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What is Open Access? Find an introduction here. Source: based on Brinken, H. (2021). 10 Gründe für Open Access. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4643859 ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access: Pros and Cons Find an introduction here. Open Access Publishing and Self-Archiving Find an introduction here. Open Access in Psychology In line with the general trend, open access has also gained ground and further established itself in psychology, albeit via various routes. In Germany, the largest professional association in psychology, the German Psychological Society (DGPs) , expressed its support for open access very early on. For example, as far back as September 2004, the general assembly of the DGPs endorsed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities , which the DGPs formally signed in 2017. In addition, the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) in particular is committed to open access in psychology. In 2012, it launched PsychOpen GOLD , an open access publishing platform for psychology on which 14 open access psychology journals are currently provided. A distinctive feature of the journals published by PsychOpen GOLD is that they use a diamond open access business model. Thus, all content is made freely accessible to readers worldwide at no charge to authors or editors. Furthermore, one of PsychOpen GOLD’s primary goals is to strengthen open science practices in psychology and enhance the international visibility of European psychological research. Besides PsychOpen GOLD, the ZPID offers free access to a range of other information products for psychology (see the "Open Science" section below). By contrast, the internationally influential American Psychological Association (APA) , the largest psychological association in the world, was for a long time quite unreceptive to open access. For example, in September 2007, the then President of the APA, Sharon Stephens Brehm, warned that the existing system of scientific publishing should be changed only with caution ( Stephens Brehm, 2007 ). This reticence about open access is presumably due not least to the fact that, as a commercial publisher, the APA publishes around 90 scholarly journals of psychology. However, all APA subscription-based journals now offer a hybrid open access option whereby authors can make individual contributions freely accessible by paying an article processing charge ( APC ). However, this does not mean that these contributions can be published under an open content licence, for example a Creative Commons (CC) licence . The APA has concluded open access agreements (also known as “read and publish agreements”) with several organizations worldwide. Authors affiliated to institutions participating in these agreements do not have to pay APCs. In addition, all APA journal authors have the option of self-archiving a copy of their author accepted manuscript (AAM) in a repository ( green open access ) and of making it publicly available under an open content licence. In psychology, scholarly literature can be found largely in journals. By contrast, books or conference proceedings play a lesser role. Open access to scholarly books in psychology is still in its infancy. Purely open access journals are still the exception in psychology. In September 2025, a search conducted in OpenAlex for sources with the keyword “psychology” in the title yielded 1,046 journals, of which 26.2% (274) were classified as open access and 11.7% (122) met the narrower criteria for inclusion in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). In an earlier study based on a sample of Web of Science articles published between 2009 and 2015, Piwowar et al. (2017, 2018) found that 4.7% of the articles in psychology were published in purely open access journals ( gold open access ). However, as many journals in psychology offer authors at least an open access option ( hybrid model ), the share of actually freely available psychology journal articles is probably higher. This is also indicated by a study conducted by Hardwicke et al. (2022) , who examined transparency measures in the psychology literature and found an open access rate of 65% for the N = 250 articles included in a random sample of psychology articles published between 2014 and 2017. Open Access Journals As of August 2025, the aforementioned Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) itself listed 1,838 entries under the keyword Psychology. Many of the purely open access journals can traditionally be found on scholarly, non-commercial platforms of professional associations, research institutions, universities, or specialised information centres. However, as author-funded business models are growing in popularity, purely open access journals are increasingly being provided by traditional scholarly publishers and new commercial open access publishers. Important open access journals in psychology include: Advances in Cognitive Psychology DOAJ Collabra Psychology DOAJ Europe's Journal of Psychology DOAJ Frontiers in Psychology DOAJ Judgement and Decision Making DOAJ Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience DOAJ Some of the above-mentioned journals have been published open access for many years now and do not levy any article processing charges (APCs) (Europe's Journal of Psychology, Judgement and Decision Making). Among the open access journals that do charge their authors a fee to have their research articles published, this fee ranges from a few hundred (e.g. Advances in Cognitive Psychology) to several thousand euros/dollars (e.g. Frontiers in Psychology ) and is payable before publication. Frontiers in Psychology is an example of a mega-journal that is published by a commercial open access publisher and publishes several thousand articles per year. As of August 2025, the most important psychology publisher in the German-speaking area, Hogref e , had four purely open access journals in its portfolio (European Journal of Psychology Open, Sports Psychiatry, Psychological Test Adaptation and Development, Rorschachiana). For all the other journals in its portfolio, it offers authors the option of publishing their articles open access against payment of an APC ( hybrid model ). Hogrefe has concluded transformative agreements with institutions in Germany and Switzerland, whereby open access publication charges are consortially funded. Authors affiliated to participating research institutions can thus publish open access without having to pay individual APCs. In addition to these traditional journals, other types of publication are also gaining in importance. They include, for example, the Peer Community in (PCI) platforms, which offer free peer-reviews of preprints and registered reports for a wide range of disciplines. Registered reports are an alternative publishing format to the classical journal article. Before a study is conducted, a “Stage 1 manuscript” comprising research questions, theoretical background, hypotheses (if applicable), methods, and any necessary preliminary data is submitted to a journal or to PCI Registered Reports (PCI RR) , where it undergoes peer-review. If successful, authors receive “in-principle acceptance” and thus have the assurance that their study will be published irrespective of the results. After in-principle acceptance, the authors conduct the study and complete the manuscript by adding the Results and Discussion sections (Stage 2 manuscript). PCI RR has agreements with various journals (so-called “PCI-friendly journals) whereby articles reviewed and accepted in principle at PCI RR can be published after undergoing a shortened peer-review (PCI-friendly journals) or without having to undergo peer-review at all (in Peer Community Journal ). Registered reports are not published solely in open access, but both modes are often combined. PCI RR and PCI Psychology play an increasingly important role in psychology. What are Open Access Journals? Find an introduction here. Practical Tip Publishing Open Access: How to evaluate a journal's quality Video on the Funding of Open Access Articles Source: Becklas Dorow, C., Hauss, J. (2026). Funding Open Access Articles – What Are the Options?. Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB), open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/73596 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) What are Open Access Books? Find an introduction here. open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access Books As of August 2025, the Directory of Open Access Books listed 738 titles under Psychology , and the online library of open access books OAPEN listed 21,855 titles under Psychology . As scholarly literature in psychology is largely found in journals, books and conference proceedings play a minor role. Nonetheless, the number of open access books has been increasing steadily in recent years. Disciplinary Repositories Important disciplinary repositories in psychology include: PsychArchives – one of the few open access repositories worldwide that specialise in psychology. In addition to the actual manuscripts, it also contains in many cases supplementary material (e.g. data and code). PsyArXiv – contains preprints from psychology Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR) – contains documents from the social sciences, some of which are also assigned to psychology. Green open access – that is, the self archiving of preprints and post-prints – is now widespread in psychology and is permitted by many publishers. An overview of relevant repositories is also provided by the Open Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) . What are Repositories? Find an introduction here. Legal Aspects Find an introduction here. Video über das Zeitveröffentlichungsrecht Quelle: Brehm, E. (2021). Zweitveröffentlichungsrecht für Wissenschaftler*innen, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/51789 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Practical Tip Open-Access- Literatur finden [Finding Open Access Literature] (available only in German) oa.helpdesk If you have any questions about open access, we will be happy to help you. oa.finder The oa.finder shows you which journals, among tens of thousands, are gold open access, whether they levy article processing charges (APCs), and how high these charges are. In addition, you can view the funding modalities of your own journal. Other Useful Offerings As yet, there are no databases and search engines that index only open access documents from psychology. However, with PsychPorta there is a large, freely accessible psychological reference database that also provides links to full texts and allows users to filter search results specifically by open access content. PsychPorta comprises records of journal articles, books and book chapters, intervention programmes, research data , and psychodiagnostic test instruments from all areas of psychology. Open Science in Psychology Ever since Ioannidis (2005) questioned the validity of most published research findings, and in view of the large number of failed attempts to replicate previously significant effects (e.g. Open Science Collaboration, 2015 ), vehement discussions on the reliability of published research findings have been taking place in many scholarly disciplines under the heading “replication crisis”. According to the criticism of scientific practice, the low reproducibility could be an indication of a high rate of false-positive results. Potential causes of this (e.g. p -hacking or HARKing) are often subsumed under the rubric "questionable research practices". In reaction to this, there has been an increase in the importance of open science (e.g. Munafò et al., 2017 ), an umbrella term for a wide variety of practices aimed at making the research process more transparent and thus more reproducible. Open science also aims to make research accessible to more people. Important open science practices in psychology include, for example, the preregistration of studies (i.e. the recording and publication of research plans before the beginning of a study/the data analysis in order to transparently specify a priori what is planned), open material, and open data (i.e. the sharing of research materials and data in order to make findings transparent and reusable). As there are diverse and changing positions on open science within psychology, the extent of the spread of its constituent elements varies ( Spinath, 2021 ). There are various offerings in psychology that are in the spirit of the open science idea: RDC at ZPID – The Research Data Centre (RDC) at ZPID makes psychological research data available for reuse. Provided by the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) , and accredited by the German Data Forum (RatSWD) , it documents, archives, and publishes research data from all areas of psychology; it is currently the only research data centre specialising in psychology. Open Science Framework – The Center for Open Science , which operates the Open Science Framework (OSF) , a platform for sharing documents, data, scripts, etc., is one of the most committed advocates of open access, also in psychology. Although this initiative is transdisciplinary, it has a strong psychological foundation. Open Test Archive – This archive, which is also provided by the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) , makes open access test instruments available for research and teaching. PsychAuthors – This freely accessible database contains profiles and publication lists of authors in psychology from the German-speaking area. Link Collection of the German Psychological Society (DGPs) – practical resources for research and teaching on the topic of open science In addition, there are numerous open science initiatives at the psychological institutes and faculties of various universities in Germany. Most of these initiatives have come together in the Netzwerk der Open-Science-Initiativen in Deutschland (NOSI) . open-access.network ( CC BY 4.0 International ) References Hardwicke, T. E., Thibault, R. T., Kosie, J. E., Wallach, J. D., Kidwell, M. C., & Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2021). Estimating the prevalence of transparency and reproducibility-related research practices in psychology (2014–2017). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(1), 239–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620979806 Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2005). Why most published research findings are false. PLOS Medicine, 2 (8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124 Munafò, M. R., Nosek, B. A., Bishop, D. V. M., Button, K. S., Chambers, C. D., Percie du Sert, N., Simonsohn, U., Wagenmakers, E.-J., Ware, J. J., & Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2017). A manifesto for reproducible science. Nature Human Behaviour , 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-016-0021 Open Science Collaboration. (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science, 349 (6251). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac4716 Piwowar, H., Priem, J., Larivière, V., Alperin, J. P., Matthias, L., Norlander, B., Farley, A., West, J., & Haustein, S. (2017). Data from: The state of OA: A large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of Open Access articles . Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1041791 Piwowar, H., Priem, J., Larivière, V., Alperin, J. P., Matthias, L., Norlander, B., Farley, A., West, J., & Haustein, S. (2018). The state of OA: A large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of Open Access articles. PeerJ , 6. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4375 Spinath, B. (2021). Zur Lage der Psychologie. Psychologische Rundschau, 72 (1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1026/0033-3042/a000521 Stephens Brehm, S. (2007). Open access: A thorny debate. Monitor on Psychology, 38 (8). https://www.apa.org/monitor/sep07/pc Content editors of this page: Dr Katarina Blask, Dr Lisa Spitzer and Dr Gerrit Fröhlich, Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) (Last updated: September 2025)....

