Open Access for Research

An introduction to Open Access and how to make your research open.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns copyright in open access journal articles?

There are different business models for OA journals but generally these journals seek a non- exclusive licence from the author to publish and does not require an assignment of copyright to the journal.

SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) offers an Author Addendum which can secure your rights as the author of a journal article.

For more information access the SPARC Author Rights website opens in a new window.
Are open access journals peer reviewed? Most open access journals are peer reviewed with the same or higher standards as traditional scholarly journals.
You can find a list of high-impact Q1 OA journals in the Scimago Journal List opens in a new window.
How do I know if articles are freely available? Articles will often have an icon indicating the article is freely available or Open Access. The most common one is an open lock, but it varies from platform to platform.
You can download browser extensions to search for Open Access versions of journal articles.
What are the consequences if I don't comply? All staff and students are required to comply with CQUniversity polices and non-compliance may result in disciplinary action.
However, the main consequence of your research not being made available on open access is that you are limiting the potential reach and impact of your work.
What if the publisher rejects the author addendum?

Explain to the publisher why it is important for you to retain these rights in your own work.

  • Ask the publisher to articulate why the license rights provided under the SPARC Author Addendum are insufficient to allow publication.
  • Evaluate the adequacy of the publisher’s response in light of the reasonable and growing need for authors to retain certain key rights to their works.
  • Consider publishing with an organization that will facilitate the widest dissemination of their authors’ works, to help them fulfill their personal and professional goals as scholars
Subjects: How do I..?, Research