The different publication pathways
The Golden Path
The golden path of open access publishing - also called open access gold - refers to the initial publication of scholarly works as an open access publication. This primarily involves articles in open access journals that employ the same peer-review process for quality assurance as conventional academic journals.
However, whole books can also be published open access.
The publications are available to everyone worldwide free of charge, without embargos, i.e. immediately after publication.
In order for users to access them free of charge, authors usually have to transfer so-called "Article Processing Charges" (APCs), i.e. publication costs, to the publisher, which can vary depending on the publisher and the subject area.
The Green Path
Green open access – also known as self-archiving – refers to making a document published with a publisher or in a journal additionally available to the public in institutional or disciplinary open access repositories, such as our AtheneForschung.
Self-archiving can take place at the same time as the publication of the contents by the publisher or at a later date, and is possible for preprints and post-prints of scholarly articles, as well as for other document types, for example, monographs, research reports and conference proceedings.
Service of the University Library for Publishing via the Green Path
The University Library supports authors by offering the following services:
- Advice and support in preparing a publication
- Online publication on AtheneForschung
- Free allocation of identifiers, e.g. ISBN, URN, DOI
- Cataloguing of the publication in catalogs and databases, e.g. in the Gateway Bayern
- Mandatory deposit at the German National Library
- Guarantee of long-term availability of the publication
Please contact our Open Access team for this service.
Agreements with publishers for Open Access publishing
UniBw M authors can currently publish open access journal articles free of charge or at a discount with certain publishers. Therefore, before publishing, check with UBOpenAccess@unibw.de to see if a cooperative agreement exists for your journal.
Further information on the topic of Open Access
Open Access Policy of the University of the Bundeswehr Munich
The University Senate has ratified the Open Access Policy of the University of the Bundeswehr Munich at its session on February 19, 2020.
Links to Further Internet Resources
- Open Access at a glance: https://open-access.net/
- Journals and their self-archiving policies Sherpa/Romeo: https://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/
- Information brochure for authors: https://open-access.net/fileadmin/bilder/Flyer/Informationsflyer_zu_OA_1.pdf
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): https://www.doaj.org/
- Creative Commons Website: https://creativecommons.org/choose/?lang=de
FORScience - Open Access Promotion by the University of the Bundeswehr Munich
Information on financial support for open access publishing is available at the university's in-house portal.
Beware of Predatory Publishers
Predatory publishers are Open Access publishers which claim to publish legitimate scholarly journals and charge authors publication fees for this service, but without guaranteeing a quality assurance process (such as a peer review) or an editorial review.
We recommend that you conduct a thorough check before publishing - the University Library is happy to provide assistance.
Information and support can be found here:
- Directory of Open Access Journals: https://doaj.org/
- Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association: https://oaspa.org/
- Committee on Publication Ethics: https://publicationethics.org/
- Thinkchecksubmit: https://thinkchecksubmit.org/translations/german/
Photo credits: ©h_pampel via Flickr CC BY-SA