What is Open Access? Find an introduction here. Source: based on Brinken, H. (2021). 10 Gründe für Open Access. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4643859 ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access: Pros and Cons Find arguments and reservations here. Open Access Publishing and Self-Archiving Find an introduction here. Open Access in Religious Studies In Germany, religious studies is one of the small disciplines , and is considered an independent humanities and cultural studies discipline distinct from the theologies. In other countries, for example in Britain and North America, the (institutional) separation of religious studies and the theologies is to some extent less pronounced. Research in religious studies takes place in a professionally and methodologically broad, heterogeneous environment. Overlaps exist inter alia with the ethnological disciplines , with sociology , philosophy , historical studies and classical studies , and also with various area studies disciplines (e.g. African Studies ) and the theologies. In religious studies, as in other humanities disciplines, great importance continues to be attached to print books in general, as well to the publication of contributions in edited collections and conference proceedings. However, in dialogue with the religious studies community, an increasing openness towards the reception and production of open access publications is apparent. Reservations towards open access relate inter alia to fears of compromised quality and additional effort and costs (e.g. when converting journals to open access), as well as to concerns with regard to higher publication costs for authors. To date, neither the German Association for the study of Religion (Deutsche Vereinigung für Religionswissenschaft, DVRW) , nor the European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) nor the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) has taken a clear position on open access. The DVRW’s journal, Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft , is still published in closed access. By contrast, associations for the study of religion in some other European countries (inter alia the Czech Association for the Study of Religions and the British Association for the Study of Religions ) have been successfully publishing open access journals for some years now. In the English-language literature, the topic of open access in religious studies has been reflected on in several contributions – both from the perspective of the editors of individual scholarly journals ( Drees, 2015; Drees, 2017; Wildman et al., 2019; Petersen, 2021 ) and from the perspective of individual scholars ( Clasquin-Johnson, 2008; Cavallin, 2013 ). An added value of open access is seen especially in the fact that it can also make scientific participation easier for financially insecure institutions and researchers worldwide, who are unable to access expensive licensed resources. For authors, on the other hand, open access may also become a hurdle if, for example, they cannot afford the sometimes-considerable publication fees charged by the publishers (Frank et al., 2023). Open Access Journals As of April 2024, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) listed 131 entries under the subject Religions. Mythology. Rationalism . A closer look at this list reveals that journals relating to a specific religion, or journals with a theological focus, are also assigned to this subject area. If one extends the search query to include journals that are listed under individual religions (Islam, Judaism, Buddhism), one achieves a more extensive result (451 entries) . Here, the challenge intimated in the previous section becomes clear: on the one hand, in the international context, the discipline of religious studies cannot be clearly distinguished from the theologies; on the other hand, overlaps exist with numerous other humanities and cultural studies disciplines, as well as with the social sciences. Important open access religious studies journals include: Approaching Religion* , DOAJ Journal of Global Buddhism* , DOAJ Temenos: Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion* , DOAJ International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage* , DOAJ Japanese Journal of Religious Studies *, DOAJ Journal for Religion, Film and Media *, DOAJ Entangled Religions *, DOAJ Religion and Society: Advances in Research *, DOAJ Secularism and Nonreligion , DOAJ Debates do NER *, DOAJ Zygon * (Journals with an asterisk do not levy article processing charges [APCs]) The journals listed above reflect the disciplinary and geographical spread of open access endeavours. From an international perspective, there is therefore a very great diversity of open access journals with content of relevance to religious studies – often on very specific topics. Most of these journals are published at universities and do not charge authors any publication fees. Thus, in the religious studies community the diamond open access model is more widespread than the gold open access model. In addition, there is still a large body of subscription-based journals, including, in particular, the “renowned” journals in the discipline. Some of these journals offer authors the option to make their articles open access for a fee. Mention should also be made of the Zeitschrift für junge Religionswissenschaft , the only publication to date for early-stage researchers in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). It, too, is published open access. A large number of open access journals in the field of religious studies have not yet been listed in the DOAJ. They include inter alia: Religio: Revue pro religionistiku , the Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions , the Marburg Journal of Religion and REVER: Revista de Estudos da Religião . What are Open Access Journals? Find an introduction here. Practical Tip Publishing Open Access: How to evaluate a journal's quality Video on the Funding of Open Access Articles Source: Becklas Dorow, C., Hauss, J. (2026). Funding Open Access Articles – What Are the Options?. Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB), open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/73596 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) What are Open Access Books? Find an introduction here. open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access Books As of April 2024, the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) listed 142 titles under the subject Religion: general , and the online library of open access books OAPEN listed 149 titles under Religion: general . In religious studies, the publication of books in open access has only recently gained in importance. Some publishers, for example transcript and DeGruyter , offer this option, and it has already been availed of (in addition to the print version) for many religious studies titles. The greatest challenge in this regard is considered to be the financing of the publication fees (book processing charges, BPCs), which is most likely possible within the framework of a project. Disciplin­ary Reposi­tories Both in the German-speaking area and internationally, there is currently only one disciplinary repository for religious studies . It is managed by the Specialised Information Service (FID) for the Study of Religion at Tübingen University Library. The repository can be searched and the archived content accessed via the bibliography of the study of religion RelBib, the portal of the FID for the Study of Religion (see self-archived works in RelBib ). In addition, the FID for the Study of Religion offers authors from the German-speaking area (DACH) individual support to provide green open access to their works (within the framework of a comprehensive self-archiving service ). As a low-threshold alternative, an internationally oriented self-archiving form with the possibility to upload is offered via RelBib. Depending on the field of research, other disciplinary repositories may be of relevance for authors in religious studies, for example the Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR) . Repositories with an area studies focus, for example the FID4SA-Repository for South Asian studies or MENAdoc for Middle East and Islamic studies, can also be availed of. In addition, the thematically focused repository Science and Religion Dialogue Prints (SciRePrints) is provided at the University of Latvia. SciRePrints is specifically intended for the self-archiving of publications and preprints about – or pertinent to – the dialogue between science and religion. What are Repositories? Find an introduction here. Legal Aspects Find an introduction here. Video über das Zeitveröffentlichungsrecht Quelle: Brehm, E. (2021). Zweitveröffentlichungsrecht für Wissenschaftler*innen, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/51789 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Practical Tip Finding Open Access Literature (in German) Open Access Helpdesk You are welcome to contact our Helpdesk of you have any questions about Open Access. oa.finder The oa.finder shows you from tens of thousands of journals which are Gold Open Access, whether they charge APCs and how high these are. You can also view the funding modalities of your own institution. Other Offerings With RelBib , the FID for the Study of Religion at Tübingen University Library operates an international online bibliography for the study of religion that can be used free of charge. RelBib collaborates very closely with the international bibliography for theology and religious studies Index Theologicus (IxTheo) . In RelBib, monographs, journals, journal articles and edited collections, websites, blogs, research data, and many other resources are indexed. As new titles and updates are regularly imported, RelBib offers the most up-to-date specialised information. A steadily growing number of journals of relevance to religious studies are continuously analysed at article level. As RelBib’s focus is on providing open access content, priority is given to titles with immediate and open access to full texts. Search results can be narrowed to freely accessible titles by applying the open access filter. In addition, there is also a full-text search option in RelBib. With the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform RelBib Open Journals , the FID for the Study of Religion promotes the conversion of journals or series to open access or the founding of new open access journals and series. In addition to the publishing system, the FID provides advice on these topics to interested parties beforehand and supports editors in founding new open access journals or series or in migrating existing journals or series to open access. It also offers hands-on support with technical queries. Blogs RelBib Newsfeedaggregator : the latest contributions from international blogs and podcasts of relevance to religious studies Platforms Mapping Religionswissenschaft : a project for thematic exchanges in religious studies Netzwerk un-sichtbar : a project for the transfer of religious studies knowledge to the public Databases Database of Religious History (DRH) : a collaborative open access encyclopaedia of religious cultural history The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) : a large collection of freely available statistical data from religion-related population surveys Further open access religious studies content is made available on the platforms Project Muse (as of July 2024, 293 titles: monographs in the research area “religion”) and JSTOR (as of July 2024, 34,915 titles: essays from journals and edited volumes on the subject of “religion”. Open Science in Religious Studies To date, open science endeavours have been neither very pronounced nor centrally coordinated in the small discipline of religious studies. Nonetheless, initial activities are apparent, especially in the area of open data. In 2019, with support from the DVRW, the FID for the Study of Religion conducted a survey on research data in the discipline ( FID for the studies of Religion & DVRW, 2020 ), the results of which also received attention in the religious studies community ( Koch, 2020 ). The central indexing of research data of relevance to religious studies was one of the desiderata that emerged from the survey. As a result, the targeted search for research data was introduced in RelBib. CERES (the Center for Religious Studies) at Ruhr-Universität Bochum is involved as a participating institution in the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) Consortium for the Historically Oriented Humanities, 4memory . One example of a digital humanities project for the digitisation of religious objects is DiGA – Digitization of Gandharan Artefacts , which is located at CERES. The provision and archiving of the image and object data are carried out in collaboration with the Specialized Information Service (FID) for South Asia . Comparable developments are also to be expected in the future in the other areas of open science (e.g. Hermann, 2021 ). open-access.network ( CC BY 4.0 International ) References Cavallin, C. (2013). Religious studies and the knowledge society: Open access as contributing to an open society. In F. Sardella, & R. Sain (Eds.), The sociology of religion in India (pp. 105–113). Abhijeet Publications. Clasquin-Johnson, M. (2008). Finding, using and creating open-access religious studies academic material on the Internet. Journal for the Study of Religion, 21 (2). https://doi.org/10.4314/jsr.v21i2.65741 Drees, W. B. (2017). Green open access for interesting contributions. Zygon, 52 (1), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12329 Drees, W. B. (2015). Publishing in a changing world. Zygon 50 (3), 559–568. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12199 FID for the Study of Religion & DVRW (2020). Umfrage zum Thema Forschungsdaten in der Religionswissenschaft. https://relbib.de/Content/survey_results#content Frank, J., Foster, R., & Pagliari, C. (2023). Open access publishing – Noble intention, flawed reality, Social Science & Medicine, 317 , Article 115592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115592 Hermann, A. (Ed.). (2021). Experimente mit digitaler Lehre: Überlegungen und Modelle jenseits einer Defizitperspektive . Universitäts- u. Landesbibliothek Bonn. https://doi.org/10.48565/bonndoc-3 Koch, A. (2020). Religionswissenschaft und digital humanities. Verkündigung und Forschung , 65 (2), 152–158. https://doi.org/10.14315/vf-2020-650211 Petersen, A. C. (2021). Open access, the humanities, and contemplation through science. Zygon, 56 (3), 541–546. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12736 Wildman, W. J., Bulbulia, J., Schjødt, U., & Sosis, R. (2019). Is the Open Access movement about to get real? Religion, Brain & Behavior , 9 (2), 105–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2019.159507 Content editor of this page: Mareike Heinritz, Specialised Information Service for the Study of Religion (FID Religionswissenschaft) / Tübingen University Library (Last updated: October 2024)....

