1. What is open access?

Making an article ‘open access’ means making some version of that article free for anyone to access and read.

2. What kinds of open access are there?

You may have heard of two different models for making articles open access: ‘Gold’ and ‘Green’. Gold Open Access refers to cases where the final ‘Version of Record’ of an article is immediately made freely available, under a permissive licence that often includes additional re-use rights. Green Open Access refers to cases where an earlier version of a manuscript is made available via an online repository, following an embargo period – this is also sometimes referred to as self-archiving.

3. How do I make my article open access?

When your article is accepted for publication in one of our Hybrid journals, you will receive an email which will offer you the option to publish your article under the Gold OA model. Taking this Gold OA option will usually require payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC). If you choose not to take the Gold OA option, you may make an earlier version of your manuscript available in accordance with the journal’s Green OA policy.

4. Can I convert articles that I have published in the past to Gold OA?

Yes, this option is available. Please contact the journal’s Editorial office if you would like to make a previously published article Gold OA.

5. Are Gold OA articles treated differently to others during the submission process?

No. All submitted manuscripts are peer reviewed and processed to the same high standard. Only after your article has been accepted will you be given the option to make your article Gold OA. Choosing Gold OA will not affect the outcome of the peer review process.

6. How do readers know whether articles are Gold OA?

Each Gold OA article is clearly labelled with an open access symbol in the online table of contents for each issue of the journal. On the journal website readers can also navigate to a list of open access articles.

7. How long is the embargo period before I can make my manuscript available using the Green OA model?

The embargo period for most STM journals we publish is 6 months. This is the period following the publication of an article, after which you may make your accepted manuscript available through a public repository. There is no embargo period for most HSS journals we publish. For further information please see our Green OA policy page, where you can download a spreadsheet with full details about which versions of articles authors can post online, and where and when authors can post them.

8. In what kinds of repositories am I permitted to deposit my work, under the Green OA policy? Which version(s) of my manuscript can I deposit?

You can find full details of the Press’s Green Open Access policy for journals on our Green OA policy page.

9. What is the Article Processing Charge (APC)?

The APC is a fee that needs to be paid for an article to be published in a journal under the Gold OA model. This fee covers costs such as copyediting, typesetting and online hosting. You can download our full list of APCs from this page.

10. How do I pay the APC?

Once you have indicated that you would like your article to be published under the Gold OA model, you will be contacted by CCC-RightsLink, who will collect the APC on our behalf. Please follow their instructions to avoid any delay to the publication of your article.

11. Is there support available to help me pay the APC?

The APC may be waived or discounted if your institution has an open access publishing agreement with Cambridge, or if you are based in a low- or middle-income country. Please use our open access waivers and discounts tool to see if you are eligible.

12. Can my APC be refunded?

We do refund APCs if we have not met our promises to you. See our APC refund policy for more information about this and how to request a refund.

13. If I choose Gold OA, when will my article become freely available?

Your article will be freely available as soon as it is published online.

14. If I choose Gold OA, which version of my article will be made freely available?

The Version of Record (the final, typeset and copy-edited published article) will be freely available from Cambridge Core.

15. If I choose Gold OA, under which licence will my article be published?

Cambridge University Press offers the CC Attribution ('CC-BY') licence as the default licence for Gold OA articles. However there are options to publish your work under two other Creative Commons licences: Attribution – Non-Commercial – Share Alike ('CC-BY-NC-SA') and Attribution – Non-commercial – No derivatives ('CC-BY-NC-ND'). Please indicate which licence you would prefer when submitting your publishing agreement.

16. What does the CC-BY licence allow?

This licence allows others to share and adapt your original article. The article may be copied, redistributed and built upon for any purpose, including for commercial use. There is no change to the owner(s) of any copyright in the article, and anyone wishing to copy, distribute and build upon the original article must give appropriate credit to the original article, provide a link to the licence, and indicate if changes were made.

17. I have another question regarding open access. Who should I ask?

You can find more general information regarding open access on our open access policies pages, or you can email openresearch@cambridge.org.