openpublishing@oulu.fi
The goal of scientific publishing is to make research findings accessible to the scientific community and the general public. Publishing must adhere to good scientific practice and take into account the principles of open science in accordance with the University of Oulu's open access publishing policy. Research funders may also have requirements related to publishing.
Open Access Publishing refers to the free availability and distribution of scientific knowledge. A publication is considered open access when it is freely and easily accessible online. Open access publishing increases the visibility, usage, and impact of publications.
There are several ways to publish open access:
GOLD OPEN ACCESS
Publishing in a journal that is fully open access. Authors are often required to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC), and the publication typically receives an open license.
HYBRID OPEN ACCESS
In hybrid journals, individual articles can be made open access in an otherwise subscription-based journal. An Article Processing Charge (APC) is paid to make the article open.
GREEN OPEN ACCESS
This model refers to self-archiving a version of the publication in an open repository. Depending on the publisher’s policy, the article may be made openly available immediately or after an embargo period. Self-archiving is free for the author and allows access to publications that would otherwise be behind a paywall.
DIAMOND OPEN ACCESS
Open access publishing without any author fees
A preprint refers to a manuscript version of an article that has not yet undergone peer review. Since the publication processes of scientific journals can be lengthy, uploading a preprint to a repository offers a fast way to share research findings and receive feedback from the scientific community. Many publishers allow the publication of preprints, but it is advisable to check the publisher’s policies before uploading a manuscript to a preprint repository. You can explore publisher policies using services such as the Open Policy Finder.
Preprint repositories now exist for nearly all scientific disciplines:
Remember to also self-archive your article after its final publication, even if you have already uploaded the manuscript to a preprint repository. According to the guidelines of the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, only peer-reviewed manuscript versions can be reported as open access publications in the national publication data collection. Therefore, a preprint does not count as an open access publication.
Major research funders in Finland (e.g., the Research Council of Finland, Horizon Europe) require open access publishing for the projects they fund. The requirements listed below may change. Always check the most up-to-date open science recommendations and guidelines on the funders’ official websites.
The Research Council of Finland
The Research Council of Finland requires that research outputs from fully or partially funded projects be made immediately open access.
Peer-reviewed articles can be made open access by:
Publishing in an open access journal or platform that complies with Plan S.
You can use the Journal Checker Tool to find Plan S compliant journals.
Self-archiving the Version of Record or the Author’s Accepted Manuscript in a Plan S compliant repository (e.g., OuluREPO).
If the publisher does not allow immediate self-archiving, the article can be archived after an embargo period (maximum 12 months for humanities and social sciences, 6 months for other fields).
Publishing in journals covered by transformative agreements (agreements between libraries and publishers for open access publishing).
The use of CC BY 4.0 license is required, but CC BY-SA 4.0, CC0, and CC BY-ND licenses are also permitted.
Scientific publications from RCF-funded projects must be archived in a repository to ensure their long-term preservation and open access. Suitable repositories include university repositories such as OuluREPO at the University of Oulu.
More detailed information is available on the Research Council’s website under Open Access to Scientific Publications.
Horizon Europe
Peer-reviewed publications resulting from Horizon Europe funding must be published open access. Publications must be immediately available without embargo. Self-archiving in a repository is required for all publications, even if they are published in an open access journal.
More information is available on the page: How to comply with Horizon Europe mandate for publication
Kone Foundation
The Kone Foundation recommends that research results funded by the foundation be published open access. Open access can be achieved through self-archiving or by publishing in an open access journal.
More information: Kone Foundation – General information about grants
In 2018, the international coalition of research funding organizations Coalition S launched the Plan S initiative for open access publishing. Funders committed to the initiative aim to ensure that research publications resulting from their funding are made immediately open access. The Research Council of Finland is also a member of Coalition S and supports the principles of Plan S.