What is Open Access? Find an introduction here. Source: based on Brinken, H. (2021). 10 Gründe für Open Access. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4643859 ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access: Pros and Cons Find an introduction here. Open Access Publishing and Self-Archiving Find an introduction here. Open Access in Linguistics Find an introduction here. Open Access in Romance Studies Although access to digital publications is highly valued in Romance studies, open access is rather underrepresented there compared with other disciplines. Romance studies has a heterogeneous publication culture in which established models of publication and dissemination of research results play a central role. Printed journals continue to occupy a special place, and, besides journals, edited collections are an important form of publication. Publishers and independent journals as well as researchers and associations are increasingly breaking new ground in the form of open access publications and initiatives – to date, mainly in the journals area, but increasingly also in the area of monographs and edited collections. The topic of open access is becoming increasingly important in the publication culture in Romance studies, not least because of the positions and requirements of research funders. Small publishers are responsible for a substantial part of the publication output in Romance studies, and many of them now offer open access options. The information offerings and networking activities of the Specialised Information Service for Romance Studies ( FID Romanistik ) are also worthy of mention. Impetus has been forthcoming from the community through journal startups and a position paper on open access and research data ( Schöch et al., 2017 ) produced by the Digital Romance Studies Working Group ( AG Digitale Romanistik ) of the German Association of Romance Philologists ( Deutscher Romanistikverband) . The topic is also gaining traction, especially among mid-level academics, through workshops organised by the German Association of Romance Philologists and through inter-disciplinary discussions and further education programmes at graduate schools. Best-practice examples and reports of concrete experiences were presented at a workshop in 2017 in which publishers, editors, and researchers participated ( Hornung & Trapp, 2018 ). A survey of German-speaking Romance philologists ( Hornung et al., 2017 ) conducted in 2016 by the Specialised Information Service for Romance Studies ( FID Romanistik ) provided insights into the question of how open access is perceived in the discipline and what factors influence researchers when it comes to deciding whether to publish open or closed access . The survey found that the reputation of the publisher, the series, the journal, and the editors were decisive factors. Although respondents valued the high degree of dissemination and the findability of open access publications, these factors were not decisive. The survey results suggest that Impact Factors, which are of central importance in other disciplines, play hardly any role in Romance studies. A more recent survey conducted by the Specialised Information Service for Romance Studies (Schepers, 2024) suggests that awareness of open access has increased. Respondents formulated specific concerns and problems, such as the funding of open access monographs or possibilities of self-archiving works published with a publisher, while also pointing to a need for information about – and to barriers to – open access publishing. Open Access Journals As of April 2024, the Directory of Open Access Journals listed 66 entries under Romanic languages and 176 entries under French literature - Italian literature - Spanish literature - Portuguese literature . Important open access journals include: apropos [Perspektiven auf die Romania] Estudios Culturales Hispánicos (University of Regensburg) HeLix – Dossiers zur romanischen Literaturwissenschaft Horizonte – Neue Serie • Nuova Serie Romanische Studien Versants – Revista suiza de literaturas románicas (University of Bern) Zeitschrift für Katalanistik – Revista d’Estudis Catalans (German Association of Catalan Philologists) Other journals from neighbouring and superordinate fields, such as general linguistics , comparative literary studies, and the digital humanities, that are also of relevance to Romance studies include: Glossa: a journal of general linguistics HiN – Alexander von Humboldt im Netz Iberoamericana. América Latina - España - Portugal iMex. México Interdisciplinario/Interdisciplinary Mexico Miradas – Zeitschrift für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte der Amérikas und der iberischen Halbinsel PhiN – Philologie im Netz Pragmática Sociocultural / Sociocultural Pragmatics Textpraxis. Digitales Journal für Philologie Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht ZfdG - Zeitschrift für digitale Geisteswissenschaften Also worthy of mention are review journals such as fabula.org for Franco-Romance studies. Bibliodiversity is also apparent among open access publications that are more firmly anchored in the field of Romance studies outside Germany, especially among Latin American offerings provided by the platforms sciELO , Redalyc , AmeliCA , and Latindex ( Müller, 2020 ). Among the German-language offerings there are also early pioneer projects, in particular PhiN – Philologie im Netz , which was launched as a purely open access journal in 1997. The number of open access journals is increasing due, especially, to new periodicals such as apropos [Perspektiven auf die Romania] . By contrast, transformations of existing periodicals in Romance studies in the German-speaking area are still rare. However, the Zeitschrift für Katalanistik has a certain exemplary character because all issues are hybrid in the sense that they are made available in print for a fee and online in open access, and all older volumes dating back to the very first volume in 1988 have been retrodigitised. A similar repositioning can be seen in the case of Versants . The journal Horizonte - Neue Serie • Nuova Serie was newly founded as an independent open access publication after the discontinuation of its subscription-based predecessor, Horizonte . The founding of the open access journal Glossa in 2016 was spectacular in that it emerged from a conflict between the editorial board of the journal Lingua and the publisher Elsevier. Whereas authors in other disciplines often have to pay article processing charges (APCs) to have their works published open access, that funding model is – with a few exceptions – not common in Romance studies, where publishing is usually free of charge for authors ( diamond open access ), because many purely open access journals are run by institutes or by the editors themselves. Exceptions are hybrid journals of the major publishers in which individual articles are published open access against payment of a fee. Also of relevance is the possibility to self-archive the contributions in a repository after an embargo period of 12 months. In the case of promptus – Würzburger Beiträge zur Romanistik , for example, this is implemented by the editors. In Romance studies, it is relatively common for journals to be hosted either in-house or by local libraries, some of which are supra-regionally active. For example, the journal apropos [Perspektiven auf die Romania] is hosted by Hamburg University Press using the free software Open Journal Systems (OJS) . The French platform OpenEdition Journals hosts numerous other journals of relevance to Romance studies from various countries. Also worthy of mention are the publication service of the Ibero-American Institute in Berlin, the hosting offerings of many local university libraries, and the Open Library of Humanities . What are Open Access Journals? Find an introduction here. Practical Tip Publishing Open Access: How to evaluate a journal's quality Video on the Funding of Open Access Articles Source: Becklas Dorow, C., Hauss, J. (2026). Funding Open Access Articles – What Are the Options?. Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB), open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/73596 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) What are Open Access Books? Find an introduction here. open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access Books As of April 2024, the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) listed 171 entries under the search term Romance languages and 193 entries under Romance literature ; in addition, there are the titles in the individual Romance disciplines, for example Catalan language (45 entries as of April 2024). The online library and publication platform OAPEN listed 804 titles under Romance languages and 121 titles under Romance literature as of April 2024. Overall, offerings in the area of monographic OA publications in Romance studies tend to be isolated and heterogeneous. However, the presence of the format is increasing. Yet, none of the above-mentioned platforms fully cover the broad spectrum. Examples in the area of freely available monographs and collections, which are usually published open access and in print at the same time ( "dual publishing "), include: the supplements to the journal Romanische Studien ; the series Imágenes de la diversidad funcional. Literatura, artes escénicas, visuales y virtuales , which has been published with Peter Lang since 2018; the series Aula , which has been published by de Gruyter since 2020; the offerings of the hybrid-publishing university presses , which developed open access models at an early stage; the French platform OpenEdition Books the series Open Romance Linguistics published by Language Science Press; the humanities publication series published by Open Humanities Press and Open Book Publishers ; individual titles published by diverse publishers with a Romance programme, including AVM, de Gruyter, Peter Lang, transcript and Vervuert. The panorama of these publications is extremely heterogeneous. It largely comprises new titles. In addition, there are titles that are made freely available after a certain period of time or that appear in open access as a new edition or a translation, as in the case of Joachim Küpper’s classic work Discursive "Renovatio" in Lope de Vega and Calderón . With Knowledge Unlatched , there have also been some – albeit unsuccessful – initial initiatives to "unlatch" commercial publications in partnership with several specialised publishers. As the DFG has declared open access the priority publication mode for the projects it funds, and other research funders have already made the provision of open access mandatory, a strengthening of the open access monograph in Romance studies is to be expected. However, the additional costs for free access to a monograph that arise at most traditional publishers are an obstacle to this. Extensive funding programmes do not exist at present. In individual cases, the costs may be covered by the monograph funds that have been established at many scientific institutions, by the DFG, or by foundations. In the case of third-party-funded projects, the easiest way is to include applications for the reimbursement of open access costs in the project proposal. University presses can play a complementary role, as can the offerings of non-conventional publishers listed in the overview. Disciplinary Repositories Since 2025, the Specialised Information Service for Romance Studies (FID Romanistik) has been providing a repository for Romance studies in the form of a Romance studies collection. Although technically part of the Repositorium.Hamburg , it is available for use by the Romance studies community as a whole. All articles in this collection are also listed in the search portal of the Specialised Information Service for Romance Studies. There are other repositories for sub-disciplines of Romance studies and for neighbouring disciplines – for example, Archivum Medii Aevi Digitale for medieval studies, AfricArXiv for African studies, CompaRe for general and comparative literary studies, and the Linguistik-Repository for general and comparative linguistics. LA Referencia , a network of open access repositories in Latin America, is illustrative of the distinctive repository landscape in that region. Portugal’s scholarly repositories are aggregated by RCAAP . Also of relevance are the HAL Open Science Archive , which is authoritative for the humanities and social sciences in France; the internationally established universal repository zenodo.org ; and the platforms of the local libraries. The content of the aforementioned repositories is, in part, searchable via regional and supra-regional search engines. The Bielefeld Academic Search Engine ( BASE ) can also be expediently used for searches with a specifically open access focus. An overview of relevant repositories is provided by the Open Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) . What are Repositories? Find an introduction here. Legal Aspects Find an introduction here. Video über das Zeitveröffentlichungsrecht Quelle: Brehm, E. (2021). Zweitveröffentlichungsrecht für Wissenschaftler*innen, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/51789 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Practical Tip Finding Open Access Literature (in German) Open Access Helpdesk You are welcome to contact our Helpdesk of you have any questions about Open Access. oa.finder The oa.finder shows you from tens of thousands of journals which are Gold Open Access, whether they charge APCs and how high these are. You can also view the funding modalities of your own institution. Other Useful Offerings There are other useful offerings both with a specifically Romance studies orientation and with a transdisciplinary orientation. The local libraries offer their publication and advisory services to researchers at the respective institutions. Graduate schools are also