Open Access

Open Access publishing implies that scientific publications are made freely, immediately and permanently available to everyone.
 



Publishing Open Access (OA)

When publishing Open Access (OA), the author retains copyright to his or her publication but grant users the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search in or link to the full text without demanding financial compensation.

Expenses for OA publishing are covered either by the research funder or Nord University’s Open Access Fund.

Publishing an Open Access article
Check list prior to publication:

1. Find an appropriate journal:
2. Check the publisher in DBH/NSD’s approved publication channels to ensure credit in the Norwegian financing system for scientific publications. Only journals on levels 1 and 2 give credit in this system.
3. If your preferred journal require a publication fee, a so-called Article Processing Charge (APC), you should apply to cover such expenses when you apply for research funding. If your research funder cannot cover these expenses, you can apply for financial support through Nord University’s Open Access Fund.
4. Finish by self-archiving your article. 

Publishing an Open Access chapter
If you are contributing to a chapter in an Open Access anthology the editor will assure the quality of the publisher and contents. Please check the following:
Is the publisher listed in The Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)? DOAB has an overview of serious publishers publishing OA books.
Check the publisher in DBH’s list of approved publication channels to ensure credit in the Norwegian financing system for scientific publications. The publishers listed in DBH have been quality-assured.
Check your contract carefully to make sure that you maintain the rights you wish to maintain. Here you will find information on copyright and licenses.
You may apply to have possible expenses covered by Nord University’s Open Access Fund. 

Publishing Open Access books
Check list prior to publication:
The Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) has an overview of serious publishers that publish OA books 
Check the publisher in DBH/NSD’s list of approved publication channels to ensure credit in the Norwegian financing system for scientific publications. The publishers listed in DBH have been quality-assured.
Check your contract carefully to make sure that you maintain the rights you wish to maintain. Here you will find information on copyright and licenses.
Publishing OA books often implies considerable expenses. At Nord University you have some of these expenses covered by applying to the OA Fund.

Avoid fraud
In recent years there have been several incidents of fraud through so-called predatory journals. Many Open Access journals cover their costs through Article Processing Charges (APCs). Fraudsters exploit this by establishing fake OA journals. Recently fraudsters have also started organizing so-called ‘scientific’ conferences. Both of these types of fraud have in common a lack of quality assurance in research.

Don’t be tricked!

Journals
  • Check DBH/NSD’s list of approved publication channels whose journals have been quality assured by a committee of experts. Journals should be approve don levels 1 or 2. Please note that it is possible to nominate titles for consideration. In this case, experts consider journals on your behalf
  • Check The Directory of Open Acess Journals (DOAJ) where journals have been quality assessed by members of the DOAJ staff
  • Ask you colleagues: Do they have experience publishing in or reading a given journal?
  • Check the website Think. Check. Submit for more comprehensive information on predatory journals
  • Many fraudsters are very active contacting research with offers of publications. These also applies to Nord researchers! 
  • Search online for the title of the journal and add the term ‘predatory’. Often, other people have shared their experiences
Conferences
  • Ask you colleagues: Do they have experience participating at a given conference?
  • Check the website Think. Check. Submit for more information on how to detect fraudulent conferences
  • Many fraudsters are very active contacting research with offers of publications. These also applies to Nord researchers! 
  • Search online for the name of the conference, organizer, etc.

