Open Access (OA) refers to the practice of making research papers, theses, books, and other scholarly works available for anyone to read and use online without paying a fee or needing special permission. This makes research more accessible and helps people learn and share knowledge.
OA promotes broader access to research by removing price and permission barriers, and can be applied to journal articles, theses and dissertations; monographs and book chapters and research data.
The growing use of internet has made it easier for research to be shared worldwide, leading to more people being able to access and benefit from it. This has challenged the traditional way of publishing research, usually subscription based. Additionally, many organizations that fund research now require that the results be made in Open Access. All these factors have contributed to the growing popularity of the Open Access movement.
Open Access benefits everyone. Research that is freely available is read and cited more often than research that is locked behind a paywall. This helps researchers and the public as a whole. When research is open, anyone can access and use it, which can lead to new discoveries and innovations.
It's important to remember that Open access publications go through the same peer review process as non-open access publications. So, OA does not interfere with a decision to exploit results commercially.