increasingly arranging advisory and training offerings. The Specialised Information Service for Romance Studies ( FID Romanistik ) offers a discipline-specific information and advisory service . Via the project website, basic information is presented on open access, especially on legal issues. When doing so, concrete application scenarios from publishing practice in Romance studies are discussed – for example, regarding open access publishing and self-archiving, the role of translations, and publishers and repositories in different countries. Personal advice is also offered. The Romanistik-Blog features information on current topics, legal issues, funding conditions, as well as specific offerings and projects. The online archives JSTOR and Project MUSE now also provide open access content relevant to Romance studies. Open Science in Romance Studies The free accessibility and reusability of primary texts, images, and research data; the machine readability of texts; and procedures such as text and data mining are also subjects of increasing discussion. Platforms with a corresponding agenda from the Romance-language countries include, for example Gallica (France), the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes (Spain), and the Biblioteca Italiana (Italy). A recent example relating to the reusability of images is a decision by the Biblioteca Nacional de España that resulted in images from its holdings being made available free of charge since March 2020 for use in scholarly publications. Of note in the area of research data is the consortium Text+ from the context of the Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur (National Research Data Infrastructure; NFDI), which is developing an infrastructure for language- and text-based data and is initially focusing on digital collections, lexical resources, and editions. Also of relevance to Romance studies are general humanities projects such as CLARIAH-DE and its predecessor projects CLARIN and DARIAH-DE , including the research data repositories DARIAH-DE Repository and the TextGrid Repository . An initiative specific to Romance studies is the directory of research data on the information platform romanistik.de . The Specialised Information Service for Romance Studies (FID Romanistik) provides an information and support service . The series of blog posts published since 2020 by the Digital Romance Studies Working Group (AG Digitale Romanistik ) places a special focus on the sustainable handling of research data in accordance with the FAIR principles. open-access.network ( CC BY 4.0 International ) References Hornung, C., von Deylen, W., Tannous, I., & Wonke-Stehle, J. (2017, February 9). Auswertung der Umfrage des FID Romanistik zu Open Access in der Romanistik. Romanistik-Blog - Das Blog des Fachinformationsdienstes. https://blog.fid-romanistik.de/2017/02/09/auswertung-der-umfrage-des-fid-romanistik-zu-open-access-in-der-romanistik/ Hornung, C., & Trapp, M. (2018). Open Access-Publizieren in der Romanistik: Standortbestimmung und Perspektiven. Romanistik-Blog - Das Blog des Fachinformationsdienstes. https://blog.fid-romanistik.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/OA-Workshop-Protokoll-SUBHH-11-2017.pdf Müller, C. (2020). Elektronisches Publizieren und Open Access: Die Perspektive Lateinamerikas. B. i. t. Online, 23 (4), 374–380. https://www.b-i-t-online.de/heft/2020-04-fachbeitrag-mueller.pdf Schepers, L. (2024). Umfrageergebnisse: Romanistisches Publizieren in frühen Karrierephasen. Romanistik-Blog – Das Blog des Fachinformationsdienstes. blog.fid-romanistik.de/2024/05/30/umfrageergebnisse-romanistisches-publizieren-in-fruehen-karrierephasen/ Schöch, C., Rißler-Pipka, N., Mühlschlegel, U., Gerstenberg, A., & Ehrlicher, H. (2017). Open Access und Forschungsdaten. Ein Positionspapier der AG Digitale Romanistik. In Mitteilungsheft Frühjahr 2017 (pp. 50–59). Deutscher Romanistenverband. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3834226 Further Reading Agnetta, M. (2019). Wie closed darf open access sein? / Eine Momentaufnahme der Publikationskultur in der deutschen Romanistik. Digitalkulturen/Cultures Numériques. Herausforderungen Und Interdisziplinäre Forschungsperspektiven/Enjeux et Perspectives Interdisciplinaire , 16, 33–50. https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839442159-002 [ Open Access Preprint at Romanistik-Blog ] Graf, D., Fadeeva, Y., & Falkenstein-Feldhoff, K. (Eds.). (2020). Bücher im Open Access: Ein Zukunftsmodell für die Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften? Verlag Barbara Budrich. https://doi.org/10.17185/duepublico/72237 Hornung, C (2022). Open Access in der Romanistik – Coffee Lecture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBRLDzIeLLc Nonnenmacher, K. (2015). Die Zeitschrift als Idee. Einladung an Leser und Autoren. Romanische Studien, 1 , 5–24. https://www.romanischestudien.de/index.php/rst/issue/view/1 Schöch, C. (2020). Was heißt und zu welchem Ende publiziert man im Open Access? Open Access Week 2020, Universitätsbibliothek Trier. https://christofs.github.io/publ/#/ | Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RQy4wtYls0 Söllner, K., & Mittermaier, B. (2017). Praxishandbuch Open Access . de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110494068 Bearbeitung der Inhalte der Seite: Christoph Hornung (Stand: Juni 2024)....

What is Open Access? Find an introduction here. Source: based on Brinken, H. (2021). 10 Gründe für Open Access. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4643859 ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access: Pros and Cons Find an introduction here. Open Access Publishing and Self-Archiving Find an introduction here. Open Access in Sociology In sociology, there are many different attitudes towards open access . Whereas digital resources are widely used in research and teaching, sociologists are as yet rather hesitant about publishing their works open access ( Graf et al., 2019 ). One reason for this is the culture of publishing in the humanities and social sciences. In these disciplines, to which sociology belongs, books in the form of monographs, thematic edited collections, conference proceedings, etc. are the predominant types of publications. In addition, many sociologists lack information on open access, with the result that they often classify open access publications as qualitatively inferior, and rely on established publishers as supposed guarantors of quality. Furthermore, there is often a need for information and clarification in the areas of licences and copyright ( Graf et al., 2019 ). Financial questions also play a major role for authors and publishers. In many cases, for example, it is unclear how financing can be arranged if nobody has to buy the work ( Verlag Barbara Budrich, 2020 ). Hesitancy on the part of sociologists is also reflected in the attitude of large professional associations. Neither the German Sociological Association (DGS) nor its US counterpart, the American Sociological Association (ASA) , are among the signatories of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities . Although institutional expression s of commitment to open access are lacking in sociology, the groundwork for open access has been laid, as the following offerings on this page show. Open Access Journals As of December 2024, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) listed 914 entries under the keyword Sociology . Important open access journals include: Forum Qualitative Social Research (FQS) DOAJ Survey Research Methods (srm) DOAJ Sociological Research Online Comparative Population Studies DOAJ Demographic Research DOAJ Demography methods, data, analyses DOAJ Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World DOAJ Many renowned scholarly journals do not offer an open access option; others make articles freely available after an embargo period ( green open access ). For example, the journal Zeitschrift für Soziologie (ZfS) makes articles available in open access on its website two years after publication; the same goes for the journal Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft (WuG) . The journal Historical Social Research (HSR) automatically makes articles available in open access in the disciplinary repository Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR) after an embargo period of six months. What are Open Access Journals? Find an introduction here. Practical Tip Publishing Open Access: How to evaluate a journal's quality Video on the Funding of Open Access Articles Source: Becklas Dorow, C., Hauss, J. (2026). Funding Open Access Articles – What Are the Options?. Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB), open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/73596 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) What are Open Access Books? Find an introduction here. open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access Books As of December 2024, the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) listed 1,019 titles under the subject "sociology" , and the online library OAPEN listed around 1,264 titles under "sociology" . The publishing landscape in the book-friendly social sciences is extremely heterogeneous, broad, and fragmented. However, the publishers Springer VS , Nomos , Barbara Budrich , Routledge , transcript , Campus , and LIT are particularly worthy of mention ( Graf et al., 2020, p. 22; Projekt OGeSoMo, n.d. ). Open access publishing faces diverse challenges in book-friendly disciplines such as sociology. To make it more attractive, a suitable infrastructure for and trust in the quality of open access books must be established. Especially worthy of mention in this connection are the quality standards for open access monographs and edited volumes formulated by the consortium of university presses AG Universitätsverlage (Arning et al., 2022). Furthermore, several business models for open access books have become established in recent years ( OAPEN, 2020 ). Disciplinary Repositories For German-speaking sociology, the disciplinary repository Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR) is particularly important. At an international level, a leading role is played by the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN) , which, besides sociological literature, also hosts research papers from economics , political science , anthropology, and many other disciplines. The Open Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) provides an overview of relevant repositories. What are Repositories? Find an introduction here. Legal Aspects Find an introduction here. Video über das Zeitveröffentlichungsrecht Quelle: Brehm, E. (2021). Zweitveröffentlichungsrecht für Wissenschaftler*innen, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/51789 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Practical Tip Finding Open Access Literature (in German) Open Access Helpdesk You are welcome to contact our Helpdesk of you have any questions about Open Access. oa.finder The oa.finder shows you from tens of thousands of journals which are Gold Open Access, whether they charge APCs and how high these are. You can also view the funding modalities of your own institution. Other Offerings The Specialised Information Service (SIS) Sociology is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and is operated jointly by the University and City Library of Cologne, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, and the Research Data Center (RDC) Qualiservice . With over 3,300 registered members, the collaboration portal SocioHub serves as a central platform to promote research communication and improve the supply of scientific information in sociology. The focus is on a combination of collaboration, open science, and research data management. In addition, users can search for subject-specific literature, research data, groups, and persons. The development and implementation of the services of the SIS Sociology take place in close consultation with the Scientific Advisory Board and are supported by the German Sociological Association (DGS) and the Academy of Sociology Open access offerings of the SIS Sociology: Classics of Sociology – From Comte to Weber : 100 works from the sociological canon are available as open access full texts. The collection comprises original editions in German, English, French, and Italian and covers the period from 1826 to the 20th century. SSOAR : As GESIS’s open access repository, SSOAR is integrated in the SocioHub index, its content can be accessed directly via SocioHub. In addition, registered SocioHub users can upload documents directly to SSOAR without having to log in again. Preregistration in the Social Sciences : With the module “Preregistration in the Social Sciences”, SocioHub offers an innovative way of preregistering sociological research projects and thus making them known. This enables early contact between similar projects and an intensification of scientific exchange, thereby possibly avoiding the duplication of work. The substantive concept and technical implementation of the module was developed by the SocioHub team and is based on a standardised template for preregistrations provided by the Open Science Framework (OSF) . Journal hosting : The SIS Sociology supports the founding of new and the migration of existing open access journals of sociology. With the help of the open source software Open Journal Systems (OJS), the entire digital publishing process – from submission to publication – is technically supported. SOCIOS : A satellite project of SocioHub, SOCIOS is a publication platform for collaborative writing and open peer review in the social sciences. The online archives JSTOR and Project MUSE now also provide open access content of relevance to sociology. BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine) enables subject-specific searches for digital full texts. Sociological content can be browsed using the Dewey