Open Access

There are currently two major paths to Open Access:

Green Open Access: Self-archiving or secondary publication of conventionally published articles on subject-specific or institutional servers. At the University of St.Gallen, the Institutional Repository Alexandria is available for this.

Gold Open Access: Original publication of scientific articles in quality assured (peer reviewed) Open Access journals

In 2006, major Swiss scientific organizations, including the University of St. Gallen, signed the Berlin Declaration. Starting 2007, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is obliging grant recipients to publish their research results Open Access. The University of St.Gallen has established its Open Access Policy in 2007 as well.

In 2017 and 2018, swissuniversities and the SNSF adopted a national Open Access strategy for Switzerland and a corresponding action plan with the aim that by 2024 "all publicly funded scientific publications must be freely accessible on the Internet”.

Additional information

Institutional Repository Alexandria
Swissuniversities Open Access
SNSF

When publishing Open Access, in general, you will use the Creative Commons licensing system. You can choose from a selection of options, depending on the choices your publisher is offering.

We strongly recommend the use of a CC-BY license! This license lets others distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon your work, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered, recommended for maximum dissemination, and use of licensed materials.

If possible, do not pick a highly restrictive “Non-Derivative” ND license, as this will severely limit reusing your content, e.g. no remixes or adaptations are allowed, also, in some countries, using this content for Text- & Data-Mining TDM is not possible. 

If an immediate Open Access publication isn’t possible (Gold OA), there may still be the option of Self-Archiving or Green OA. You can choose from a selection of options, depending on the choices your publisher is offering.: self-archiving your article on your personal website or in an institutional repository like Alexandria.

As an author, you will retain certain rights. Therefore, it is recommended that you check a journal’s policy regarding which rights you will keep, e.g., personal reuse, scholarly sharing, self-archiving rights, embargoes etc. You can also check the relevant policies with Sherpa/Romeo. Additionally, this information should also be a part of the Copyright Transfer Agreement that you sign with your publisher, make sure to read it before you sign.

Please take note: if you are planning to self-archive in Alexandria: depending on the deposited version (preprint, postprint, published version), different embargo periods may apply.

The Institutional Repository of the University of St.Gallen is part of the Alexandria research platform. In addition to publications, Alexandria contains personal profiles and information on research projects at the HSG. All this research information is freely accessible worldwide and can also be found via various search engines (Google Scholar, BASE, Unpaywall).

The platform is a service of Vice-President's Board (Research & Faculty). It has been established in 2005 and is part of the implantation strategy of the University’s Open Access Policy.

Publications in Alexandria:

• Articles from academic journals
• Contributions from conference proceedings
• Book chapters
• Monographs
• Other scientific contributions: Working papers, research reports, newspaper articles, radio or TV features

Researchers can enter information on their publications and projects directly in Alexandria and upload full texts. The information becomes accessible online to everyone immediately after it has been entered.

If you have any questions, please contact alexandria@unisg.ch

What are your options if your requested full-text article is behind a paywall on a publisher’s platform?

The Library of the University of St. Gallen recommends the following

• Academic search engines
• Open access browser extensions / plug-ins
• Scholarly Sharing: contact the author

You can find additional information on our dedicated Search & Find page covering these options.

Open Access journals cover the same range of subjects and can provide quality as conventional publications. Special features are:

• The digital publication has priority over the printed form.
• The articles are freely accessible on the Internet from the time of their publication (no embargo period for the latest issues).
• The publication costs are covered by alternative financing models instead of subscription or license fees.
• Around a quarter of OA journals require the payment of publication fees (pre-financing model).

Additional information

Directory of Open Access Journals DOAJ

When selecting a suitable journal or publisher for Open Access publication, authors should exercise a certain degree of caution. Predatory Publishers or Journals promise that, like reputable publishers, they will offer services as peer review, marketing or indexing in relevant databases or indices in return for an Article Processing Charge. However, these services are either offered in inferior quality or not at all. These unethical business practices not only damage the scientific publication landscape but can also have an impact on the reputation of authors who publish in such Predatory Journals.

Potential warning signs that may indicate a Predatory Journal:

• The website of the journal looks unprofessional, e.g. bad layout, advertising etc.
• Journal has no ISSN (International Standard Serial Number, unique identifier, equivalent to ISBN for books) or the given ISSN can’t be verified
• No access to archives of previous published content
• Editorial Board is not listed
• Editorial Board is listed, but members can’t be found online
• Missing information on author’s rights
• Missing or very short Peer Review: immediate publication, lacking quality control etc.

When in doubt, these resources can be useful when selecting a journal for Open Access publication:

• Journal is listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals DOAJ
• Journal is referenced in relevant subject databases or citation indices
• Publisher is member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association OASPA or the Committee on Publication Ethics COPE
• Think Check Submit offers further information

If you should have any questions, please reach out to us at openaccess@unisg.ch.

The Senate of the University of St.Gallen has adopted an Open Access Policy in 2007. This Policy is further substantiated in a Regulation on the Open Access Policy.

SHERPA/RoMEO - Online service collecting the policies of more than 22'000 academic journals on copyright and self-archiving.
Creative Commons - Information on the Creative Commons license system.
SPARC - Global initiative for the advancement of Open Science (Open Access, Open Data, Open Education) with in depth information on author rights.