Open Access for Research

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

Open Access Journal Scheme 2023

The Scheme will provide up to AUD$3000 to cover open access charges for eligible publications. Applications will continue to be accepted until the funding pool ($200,000) is exhausted.

How do I apply?

Information about the application process can be found on StaffNet.

 

Note : It's important to use the Open Access Publishing Decision Tree first as you may not have to apply to the scheme is there is a Read and Publish Agreement already in place for your journal.

Evidence to support your application

You will need to include the following in your application:

  • evidence of APC fee's
  • confirmation that your research output will be published as a fully open access paper
  • evidence that the journal is from the Scimago Q1 Journal List opens in a new window (Quartile ranking) in the applicable discipline area.

Including the CiteScore rankings of your journal (current metrics of the journals impact) will also enhance your application.

Scimago Journal & Country Ranking

The SCImago Journal & Country Rank (SJR) opens in a new window is a website that provides journals and country metrics based on Scopus (Elsevier) data. The SJR was developed by the SCImago Research Group. Journals can be searched for by publisher, journal name or ISSN. Each journal page provides metrics such as the journal's h-index, its SJR, Open Access level, its subject area quartile and the percentage of documents within the journal that have been cited.

1. Searching for Open Access Journals in Scimago.

By selecting Journal Ranking on the homepage of Scimago all journals will be displayed from from newest uploaded to oldest.
You can then either search for a known Open Access Journal title in the search box OR select Only Open access journals and browse. Refining search features will assist you in your title search.

SCIMAGO OA journal searching

2. Identifying Open access journals and Quartile rankings

Open access journals can be identified by the international OA symbol, the orange unlocked padlock. Select the journal title to find out which level of Open Access (Gold, Hybrid, Green) is supported by that journal/publisher.
Quartile rankings necessary from your Open Access Journal scheme application are listed under the SJR column. Details can be found by selecting the journal title.

OA confirmation and Quartile rankings

Citescore

Including the CiteScore of your journal's impact can provide additional support to your Open Access Journal Scheme Application.

Citescore is a new standard that gives a more comprehensive, transparent and current view of a journal’s impact.
Scimago opens in a new window offers a Total Cites (CiteScore) spanning 3 years, as well as a range of other metrics.


Total Cites (3years)
Number of citations received in the selected year by a journal to the documents published in the three previous years, i.e. citations received in year X to documents published in years X-1, X-2 and X-3. All types of documents are considered.
Note: Approach ranking data responsibly, by selecting the ranking material closest to your projected publishing date.

Scimargo cite scores

Click the journal title to find more detailed information about Quartile ranking and CiteScore's.

Expand the "plus" symbol in each metric table for information that provides context for each metric for your Open Access Journal Scheme 2021 application.

SCIMARGO citescores and quartile info

Elsevier provides a more detailed explanation of the CiteScore metrics opens in a new window