Decimal Classification Code 301 . Within the framework of the project OGeSoMo – Förderung von Open-Access-Publikationen in den Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften mit dem Schwerpunkt Monografien [Promotion of Open Access Publications in the Humanities and Social Sciences with a Focus on Monographs] , which was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, numerous flyers with comprehensive information on open access publications in the humanities and social sciences were produced. In the successor project, AuROA - Autor:innen und Rechtssicherheit für Open Access [Authors and Legal Certainty for Open Access] a contract generator was developed with which modular sample contracts for open access book publications can be individually and interactively generated. The project ENABLE! aims to bring together in a network the individual players in the open access publishing system in the humanities and social sciences to promote open access publishing and develop new publishing models, among other things. Open Science in Sociology The services provided by GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences give sociologists extensive possibilities of making data, methods, and software available in open access: datorium enables the assignment of citable Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) . da|ra offers the possibility of registering research data for the purpose of DOI assignment – even if the data are hosted by the institutions themselves. In the area of qualitative data, particular mention should be made of the Research Data Center (RDC) Qualiservice , the successor of the Archive for Life Course Research (ALLF) . Qualiservice archives qualitative social science research data from various disciplines and makes them available for scientific reuse. In addition, it offers personalised and study-specific advice. Open Research Data Open research data are highly valued in the area of sociology. In its Code of Ethics, the American Sociological Association (American Sociological Association, 2018) encourages sociologists to make their research data available: Sociologists generally make their data available after completion of a project or its major publications, except where proprietary agreements with employers, contractors, or clients preclude such accessibility or when it is impossible to share data and protect the confidentiality of the data or the anonymity of research participants . Closed-access US journals, such as the American Sociological Review and Sociological Methodology , refer to this Code of Ethics in their submission policies, and encourage their authors to make their research data available. The open access journal Demographic Research also has such a policy, but it applies also to computer code. open-access.network ( CC BY 4.0 International ) References American Sociological Association. (2018). Code of ethics . https://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/asa_code_of_ethics-june2018a.pdf Arning, U., Bargheer, M., Meinecke, I., Putnings, M., Schobert, D., Tobias, R., & Winkler, M. (2022). Qualitätsstandards für Open-Access-Bücher . Arbeitsgemeinschaft Universitätsverlage. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7075761 Graf, D., Fadeeva, Y., & Falkenstein-Feldhoff, K. (Eds.). (2020). Bücher im Open Access: Ein Zukunftsmodell für die Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften? Verlag Barbara Budrich. https://doi.org/10.17185/DUEPUBLICO/72237 Graf, D., Burovikhina, V., & Leinweber, N. (2019). Zukunftsmodell Monografien im Open Access. Aus der Praxis von Bibliotheken, Verlagen, Wissenschaft und Lehre im gemeinsamen Projekt OGeSoMo. O | Bib. Das offene Bibliotheksjournal , 6 (4), 164–177. https://doi.org/10.5282/o-bib/2019H4S164-177 OAPEN. (2020, September 29). Business models for open access book publishing . OAbooks-Toolkit.Org. https://oabooks-toolkit.org/lifecycle/10944589-planning-funding/article/10432084-business-models-for-open-access-book-publishing Projekt AuROA. (2023). Publikationsdienstleistungen und die Qualitätsfrage. Erkenntnisse aus dem Projekt AuROA zu Leistungen und Qualitätssicherung im Open-Access-Publikationsprozess. osf.io/65rzp Projekt OGeSoMo. (n. d.). Zwischenergebnisse. Written, submitted, published: Wo publizieren die UDE-Autoren? https://www.uni-due.de/ogesomo/zwischenergebnisse Further Reading Biela, J., Stalla, M., Hohmann, L., & Holzer, A. C. (2024). Kartierung und Beschreibung der Open-Access-Dienste in Deutschland. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11121906 Breznau, N. (2021). Does sociology need open science? Societies , 11 (1), 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010009 Herb, U. (2015). Open Science in der Soziologie. Eine interdisziplinäre Bestandsaufnahme zur offenen Wissenschaft und eine Untersuchung ihrer Verbreitung in der Soziologie . Werner Hülsbusch. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.31234 German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. (2023). Open access in Germany – Joint guidelines of the Federal Government and the Länder . https://www.bmbf.de/SharedDocs/Publikationen/DE/FS/772970_Open_Access_in_Deutschland_en.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4 Herb, U. (2014). Open Science in Soziologie-Journalen aus deutschsprachigen und nicht-deutschsprachigen Ländern, Daten und Auswertungen einer Journal-Stichprobe . Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10786 German Science and Humanities Council (WR). (2022). Recommendations on the transformation of academic publishing: Towards open access . https://www.wissenschaftsrat.de/download/2022/9477-22_en.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=22 Content editors of this page: Maike Lang and Yannik Hampf, Specialised Information Service Sociology (Last updated: December 2024)....

What is Open Access? Find an introduction here. Source: based on Brinken, H. (2021). 10 Gründe für Open Access. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4643859 ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access: Pros and Cons Find an introduction here. Open Access Publishing and Self-Archiving Find out about how to publish and self-archive Open Access. Video on the Funding of Open Access Articles Source: Becklas Dorow, C., Hauss, J. (2026). Funding Open Access Articles – What Are the Options?. Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB), open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/73596 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Open Access in Vocational Education and Training (VET) Research The term vocational education and training (VET) research covers research works that deal with vocational learning, VET institutions and systems, vocational and labour market development, the learning-conducive design of work processes, and skills development. The disciplines that contribute to VET research include, in particular: educational sciences/vocational and business education business administration economics of education psychology/occupational psychology sociology/occupational sociology Because of the interdisciplinary nature of VET research, scholarly works in this area are characterised by multidisciplinarity. Articles in scholarly journals are the most frequent form of publication in VET research. Journal articles account for over half of the works indexed in the VET Repository , a disciplinary repository for VET research operated by the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB). Although printed books, the traditional form of publication in VET research, are on the decline, they nonetheless continue to play an important role in this field. Overall, a trend towards open access publishing can be observed in VET research, and there are now a number of purely open access journals, for example Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik – online (bwp@) . From 2018 to 2021, the BIBB addressed the topic of open access within the framework of the research project “Open Access in der Berufsbildungsforschung“ (Open Access in VET Research, OABBF ), which investigated the factors that play a role for authors when it comes to the acceptance, spread, and use of open access. The results of that project suggest that reservations towards open access persist in VET research. These reservations relate to reputation and the visibility of research results. Interdisciplinary and inter-institutional communication and information on open access should be expanded in the future to enhance the image of open access in VET research and dismantle any prejudices (see Getz et al., 2022; Getz & Rödel, 2026). Open Access Journals As of December 2025, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) listed 16 entries under “ vocational training ”. Relevant open access journals in VET research include: Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik Online (bwp@) International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET) Journal of Technical Education (JOTED) Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung - Report (ZfW) Journal for Labour Market Research Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Soziologie Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training DENK-doch-MAL.de DJI Impulse: Das Forschungsmagazin des Deutschen Jugendinstituts weiter bilden: DIE Zeitschrift für Erwachsenenbildung Further information can be found in a German-language guide to scholarly publishing in VET research journals entitled Wissenschaftliches Publizieren in Zeitschriften der Berufsbildungsforschung (Linten et al., 2023). What are Open Access Journals? Find an introduction here. Practical Tip Publishing Open Access: How to evaluate a journal's quality open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) What are Open Access Books? Find an introduction here. open-access.network (2026) ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Open Access Books As of December 2025, the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) listed 219 titles under “vocational training”, while OAPEN listed 2,714 titles under the same keyword. In addition, as of December 2025, the full texts of 5,280 books were freely available in the VET Repository of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB). Disciplinary Repositories The most important disciplinary repository for VET research is the VET Repository . Operated by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), it was launched in 2019 as a disciplinary repository for VET research. In addition to monographs, its holdings include journal articles and contributions to edited collections. Since 2025, the VET Repository also serves as a publishing platform . Via an upload function, it offers authors an opportunity to publish works for the first time or to self-archive already published works. Further repositories with contributions from VET research include: SSOAR EconStor peDOCS What are Repositories? Find an introduction here. Legal Aspects Find an introduction here. Video über das Zeitveröffentlichungsrecht Quelle: Brehm, E. (2021). Zweitveröffentlichungsrecht für Wissenschaftler*innen, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/51789 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Practical Tip Finding Open Access Literature (in German) Open Access Helpdesk You are welcome to contact our Helpdesk if you have any questions about Open Access. oa.finder The oa.finder shows you from tens of thousands of journals which are Gold Open Access, whether they charge APCs and how high these are. You can also view the funding modalities of your own institution. Other Offerings On the left-hand side you can find helpful services and tools to inform yourself about specific questions on Open Access. References Getz, L., Langenkamp, K., Weiland, M., Rödel, B., & Taufenbach K. (2022). Wissenschaftliches Publizieren in der Berufsbildungsforschung. Empirische Befunde im Kontext von Open Access. In Ertl, H. & Rödel, B. (Eds.), Offene Zusammenhänge: Open Access in der Berufsbildungsforschung (pp. 49–64). Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB). urn:nbn:de:0035-vetrepository-780892-5 Getz, L., & Rödel, B. (2026). Open Access und Reputation. Widersprüchliche Befunde in der Berufsbildungsforschung. In Y. Fadeeva, S. Franz, D. Kampkaspar, M. Seltmann, T. Steyer, & N.-O. Walkowski (Eds.), Reputation ohne Paywall? Wissenschaftliches Publizieren im digitalen Wandel (pp. 62–79). Melusina Press. https://doi.org/10.26298/1981-5838 Linten, M., Rödel, B., Taufenbach, K., & Woll, C. (2023). Wissenschaftliches Publizieren in Zeitschriften der Berufsbildungsforschung . Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) . urn:nbn:de:0035-1048-3 Further Reading Ertl, H., Rödel, B., & Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (Eds.). (2022). Offene Zusammenhänge: Open Access in der Berufsbildungsforschung (1st edition). Verlag Barbara Budrich. https://www.bibb.de/dienst/publikationen/de/18249 Content editor of this page: Dr. Bodo Rödel, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) (last updated: December 2025)....

Discipline-specific content Here you can find subject-specific information on open access . Experts from various disciplines have compiled information, for example on disciplinary repositories , relevant open access journals , and the spread and acceptance of open access in the respective subject. African Studies Art History Arts Biology Chemistry Classical Studies Comparative Literature Computer Science Economics and Business Studies Educational Sciences Engineering English and American Studies Ethnological Disciplines Gender Studies Geosciences German Studies Historical Studies Information Science Law Life Sciences Linguistics Materials Science Mathematics Media Studies Middle Eastern, North African and Islamic Studies Musicology Philosophy Physics Political Science Psychology Religious Studies Romance Studies Sociology Vocational Education and Training Research...