Why publish Open Access

  • Publicly funded research is openly accessible 
    Research funded by society should be accessible to everyone. Society should not have to pay for access to this research

  • Open Access removes cost barriers
    One of the aims of Open Access is to alter the current journal funding model (the subscription-based model) and create a funding model where you do not pay for access to research findings

  • Open Access removes access barriers
    Open Access provides everyone with equal opportunity to access research findings. The use of open licences implies that work may be shared and used with fewer limitations

  • Open Access distributes knowledge
    New knowledge will be discovered faster once it is openly accessible. The removal of copyright barriers implies that more people can use and build on this knowledge. Open Access publications are downloaded, read and cited more frequently than other publications

  • Open Access secures future access
    Publications which are archived and made available in open institutional, disciplinary or national repositories will also be accessible in the future

  • Open Access makes authors maintain copyright
    When choosing to publish Open Access, authors maintain the rights to use their own work instead of transferring copyright to publishers


How to publish Open Access

Today, there are four ways to publish Open Access:

Gold OA, publishing articles in Open journals 
In Open journals all the articles are openly accessible immediately without any embargo. Generally, authors maintain copyright and publications are accessible with an open license. Here you will find instructions on how to publish Gold OA.

Please note: Several journals/publishers use the term Gold OA about what is actually hybrid OA (se information on hybrid OA below). Check  www.doaj.org to see if a journal is Gold OA, as the majority of Gold OA journals are listed there.

Norwegian Journal Agreements
In 2019, Unit (The Norwegian Directorate of ICT and Joint Services in Higher Education and Research) entered into so-called read-and-publish agreements with the publishers Wiley, Elsevier, Springer Nature and Taylor & Francis. Please note that most of the agreements apply only to articles submitted in 2019/2020 - the time of implementation varies with each agreement.
The Taylor & Francis and Springer Nature agreements have not yet been made public, and the latter applies from 2020. The two former agreements entail that Nord's researchers may publish in most of the publishers' journals without having to pay Article Processing Charges (APCs). Moreover, articles comprised by the agreements are made openly accessiible. When the corresponding author is affiliated with a Norwegian institution that takes part in the agreeement, and 
has gotten an article accepted in one of the journals included in the agreement, the publisher enquires whether they would like the article to be published OA and they shall accept this offer. Subsequently, the article will be made openly accessible without any extra costs.

Journals included in the Wiley agreement (Please note: The Excel form contains two sheets - make sure to search for your journal in both of them!)

Journals included in the Elsevier agreement (including learned societies journals as of 1 October 2019)

Journals included in the Taylor & Francis agreement (implementation delayed, so far until 11 November 2019)

(Please note: So far it is unknown which journals are included in the Springer Nature agreement - all we know is that only hybrid OA journals are included)

Green OA, self-archiving in Open repositories
Archiving scientific articles, Master theses, PhD dissertations and other research materials in Open repositories ensures Open Access. Generally, scientific articles may be deposited in a post-print or accepted manuscript version, post-peer review, and not the final published version. Often, publishers or journals require an embargo of 6 to 36 months upon publication before post-prints may be made available. See instructions on how to self-archive your articles.

Hybrid OA, Open publishing of articles in subscription-based journals
This model implies paying for access to individual articles. These articles are published in traditionally subscription-based journals but are made openly accessible through payment of a publication fee (APC). Generally, hybrid OA is the most expensive way of achieving Open Access.

Requirements for Open Access

Nord University’s Open Access policy establishes the local guidelines for OA publishing at Nord University. Generally, researchers at Nord University encounter two research funders requiring Open Access. Both The Research Council of Norway and the EU require that scientific publications funded by them must be published Open Access. Furthermore, the Norwegian government has developed national aims and guidelines for OA.

Open Access policy at Nord university
In brief, Nord University’s OA policy may be summarized as follows:

  • All researchers have academic freedom and decide for themselves where to publish

  • All articles crediting Nord University must be deposited in Brage Nord. See instructions on self-archiving

  • Researchers must publish in pure OA journals as long as this is academically justifiable

  • Generally, Nord University encourages scientific staff, PhD candidates and students to make their scientific books/articles, dissertations and Master theses openly accessible. See information and instructions on self-archiving

National goals and guidelines for Open Access to research articles
The aim of the Norwegian Government is that all publicly funded Norwegian research articles shall be openly accessible within 2024. The Government has therefore established guidelines and measures for Open Access to research articles.

