Traditional publishing models lock published research outputs behind paywalls. Even the most well-resourced institutions in the world's richest countries cannot afford to subscribe to everything that has been published and independent researchers and those in low and middle income countries are often locked out completely.
Publishing Open Access allows all researchers and practitioners – as well as governments, charities, small businesses, students at all levels and ordinary citizens – to access the latest and most innovative research for free.
Many governments and other funding bodies require the research they support to be made openly available, so the maximum number of people benefit from the money they invest.
Making your research outputs openly available means that more people can read, share and reuse that research for their own purposes.
This supports Newman's aspiration to be recognised regionally, nationally and internationally for the quality of its research and scholarship. It also supports our mission to serve our diverse community and the wider world and pushes forward the agenda for social justice.
Making sure you are compliant with the REF policy and any funder policies that might apply will also help the University to meet its requirements and continue to be eligible for research funding in the future.
Going open means that anyone can read and download your publications. This will improve the reach of your research and has the potential to increase both the real world impact of your work and increase your citation count.
It can also make you more visible to potential collaborators and enhance your profile, as marketing materials and media stories that reference your research can link to the full text of your outputs.
The more people who share their research, the easier it is for others to find and reuse their data and findings in their own projects.
By sharing your work openly, you are contributing to a more Open research culture, which means that you will be able to access more of the world's research outputs and find other like-minded scholars.
Last reviewed: 28 May 2024
