific publications to your person. This way, you can make it much easier for other researchers to keep track of your publications. For an instance, if you use your ORCiD with every publication, all your contributions will automatically be displayed on your ORCiD profil in summary form.

Tip: A well-maintained ORCiD profile can have a positive impact on the public perception of your research performance. In the millions of scientific publications, it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify individual authors by name (problem of name similarity). With the help of a unique identifier, such as the ORCiD, this problem can be solved efficiently.

One's own contributions can influence the scientific discussion if the results can be found and used by other researchers. For this purpose, large databases provide searchable metadata such as title, authors' names and place of publication. To enable interested readers to read and cite your research output it needs to be easy to find. A so-called DOI (Digital Object Identifier) can help. With this identifier, searchers can go directly to the appropriate document. This DOI should be included everywhere, e.g. in your own publication list or in contributions to research networks.

Tip: If necessary, ask the publisher about the availability of a DOI. If you decide to publish a secondary publication in an open access repository, you will usually receive a suitable DOI for it automatically.