Checking your journal's policy
To make your articles open access you will need to know what your chosen journal will allow.
This includes provision for:
- Embargo periods (is the journal embargo within the maximum stated by REF or your funder?)
- Licences (e.g. is CC-BY allowed where an APC has been paid?)
- What version of your article can be deposited (e.g. it is the Author's Accepted Manuscript (AAM, otherwise known as post-print) which is required for REF).
To help you determine if your journal accords with the requirements you are trying to meet you can use the following JISC services:
- SHERPA/FACT (for research funded by UKRI and the health charities formerly grouped as COAF)
- SHERPA/RoMEO (for publisher green open access policies)
Both UKRI and the former COAF health charities have clear requirements to be able to access funding for gold OA. It is important to check these requirements carefully if you are planning to access central funding available for these funders.