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Open Access (OA)

Open Access Myths

All Open Access journals have low reputation.
No, for example, Nature offers an option to publish Open Access. Like paid access journals, Open Access
journals can be peer reviewed or not peer reviewed. In the same way, there are low reputation and high reputation journals that are Open Access. There is nothing to being Open Access that makes it inherently low reputation.

All Open Access journals have a low impact factor.
No, there are high impact factor journals like Nature. Like paid access journals, open access journals can have low impact factor or high impact factor; there is nothing about being Open Access that determines the journal's impact factor.

There is nothing it in me to publish open access.
Publishing in an open access journal means that more people will be able to access your article and your research. Specifically, this could mean that researchers from institutions that could not afford the access fee could access your article and your research.

What about Article Processing Charges?

Article Processing Charges or APC, are usually required to be paid by the author. This could be covered in various ways. One way that APC could be covered could be by research grants.

Another way is that for University of Toronto researchers, University of Toronto either fully funds or offers discounts on APC:
https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/copyright/apc-discounts

University of Toronto is also a member of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network which also offers discounts on APC:
https://www.crkn-rcdr.ca/en/crkn-negotiated-apc-discounts

Some journals does not require the author to pay but are rather funded by other means. Some of these means are donations and grants. Another way is memberships fees, for example a journal is published by an association, and members of the association has to pay a membership fee, part of which covers the cost of the journal.

Another way that journals are funded is advertising. Be warned of potential conflict of interest. For example, an article advising a certain medication as treatment contains advertisement for that medication.

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