Intro The research data management cycle open-access.network ( CC BY 4.0 International ) The key takeaways from this article are 1 Research data and their independent publication are becoming increasingly important. 2 The FAIR principles are a de facto standard for research data. 3 Organisational, legal, and infrastructural obstacles before publication can be overcome. Research Data Scientific findings in text form are based, as a rule, on research data. Research data come in a wide variety of forms and types. They comprise all (digital) data generated during the scientific process, for example, through measurements, simulations, interviews, source work, or code and software. The management of these research data has become an essential element of good research practice and is anchored in policies at many institutions. Whereas in the past, research data were often neglected as a mere accessory to publications, made available as a matter of form, or provided only upon request, a strong trend towards the independent and prominent publication of research data in an open format is apparent. In some disciplines, the publication of data is on its way to becoming the main outcome of scientific work. Reasons for Publishing Research Data Research data enable the replication and transparency of scientific results. They are thus the basis for transparent science. Reusability promotes the reanalysis of data, the merging of data from different sources, and thus the opportunity to conduct further research with existing data and to generate new knowledge. Ideally, reusability includes the right to download, copy, disseminate, and automatically process the data and to use them without financial, technical, or legal restrictions. The publication of research data enables their citability and therefore contributes to the scientific reputation of the authors. Through research assessment reforms driven by initiatives such as the Coalition for Open Research Assessment (CoARA) , research data are increasingly recognised as a scholarly achievement in their own right. Source: Hole, B. (2015). Open Science: A New publisher Perspective. Ubiquity press. ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Positions and Drivers European Union In 2016, the European Union (EU) integrated the Open Research Data (ORD) Pilot into the funding programme Horizon 2020 . The ORD Pilot provided for the publication of research data according to the premise "as open as possible, as closed as necessary". Participation was voluntary. In Horizon Europe , the successor programme to Horizon 2020, which runs until 2027, open science is designated as the modus operandi and open access to text and data publications and the provision of the data according to the FAIR principles are mandatory. Germany The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG) refers to the provision of data according to the FAIR principles both in its Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice and in its separately published Guidelines on the Handling of Research Data . When submitting proposals, applicants are required to provide statements on research data management and data management plans. These statements are taken into account in the evaluation. The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and research funding foundations, for example, also require details of the reuse and exploitation of the data. The German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) , which is jointly financed by the Federal Government and the Länder, has proved to be a further driver. According to its self-description , through the work in 26 consortia, "NFDI systematically indexes and networks valuable scientific and research data for the entire German science system and makes it available for sustainable and qualitative use.” Austria The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) introduced an Open-Access Policy for Research Data in 2019, in which it requires its grant recipients to draw up a data management plan (DMP) and to provide open access to the research data “underlying the project’s academic publications”. The Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) does not mandate open access to research data in its Open Science Policy . However, it “strongly encourages grantees to provide access to shareable research data”. The Austrian Open Science Policy , which came into force in 2022, aims inter alia to ensure that research data are published according to the FAIR principles. Moreover, several Austrian universities have adopted a research data management policy or guideline. Further information (in German) can be found on the Austria pages of forschungsdaten.info . Switzerland The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) also considers open access to research data to be a significant contribution. Further information (in English) can be found on the Switzerland pages of forschungsdaten.info . As in the case of research literature, one argument for making research data available in open access is that their production was financed with public funds. At an early stage in the history of open access, the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities recognised data as objects that should be made openly available. Besides the intrinsic motivation to be able to work more efficiently in increasingly data-driven research with the help of good data management and to benefit from open data oneself, the main drivers of the publication of data are the research funders . FAIR Principles In their guidelines and policies, various national and international research funders, for example the EU and the German Research Foundation (DFG), aim to encourage compliance with the FAIR principles. The German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) has set itself the objective of making data “FAIRfügbar”. This is a play on the German word verfügbar , which means “available”. The acronym FAIR stands for F indable, A ccessible, I nteroperable, and R eusable. The term FAIR was coined by the FORCE11-Community and published in the journal Scientific Data on 15 March 2016 ( Wilkinson et al., 2016 ). Support for the FAIR principles can be found inter alia in the G20 Leaders’ Communiqué issued at the end of the Hangzhou Summit in 2016 . The FAIR principles are an internationally recognised standard for the handling of research data. “FAIR data” does not necessarily mean that the data are openly available. Source: based on Halina Sieminska, P. (2019). A FAIRy tale graphics. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3267168 . Bearbeitung: Ilona Lang ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) The four individual elements of FAIR mean: Findable : For the data to be reusable, they must be easily findable. To render them findable, the data are described with rich human- and machine-readable metadata. Accessible : Access to the data found must be possible according to clear rules; authentication and authorisation must be defined. Interoperable : To use data and integrate them with other data, an accessible, shared, and broadly applicable language is needed for knowledge representation. Metadata use standardised vocabularies. Reusable : The description of the data and metadata facilitates their use in different contexts. Suitable data licences are used, and the data meet domain-relevant community standards. The FAIR principles are complemented by the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance. The acronym “CARE” stands for Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility and Ethics. On the basis of the CARE principles, researchers are made aware of the need to uphold the rights and interests of indigenous communities as part of efforts to promote open data and open science – irrespective of whether their research focuses specifically on the communities themselves or otherwise affects them. For research software, the FAIR principles are complemented by the FAIR Principles for Research Software (FAIR4RS Principles) . In connection with the AI transformation, the acronym “FAIR” may also stand for Fully AI Ready. It means that data processed according to the FAIR principles are mostly machine readable and can therefore be processed by AI. Publication When publishing research data, a suitable repository should be chosen – where possible one that provides open access to the data. A disciplinary repository that is well established in the community in question should always be the preferred choice, as one’s own data are thus in a good, specialised context, and findability is easier. The Registry of Research Data Repositories, re3data , can be used to select a suitable data repository. If no suitable disciplinary repository can be found, general or institutional repositories can be used. Well-known examples of general repositories are Zenodo and Dataverse . To guarantee the long-term provision and findability of the data, a permanent address must be assigned. This persistent identifier also ensures the citability of the datasets. Preferred identifiers are the Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) provided by the DataCite consortium. As the reusability of research data is greatly limited if they lack adequate descriptions and metadata, it is imperative that they be curated in accordance with the FAIR principles before publication. Metadata should be assigned at the earliest possible point in time during the research process. They comprise both technical metadata (e.g.: When and by whom was the dataset collected?) and substantive metadata (e.g.: What is the content of the individual variables?). There are specific metadata standards for numerous disciplines. These standards are promoted, maintained, and published in particular by the NFDI consortia (see the RDA Metadata Standards Catalog ). During curation, the data are, above all, technically checked. This includes checking the data format, the basic access, and the formal accuracy. Regarding data format, long-term accessible and open data formats should be used, for example. The checking of the data content must be carried out mainly by the researchers themselves. The curation ends with the choice of a suitable licence . The Creative Commons (CC) licences have proved their worth (more information can be found on the English-language pages of the research data portal forschungsdaten.info ). However, CC licences are not suitable for licensing code or software. There are special open source licences for this purpose. Source: based on Koch, M. (2015). Publizieren über das Repositorium der Leibniz Universität Hannover. TIB Blog Practical tip Tips and tricks on how to make research data openly available to the community are available here in the slides for the Open Access Talk Research Data & Open Access - How to Publish Your Data in German. Challenges Three important challenges in research data management (RDM) and in the publication process should be mentioned as surmountable obstacles: Organisational Research data management and curation require additional competencies. New professions, such as data curator, data steward, and data scientist, are emerging, and research institutions and infrastructure facilities must make corresponding resources available and provide their employees with the necessary basic and continuing training. Research funders now finance data stewards, for example in collaborative research centres or excellence clusters. Institutions must meet the increased demands by implementing policies and adapted procedures. Legal Research data may be personal and very sensitive. These data must be anonymised before publication, or access to them must be restricted in such a way that no data protection rights are violated. Copyright aspects in connection with research data should not be ignored. This applies both to the publication of one’s own data and to the reuse of existing data. It is imperative to obtain legal advice at an early stage in the research process. Infrastructure Especially in the natural sciences, the amounts of data generated can quickly become very large. Past experience shows that the volume of data will steadily grow. Handling petabyte-scale data places demands on storage, backup, archiving, and transfer. Reservations One criticism frequently voiced by researchers stems from their concern that others will benefit excessively from their wealth of data, and that they will not achieve the reputation they need for their scientific careers. It should be made clear in this connection that publication should be sought as early and as comprehensively as possible. However, the data may still be published at a later point in time – after the analysis or subject to an embargo period . This reservation is also being addressed through proposed reforms in the assessment of research. Sovereignty over the data can remain with the data producer. The additional costs associated with the required handling of the data are also frequently mentioned. It is already possible to also request funding for these costs when applying for research funding. Data management must be regarded as a key element of scientific research and be adequately staffed and funded. Outlook The process observed in recent years will further intensify. The publication, reuse, and linking of research data have become the scientific standard. Many journals now require compliance with data availability statements upon submission. Furthermore, dedicated data and software journals are establishing themselves as additional publication venues for research data alongside repositories. Overall, it is to be expected that the boundaries between open access, text publications, and research data will become increasingly blurred, that the topics and tasks will overlap, and that a change in mindset will be brought about in the scientific community under the umbrella term “open science”. For acceptance in the scientific community, data and their handling must be recognised as a scholarly achievement. References Wilkinson, M. D., Dumontier, M., Aalbersberg, Ij. J., Appleton, G., Axton, M., Baak, A., Blomberg, N., Boiten, J.-W., Bonino da Silva Santos, L., Bourne, P. E., Bouwman, J., Brookes, A. J., Clark, T., Crosas, M., Dillo, I., Dumon, O., Edmunds, S., Evelo, C. T., Finkers, R., … Mons, B. (2016). The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Scientific Data , 3 . https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18 Further Reading Austrian Science Fund (FWF). (n.d.). Open-Access Policy for Research Data . https://www.fwf.ac.at/en/about-us/what-we-do/open-science/open-access-policy/open-access-policy-for-research-data Putnings, M., Neuroth, H., & Neumann, J. (2021). Praxishandbuch Forschungsdatenmanagement . de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110657807 Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF). (n.d.). Open Science Policy . https://wiki.wwtf.at/books/open-science-policy/page/open-science-policy-gultig-ab-112026 Further Links forschungsdaten.info – G erman-language platform with information on research data (with some English pages) go-fair.org/ – Go Fair Initiative re3data.org – Registry of Research Data Repositories Content editor of this page: Matthias Landwehr, University of Konstanz (Last updated: May 2026). Special thanks are due to Anna-Karina Renziehausen, TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library ....

Intro Source: OERinForm (2018). Was sind OER? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpjrmx513wk&t=0s ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) The key takeaways from this article are: 1 Open Educational Resources (OER) are educational materials that may be accessed, used, adapted, and re-distributed by everyone at no cost. 2 Advantages for research and teaching arise both in the use and the creation of OER. 3 There are many platforms on which OER can be found or made available to the public Definition There is no generally accepted definition of Open Educational Resources (OER) . Among the many definitions, the following German Commission for UNESCO (n.d.) definition, which is derived from the Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER) adopted by UNESCO's General Conference in 2019 (UNESCO, 2019), is particularly useful: “Open Educational Resources (OER) are educational materials of any type and in any medium that have been released under an open licence. Such a licence permits no-cost access, use, adaptation, and redistribution by others with no or minor restrictions. The authors themselves determine which rights of use they grant and which rights they reserve. OER may comprise individual materials or complete courses or books. Any medium may be used. Curricula, course materials, textbooks, streaming videos, multimedia applications, podcasts – all these materials are OER if they have been released under an open licence.” (Our translation from the German) German Commission for UNESCO (n.d.) definition (available only in German) ; see also the UNESCO Recommendation on OER (UNESCO, 2019) . Why OER? OER offer a range of advantages for research and teaching: Advantages of using OER: Existing materials can be re-used, adapted, continuously developed, and kept up to date. The time gained can be used for one's own research. The choice of an open licence creates legal certainty and protects against copyright infringements. Advantages of creating or updating OER: The visibility of one's own teaching and research is increased. Digitalisation and networking enable new collaborations. Update support from others contributes to the improvement of one's own materials. Open Educational Resources Source: Schneider, H. (2022). Facilitate your Teaching with OER....