A brief overview of the Government’s aims and guidelines:

  • Researchers must publish in Open journals as long as this is academically justifiable

  • Only in special cases may articles based on public funding be published in journals that do not allow articles to be made accessible in open repositories

  • All publicly funded research articles must be deposited in a suitable repository no later than at the time of publication

  • Institutions that finance research projects shall contribute to covering the costs of Open publication
Read more about goals and guidelines on the Government’s website.

The Research Council of Norway
Is your project funded by the Research Council of Norway? In that case the Research Council’s Open Access regulations apply:

  • The Research Council of Norway requires Open Access to all scientific articles resulting from research that is fully or partly funded by the Research Council

  • If articles result from projects that are fully or partly funded by the Research Council are not self-archived according to principles of Open Access, the Research Council may withhold funding. See information on self-archiving (pending update)

  • As of 2021 projects funded by the Research Council must be according to Plan S
The EU
Is your project funded by the European Union? In that case the following mandate on Open Access applies:

  • A machine-readable electronic version of the publishers PDF or final manuscript version (postprint) must be deposited to a suitable repository, e.g. Nord Open. The article must be archived as soon as possible, and no later than at the time of publication
      • Please note: This also applies if you have published your article Open Access (gold or hybrid OA)
  • Once your publication has been deposited, Open Access shall be ensured via the chosen repository. The maximum embargo period is 6 months for articles in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) journals and 12 months for SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) journals.
      • Metadata on the publication is made openly accessible immediately, without embargo, so that the publication becomes searchable and findable in the archive
  • As of 2021 all projects funded by the EU must in accordance with Plan S


The Open Access Fund

Nord University has an Open Access Fund to cover OA publication costs. Upon application, the fund may cover costs to publish Open Access articles, monographs and articles/chapters in anthologies.
The OA Fund has got two sets of guidelines – one for funding OA publication of journal articles and another for funding OA publication of monographs and chapters in anthologies.

Main criteria for funding OA publication of journal articles
  • The applicant must be affiliated with Nord University and s/he must also be the corresponding author of the publication
  • Funding is provided for publication in pure OA journals only, not in subscription-based hybrid journals offering authors the possibility to pay for access to individual articles
  • The journal must be listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and must be approved on level 1 or 2 in DBH/NSD’s overview of approved publication channels
  • The article must be peer-reviewed and accepted for publication
  • The author is obliged to archive a version of his/her article in the university's institutional repository, Nord Open
Guidelines for Nord University's OA fund

How to apply for funding for OA publication of journal articles?
New agreements with publishers Wiley andElsevier grant free OA to a majority and an increasing number of journals. If you are publishing in a Wiley or Elsevier journal, check with the journal if the agreement applies and if it does, follow their instructions on how to proceed. Recently, another agreement was made with Springer Nature, but this has not yet been made public. If you are publishing in one of the Wiley or Elsevier journals not included in the agreements, or in a journal from a different publisher (e.g. Taylor & Francis), you have to apply for funding from the OA Fund.

Main criteria for funding to OA publication of monographs and chapters in anthologies
  • The applicant must be affiliated with Nord University and s/he must also be the corresponding author of the publication
  • Funding is provided for publication in pure OA monographs or articles/chapters in pure OA anthologies only
  • The monograph/anthology must be published with an open Creative Commons licence
  • The publisher must be approved on level 1 or 2 in DBH/NSD’s overview of approved publication channels
  • The publication (monograph or anthology chapter) must be peer-reviewed 

How to apply for funding of OA publication of monographs and chapters in anthologies
We do not have an application form for funding of OA anthologies or monographs.
Please contact us at openaccess@nord.no 


Search for OA journals in DBH/NSD

See instructions on how to search for OA journals in DBH/NSD's directory of approved publication channels

Registering doctoral theses in CRIStin

Log into CRIStin and do the following (or follow step-by-step guide below):

  • Click on Research results/NVI
  • Choose Register result
  • Choose «Report/thesis»
  • Choose the subcategory «Doctoral dissertation»
  • Register author and supervisors
  • Confirm good research practice
  • Register title
  • Fill in the form Publication status
  • Upload full-text document

Self-archiving

As an employee at Nord University you are obliged to self-archive your scientific publications in the university’s institutional repository, Nord Open. By doing this, your work becomes more visible and it will be easier to share your research with your colleagues.

