OA Publishing


Here you will find the most important information about Open Access publications in the Max Planck Society / at Saarland University and other funding opportunities. If you have any questions, please contact our library team: Get email address via email

What does Open Access offer you?

Open Access provides unrestricted and free access to scientific information worldwide. But Open Access also offers advantages for you as an author. Here are some benefits of Open Access publishing:

  • Increased visibility
    Free access to your research makes it easier to find and more frequently cited.

  • Increased transparency
    The open sharing of research data and results allows colleagues and other interested parties insights into your research and approach. This increases the transparency of your research and builds trust in you as a scientist.

  • Facilitated international collaboration
    By publishing your work Open Access, you can network with colleagues around the world more easily and quickly.

  • Meeting the requirements of funding measures and EU projects
    More and more funding organizations are tying the awarding of funding to Open Access publication.

  • Working for a fairer world
    By publishing your work Open Access, you help ensure that researchers from poorer countries have access to relevant scientific information.


Myths about Open Access

There are many myths surrounding Open Access. Here are some of them:

  • Learning Open Access practices is not worth the time
    Learning something new always takes time; however, the time invested in adopting Open Access practices is well spent, as it serves to improve your research!

  • Open Access increases the risk of research theft
    Simple precautions can be taken to prevent research theft. Research data and results can be kept secure until publication. Make sure your publication has a DOI. You should also license your research, for example, through a Creative Commons license.

  • Open Access means the publication of all data
    The principle of Open Access is: "As open as possible, as closed as necessary."
    This means that if there is a valid reason why data should not be published, it can of course remain confidential. This could apply to personal data from test subjects, for example.

  • Open Access is a sign of low quality
    Quite the opposite! Soderberg et al. (2021) empirically demonstrated in their study that Open Access publications are of higher methodological, statistical, and overall quality than those in traditional publishing models.

  • Open Access is just a hype that will soon be irrelevant
    More and more funding organizations are requiring Open Access publication. As digitization advances globally, Open Access will continue to gain relevance.

Read more about the myths of Open Access in the Open Science Snack "Myths about Open Science" by Transform4Europe.



Max Planck Society

Cost Coverage for Open Access publications of the Max Planck Society
For a large number of publications, members of the Max Planck Society have the option of having publication fees covered or reduced by the centralised cost coverage. To be eligible for funding, the following points must (as a rule) be fulfilled:

  • The author must be the corresponding author of the publication.
  • The MPG affiliation must be formally stated in the publication.

You can use the MPG OA Journal Finder to check for which journals funding is possible. Please note that there are other relevant Open Access journals that do not charge publication fees. You can find a complete overview in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Please pay attention to the detailed publication conditions in your licence to publish by your publisher. Further important information on Open Access publishing at the MPG can be found at the homepage of the MPDL (Max Planck Digital Library).


PuRe
The MPG has its own publication repository (PuRe), where publications by MPG members are archived and made available to the public free of charge.



Saarland University

Cost Coverage for Open Access publications at Saarland University
For a large number of publications, members of Saarland University have the option of having publication fees covered or reduced by the University's Open Access publication fund. To be eligible for funding, the following points must (as a rule) be fulfilled:

  • The author must be the corresponding author of the publication.
  • The University affiliation must be stated in the publication in accordance with the publication guidelines of Saarland University.
  • The publication must have been submitted to a publisher between 01.04.2023 and 31.12.2027.
  • The publication must be published under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  • The publication must be published in a journal listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

You can find the UdS Open Access agreements with publishers here. Please pay attention to the detailed publication conditions in your licence to publish by your publisher.


Universaar
Universaar is the university publishing house of Saarland University. All publications published through Universaar are made available online free of charge. In addition, print copies can be produced for a fee. You can learn more about Universaar here.



Of interest to all

Be cautious with the "Non-commercial" (NC) license module!
When using the NC license module, authors should be aware that it may unintentionally restrict usage options that the author did not intend to prevent. For example, according to the Landesinitiative openaccess, a publication with the NC license module cannot be included in the free knowledge database Wikipedia, as Wikipedia is not publicly funded and is therefore considered “commercial.” Further information on this topic can be found in the SULB handout on Creative Commons licenses and via the MPG campaign Open Access means CC BY.


SciDok
Saarland University has its own science server (SciDok), where publications (including doctoral theses) by university members are archived and made available to the public free of charge.


Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe is one of the most important funding programs of the European Union for scientific research projects. All participants in funded projects must ensure that their research results are accessible to the public as Open Access publications. You can learn more about Horizon Europe here.