Here you can read about these basics What is Open Access? Open Access and Reuse Green, Gold and Diamond Open Access Open Access to data Arguments and Reservations History of the Open Access movement Quality Assurance and Impact Measurement...

Intro Ten Reasons for Open Access Source: based on Brinken, H. (2021). 10 Gründe für Open Access. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4643859 ( CC BY 4.0 International ) The key takeaways from this article are 1 Open access and open science policies have been adopted at the science policy level and at the level of research institutions and research funders. 2 Research institutions can create their own open access policies in a modular way. 3 Central elements of an open access policy are: preamble, self-description, declarations of intent and rationale, recommendations for action, and references to technical and advisory services. Goals Among the measures to establish open access , open access policies are a much-used instrument, especially at the level of higher education institutions and non-university research institutions. Specifically, open access policies pursue the following objectives: to express support for the open access movement, to position the institution in the discourse on open access, and to encourage members of the institution to publish open access or deposit their publications in open access repositories. Activities and measures in the area of open access are increasingly embedded in the broader open science context. The present text first provides an overview of the main players in the research landscape and their guidelines. This is followed by concrete suggestions for drafting institutional open access policies. Policies of Important Players "Digital Information" Initiative by the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany At the science policy level in Germany, the major non-university research organisations, the German Rectors’ Conference , the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) , and the German Research Foundation (DFG) jointly established the "Digital Information" Initiative , also known as the Alliance Initiative. According to its mission statement , the initiative aims "to equip scientists with the best possible information infrastructure they need for their research" ( Steering Committee for the "Digital Informa­tion" Initiative of the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany, 2017, p. 2 ). Furthermore, it is actively committed to the further expansion of open access to scholarly knowledge. Moreover, within the framework of Projekt Deal , the Alliance Initiative has concluded joint nationwide licensing agreements with two major scholarly publishers to date, namely with Springer Nature in 2020 and with Wiley in 2019. Universities and Other Higher Education Institutions Numerous universities and other higher education institutions (HEIs) ha­ve adopted open access policies in the form of guidelines or recommen­dations. Many HEIs employ open access officers , who act as contact per­sons for all topics relating to open access, and who organise the imple­mentation of open access at the institution ( Hübner & Riesenweber, 2018 ). HEIs are largely autonomous. Within the framework of their higher education policies (digitalisation strategies, agreements on objectives, science plans, higher education legislation, etc.), many German federal states link financial support to open access. However, HEIs’ possibilities for imposing binding requirements on researchers are limited. Many HEIs therefore take the approach of promoting open access though informa­tion events and services, thereby encouraging researchers to publish open access or deposit their publications in open access repositories. Moreover, via publication funds for open access articles and open access monographs and edited collections, libraries can link the promotion of open access to certain conditions and thus establish quality standards ( Open-Access-Büro Berlin, 2020 ). Non-University Research Institutions Many non-university research institutions, such as the Max Planck Society, the Leibniz Association, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and the Helmholtz Association, take a very concrete approach to the transition to open access ( Pampel, 2021, pp. 33 ff. ): The Max Planck Society describes itself as a "co-founder of the inter­national Open Access movement". In 2003, it published the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities , thereby initiating a process of follow-up conferences on open access and open science. The society also plays an important role in the global OA2020 Initiative . The Max Planck Society has anchored the commitment to open access in its Rules of Good Scientific Practice , which include the binding requirement that research results achieved with public funds should be made freely available wherever possible ( Max Planck Society, 2009, p. 2 ). Moreover, with the Max Planck Digital Library , the Max Planck Society operates an extensive information portal and supports its researchers’ open access publications with a publication fund. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft pursues a binding Fraunhofer Open Access Strategy 2020 , which states that "the goal for 2020 is to ensure that at least one half of all scientific papers in a year are published open access, with at least one third of these via the gold road where papers are first published in an open access journal" ( Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, 2015, p. 2 ). The Leibniz Association has also adopted a far-reaching open access policy , in which it not only expresses its commitment to open science but also sees itself as an active player in the further development of open research. Leibniz Association researchers are expected to publish open access and to play an active role in open access journals . When doing so, they are advised and supported by their respective Leibniz institutions. With the Helmholtz Open Science Office , the Helmholtz Association embeds the topic of open access in the broader open science context. In 2004, it became the first research association in Germany to adopt its own open access policy , which stated that: "Publications from the Helmholtz Association shall in future, without exception, be available free of charge as far as no conflicting agreement with publishers or others exist" ( Helmholtz-Association, 2004 ). Since 2013, this provision applies also to beneficiaries of funding from the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association. In 2016, the Helmholtz Association formulated its Open Access Policy in concrete terms and set a target of 100% open access publications with effect from 2025. DFG as a Central Funding Institution The German Research Foundation (DFG) requests all funding recipients to publish their project results directly in open access. It has implemen­ted various funding lines to strengthen open access. By supporting researchers, libraries, institutions, and organisations, the DFG is the key player as far as the implementation and acceleration of the transition to open access in Germany is concerned. The DFG signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities in 2003, and requests funding recipients to publish their project results open access for the purpose of scientifically adequate communication. Specifically, the contributions should either be published in peer-reviewed and/or renowned open access journals or on open access platforms, or deposited, if possible without delay, in repositories in addition to traditional publication with a publisher ( German Research Foundation, 2021, pp. 42–43 ). The DFG rejects a general open access mandate such as that pursued in Plan S because it fears that this could lead to higher article processing charges (APCs). Moreover, it considers that a move away from the Journal Impact Factor , which is called for in Plan S, would involve fundamental changes to the system by which research outputs are assessed, which would not be possible without major upheavals ( German Research Foundation, 2018 ). For these reasons, the DFG is not participating in cOAlition S, although it supports the efforts of the initiative in principle. Professional Associations A number of professional associations also endorsed open access and open science at an early stage. Especially worthy of mention is the Initiative for Electronic Information and Communication (IuK-Initiative), which was established in Germany in 1994. In the early stage of digital transformation, the IuK-Initiative promoted the building of a virtual and digital library and advocated a science-friendly amendment of German copyright law ( Weisel, 2012 ). Several professional associations can also be found among the signato­ries of the Berlin Declaration: the German Mathematical Society (DMV) (2005), the German Informatics Society (GI) (2007), the German Society for Pre- and Protohistory (DGUF) (2016), and the German Psychological Society (DGPs) (2017). As early as 1998, the German Physical Society (DPG) founded an open access journal, the New Journal of Physics . The DPG is thus one of the pioneers of open access publishing in Germany. However, the majority of professional associations are only slowly engaging with open access, and they are doing so under pressure from international developments (especially Plan S ). Only a few professional societies have adopted open access policies of their own. In the course of the further development of the transition to open access, the discussion within the professional associations will possibly increase in importance – not least because many of them are considering converting their own journals to open access ( Pampel & Strecker, 2020 ). Creating a Policy Implementing Open Access Find an introduction here. Policy Frameworks Find an introduction here. Open Access Policy Making The purpose of open access policy-making is to initiate a process of self-aware­ness that will ideally result in the adoption of a policy. During this process, players in an institution take a position on open access, and then develop a common position. With the help of dedicated policies, institutions can document the fact that they are taking a position in the current transformation of science communication. The prerequisite for the success of a policy-making process is therefore the participation of all relevant actors in the institution based on an effective concept of internal communication. open-access.network ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Policy-Making Process A model proposed by Howlett and Ramesh (2009, p. 91 et seq.) distinguishes five stages of policy-making: agenda setting, policy formulation, decision making, implementation, and evaluation. For the process of creating an open access policy, the following steps can be derived from this model: Problem identification The introduction of a new policy, or the amendment or expansion of an existing policy, occurs in response to needs, problems, conflicts, or current developments in the institutional environment. It is helpful to analyse these context factors in order to formulate arguments for setting the agenda and to anticipate opposition to the policy-making process. Even at this early stage, thought can be given to the organisation of the process. Agenda setting The support of persons in executive positions is enlisted for the project. The steering and coordination of the process can be taken on by a body, a working group, or an individual. Further relevant groups of actors are informed, and arguments for a policy-making process put forward. The planned process is transparently presented. Formulation and decision making A policy document is formulated (see below) and repeatedly reviewed, supplemented, and/or amended in consultation with the competent institutional bodies and other stakeholders. Once all desired changes have been accepted, or rejected with proper justification, the version of the document that is ready for adoption makes its way through the competent bodies. After the incorporation of the resulting amendments, the policy is finally adopted. Communication and evaluation The policy will produce effective results only if the recommendations and requests for action are disseminated via numerous other channels after the official publication of the policy document. Attention should be drawn to the revised or newly created policy in newsletters, on websites, on appropriate occasions, and at meetings. A transparent presentation of the policy process is desirable, including the provision of a "clean" version of the policy document in which changes have been implemented, and a link to the final version (i.e. the version that is ready for adoption) on the web pages of the competent organisational unit (e.g. open access office, university library). The impact of an open access policy can be quantified with the help of suitable monitoring tools, for example in research information systems or on publication data management platforms. Although this linear presentation of the policy-making process diverges considerably from the discontinuous and conflict-ridden processes in the real world of academia, it may be helpful for planning purposes. Provisos Recommendations for action may be made sub­ject to provisos. Justifications cited may include freedom of science or discipline-specific publishing cultures. Example Wording "With due regard to the constitutionally protected freedom of research and tea­ching and the freedom to choose the publication medium and venue that results therefrom, and taking into account the different statuses of open access in the various disciplinary cultures, the JGU makes the following recommendations for the transition to open access." - Open Access Policy of Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) Mainz Technical services Mention of technical infrastructures for open access publishing provided by the institution or by third parties. These include inter alia reposito­ries for publications, research data, and code; systems for publication data management; metadata services; controlling instruments; research information systems; open journal platforms; research data management systems, etc. Example Wording "The university supports the findability and dissemination, and thus the visibility, of scholarly texts through the following measures: download option and statistics on the university’s research portal download option on the institution’s web pages via Pure Plugins provision of bibliographic data for literature search engines and catalogues (LUX; BASE; GVK etc.) publication of theses (dissertations and habilitation theses)" - Open Access Strategy of Leuphana Universität Lüneburg Advisory services Mention of publishing advisory services for scholars and scientists, journal