Self-archiving of research articles
Published research articles should be self-archived as follows:

  1. Log into CRIStin and find the publication in question. If the publication is not yet registered in CRIStin, you have to do this first

  2. In CRIStin: Click on the blue number in front of the entry to expose all the metadata

  3. Click on Deliver full-text document (at the bottom of the screen)

  4. Tick off the first two checkboxes and the applicable one of the last three checkboxes

  5. Please note: The University Library takes care of the rights pertaining to Nord Open, so you do not need permission from the publisher

  6. State which version of the publication you are depositing

  7. Generally, publishers accept self-archiving of the accepted version of the manuscript (also called post-print). If so, this is the version you should upload. Read more on versions of articles

  8. Upload the correct version of the article (preferably in PDF format)

  9. The University Library will receive the uploaded full-text and check
      • that the publisher allows self-archiving of the uploaded version. If the published version may be self-archived, this is the version that will be deposited
      • whether the publisher has an embargo on making the article accessible and set any embargo date in Nord Open

Self-archiving of doctoral theses
Doctoral theses are self-archived according by means of the following procedure:
1. Contact the print shop and request the PDF version of your thesis

2. Log into CRIStin and find the entry of your thesis. If you have not yet registered your thesis in CRIStin, you will have to do this first (see how to register a publication in CRIStin and choose report/thesis instead of journal article)

3. In CRIStin: Click on the number in front of the entry to expose all the metadata

4. Click on Deliver full-text document (at the bottom of the screen)

5.     Tick off the required checkboxes
Please note: The University Library takes care of the rights pertaining to Nord Open, so you do not need permission from the publisher

6. Tick off VoR - Version of Record (Published version) 

7. Upload the document (preferably in PDF format) 

8. The University Library will receive the uploaded full-text and check which parts of the dissertation that may be self-archived (if you have written a compilation thesis with published or accepted articles, some publishers may set an embargo on self-archiving of articles while others allow self-archiving in any format. Generally, publishers accept self-archiving of the accepted version of the manuscript (also called post-print).)

If you do not have access to CRIStin, please contact the superuser/CRIStin contact at your Faculty 

Compilation theses
If you have written a compilation thesis we might have to remove some of your articles. This depends on the self-archiving policies of the journal and publisher. We check every article and remove the ones that may not be made openly accessible. Unpublished manuscripts will be removed pending publication. We link to all published articles.

Monographs
If you have written a monograph without contents that are published elsewhere we may make the entire thesis accessible in Nord Open. If you plan to publish your monograph as a book you should first check with your publisher whether you are allowed to make your thesis accessible. Some publishers find that access to the thesis in Nord Open makes good PR, whilst others require that the thesis is not available online prior to publication.

Self-archiving of Master’s theses
Upon submitting your Master’s thesis you will be asked whether you would like to archive your thesis in Nord Open. If you reply yes to this question, the University Library will archive your thesis in Nord Open.
If you wish to publish in a journal an article based on your thesis you should await publication before archiving your thesis. Some journals do not publish articles if the text can be found online prior to publication.

Self-archiving of reports and other research material
When self-archiving reports and other research material, please follow the same steps as when self-archiving articles.

Research data

Research data consists of information that has been collected, observerd or created to validate original research findings. There is an increasing demand that not only research results but also the data on which the results are based, shall be openly accessible.

Consequently, the Government has developed a National strategy on access to and sharing of research data. The Government's strategy forms the basis for Nord's guidelines for research data management (pending update).