editors, and publishers, as well as other services to support open access publishing offered by the institution Example Wording "Information events, workshops, tutorials, and individual consultations on open access are conducted regularly by the Open Access Team." - Open Access Policy of Chemnitz University Library Final clause Example Wording "If individual provisions of this policy should be invalid or unfeasible after the policy comes into effect, the finality of the policy will be unaffected in all other respects." - Open Access Policy of the Helmholtz Association, 2016 Date, signatories, reference to the official policy document in the version put to the vote, PDF download option Footer Contact data, references, further links Rights Retention Strategy An explicit rights retention strategy can be a meaningful element of an open access policy. An overview of the landscape of rights-retention-strategy practices in Europe, including recommendations for institutional policymakers, research funders, legislators, and publishers can be found in Labastida et al. (2023) . Structure & Content Open access policies include the following elements: Header Seal of the institution; title of the document; if applicable, reference to the corresponding resolution in the official version Preamble Preliminary remarks that explain the societal, political, or scientific context of the open access policy and refer to the self-image of the institution Example Wording "Innovation is impossible unless resear­chers are able to share new knowledge as soon as it has been established. In its capa­city as a publicly funded organization, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has a duty to in­form the general public about its research activities. At the same time, industrial part­ners have a need for information that will allow them to find appropriate partners for their projects. Consequently, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft pursues a publishing policy based on unre­stricted access to information, as defined in the 2003 Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities." - Open Access Policy der Fraunenhofer- Gesellschaft Self-description (if not included in the preamble) A characterisation of the institution from which the consonance of its goals and function with an open access culture is derived. The mission statement of the institution possibly contains statements from which wording can be taken. Example Wording "The University of Regensburg stands, among other things, for the exchange of knowledge and culture between the cultural regions of Eastern and Western Europe and North America, for dialogue with society, for a cosmopolitan university culture, and for long-term international relations in research, teaching, and study (Mission statement of the University of Regensburg, as of 5 Oct. 2007)." - Open Access Policy of the University of Regensburg Definitions Conceptual definition of open access and/or a brief overview of the historical context that demonstrates the importance of the topic for the activities of institution’s members Example Wording "Open Access stands for unlimited and free access to quality-controlled scholarly infor­mation on the internet. Thanks to the eli­mination of technical, financial, and legal barriers, Open Access has helped to acce­lerate academic innovation processes and to improve the visibility of research results. This supports scholars in their research and publishing and maximises the benefit of publicly funded research. As a member of the Leibniz Association, Technische Infor­mationsbibliothek (TIB) – German National Library of Science and Technology is committed to Open Access." - Open Access Policy of the Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB) References Reference to previous declarations and initiatives, commonalities, and, if applicable, obligations of the institution resulting therefrom Example Wording "Leibniz University Hannover supports the scientific and political request for open access to knowledge in the sciences and humanities, as determined in the ‘Berlin Declaration’ issued October 2003 and the “Berlin 3 Open Access” recommendation confirmed March 2005, in Southampton, UK." - Open Access Resolution of Leibniz University Hannover Rationale Rationale for the support for open access that the policy aims to achieve. The rationale is formulated from the perspective of the institution or from a superordinate perspective. Example Wording "In view of its responsibility for compre­hensive access to academic knowledge, Heidelberg University is pressing ahead to expand open access." - Open Access Policy of the University of Heidelberg Declarations of intent Mention of the goals in the area of open access that the institution has set itself. These goals may include the provision of a suitable organisational, financial, and technical infrastructure for open access publishing; the achievement of a certain percentage of open access publications within a specified time limit; the implementation of further higher education policy measures; and participa­tion in transition processes and other, trans-institutional developments. In addition, the equal consideration of peer-reviewed open access publications in agreements on objectives and in performance-related funding award procedures, and the implementation of measures for internal communication (tutorials, open access officers) can be laid down. Example Wording "When assessing scholarly performance, the University of Kassel will treat peer-re­viewed contributions equally, irrespective of whether the contributions are fee-based or open access. […] Moreover, pursuant to its Research Data Guideline, the University of Kassel will offer to also make research data that arise or are collected in the con­text of scientific work openly accessible. The University of Kassel will seek to make publications produced at the university a­vailable on a large scale on the university’s publication server, KOBRA9, which will fa­cilitate the optimal findability, authenticity, integrity, and persistent citability of these publications." - Open Access-Policy of the University of Kassel "The MLU supports and advises scholars and scientists on publishing scholarly works in open access formats, and also on making works available to the public via independent publishing channels. This requires regular training and information offerings for both researchers and staff. Adequate formats will be developed for this purpose and regularly implemented. The MLU will establish instruments to support researchers with publication costs within a certain financial framework. In particular, it will establish a publication fund and create the prerequisites for the acquisition of further funding for this purpose." - Open Access Policy of the Martin-Luther-Universität (MLU) Halle-Wittenberg Recommendations for action, requests, or mandates for publishing authors The levels of obligation of the wording may vary. They range from recommendations for action, through requests, to mandates. Options for action include among other things: Research and teaching in accordance with the aims of open science, open access, and open education The publication of research results and scho­larly publications in an open access format The self-archiving of research results or scholarly publications on an institutional document server or in a repository either in parallel with publication or after expiry of an embargo period Publication under open licences , such as Creative Commons licences Inclusion of publication costs in applications for third-party funding Securing of a lasting right of exploitation vis-à-vis publishers Avoidance of granting publishers an exclusive right of use Involvement as a reviewer and editor in peer-reviewed open access journals or commit­ment to a progressive open access policy on the part of publishers For managers: a recommendation to staff that they explore the possibility of publishing research results in peer-reviewed open access formats Example Wording 1 "In order to anchor openness in teaching and research lastingly at the TUHH, we recommend all TUHH members to actively pursue the objectives of Open Science, Open Access and Open Education." - Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) Policy of Openness in Research and Teaching 2 "Therefore, Humboldt-Universität recommends all scientists to submit their articles to Open Access journals and to publish monographs and collected works on Open Access platforms." - Open Access Declaration of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 3 "Ruhr University Bochum requests its mem­bers to self-archive an electronic copy of all peer-reviewed published articles on an open access document server (green open access) insofar as there are no legal objections to doing so." - Open Access Resolution of Ruhr University Bochum 4 "TU Braunschweig recommends its authors to use open publication licences that pro­mote dissemination in open access (prefe­rably a Creative Commons CC BY licence)." - Guideline on Open Access at the Technische Universität (TU) Braunschweig 5 "The funding regulations of many third-party funders allow funds for article pro­cessing charges (APCs) to be included in the project budget when submitting a funding proposal. Moreover, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has established a Post-Grant Fund to support open access publications resulting from completed BMBF-funded projects. It is strongly advisable to make use of such possibilities when planning and conducting third-party-funded projects." - Open Access at the University of Greifswald 6 "When negotiating with publishers, resear­chers are encouraged to secure the right to self-archive electronic versions as provided for in the guidelines of the German Re­search Foundation (DFG) and other research funders." - Open Access Strategy of the Leuphana Universität Lüneburg 7 "When publishing in a closed-access publi­cation, Reutlingen University recommends [its members] to forgo granting exclusive rights of use and to retain a non-exclusive right to make [their works] available to the public, so that they may self-archive [them] in Reutlingen University’s repository." - Open Access Policy of Reutlingen University 8 "As a scholarly author, you often work also as a reviewer or editor for scholarly jour­nals. Please take note of publishers‘ pricing policies towards customers and, if applic­able, work for better open access policies on the part of the publishers." - Open Access Policy of the University of Göttingen 9 "In their capacity as leaders, researchers at the Technische Universität München are specifically requested to also allow their employees to publish in accordance with open access." - Technische Universität München (TUM) Open Access Policy References Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. (2015). Fraunhofer Open Access-Strategie 2020 . https://www.openaccess.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/openaccess/de/documents/Fraunhofer-Open-Access-Strategie-2020.pdf German Research Foundation (DFG). (2018). DFG statement on the establishment of “cOAlition S” to support open access . Information for Researchers No. 56. https://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/announcements_proposals/2018/info_wissenschaft_18_56/index.html German Research Foundation (DFG). (2021). Verwendungsrichtlinien. Allgemeine Bedingungen für Förderverträge mit der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. (DFG) . https://www.dfg.de/formulare/2_00/v/dfg_2_00_de_v0121.pdf Helmholtz Association. (2004). Decision on the implementation of the Berlin Declaration . https://os.helmholtz.de/en/open-science-in-the-helmholtz-association/eng-open-access/open-access-policies/ Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., & Perl, A. (2009). Studying public policy : policy cycles & policy subsystems (3rd edition). Oxford University Press. Hübner, A., & Riesenweber, C. (2018). Datentabelle Inhalte der Open-Access-Policies deutscher Hochschulen . Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1291855 Labastida i Juan, I., Melinščak Zlodi, I., Proudman, V., & Treadway, J. (2023). Opening knowledge: retaining rights and open licensing in Europe . SPARC Europe. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8084051 Max Planck Society. (2009). Rules of good scientific practice . https://www.mpg.de/16404553/rules-scientific-practice.pdf Open-Access-Büro Berlin. (2020). Empfehlung: Förderbedingungen für die Publikationsfonds für Monografien und Sammelbände an den Berliner Universitäten . Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4110229 Pampel, H. (2021). Strategische und operative Handlungsoptionen für wissenschaftliche Einrichtungen zur Gestaltung der Open-Access-Transformation . Philosophische Fakultät der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. https://doi.org/10.18452/22946 Pampel, H., & Strecker, D. (2020). Wissenschaftliche Fachgesellschaften und Open Access in Deutschland. Bericht . https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/rest/items/item_5000001_1/component/file_5000002/content Steering Committee for the “Digital Information” Initiative of the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany. (2017). S haping digital information in science. “Digital Information” Initiative by the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany. Mission Statement 2018–2022 . https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/faces/ViewItemOverviewPage.jsp?itemId=item_2829904 Weisel, L. (2012). Interview zur Auflösung der IuK-Initiative Wissenschaft. LIBREAS. Library Ideas , 20 . https://libreas.eu/ausgabe20/texte/01weisel.htm Further Reading Angelaki, M. (2021). Model Policy on Open Science for Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) . Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4666050 Canadian Association of Research Libraries. (2020). CARL Institutional Open Access Policy Template and Toolkit . https://www.carl-abrc.ca/oa-policy-template-and-toolkit/ Harvard Open Access Project (HOAP). (2021). Good practices for university open-access policies . Cyber.Harvard.Edu. https://cyber.harvard.edu/hoap/Good_practices_for_university_open-access_policies Macquarie University. (n.d.). Resources for Writing, Reviewing, and Developing Policy Documents . https://policies.mq.edu.au/resources.php OpenAIRE. (n.d.). Toolkit for Policy Makers on Open Science and Open Access . OpenAIRE.Eu. https://www.openaire.eu/toolkit-for-policy-makers-on-open-science-and-open-access PASTEUR4OA (n.d.). OA Policy Alignment Checklist. http://www.pasteur4oa.eu/resources/154#.YR9wp44zY2y University rights-retention OA policies. (2023, December 21). In Open access directory (OAD) [wiki]. https://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/University_rights-retention_OA_policies...