This page contains a list of terms and definitions commonly used in Open Access.
AAM (Author Accepted Manuscript): The version of an article which has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publishing but has not been formatted and copyedited by the publisher.
Acceptance date: The date when a journal formally notified an author that their manuscript has been accepted for publication, usually after peer review and any required revisions
APC (Article Processing charge): The fee paid to a publisher by the author, author’s institution or funder for Gold Open Access
Creative Commons Licence: A series of copyright licences allowing authors to licence their work for free reuse, with fewer restrictions then all rights reserved
Embargo: A period where access to a publication is not available unless paid for (individually or institutionally)
Gold Open Access: Immediate Open Access on the publisher's site, usually in exchange for a fee (see APC)
Green Open Access: Depositing research in an institutional or subject repository. The version deposited is usually the AAM
Guild HE: HSU repository is part of the GuildHE shared repository for GuildHE members
Hybrid journals: Subscription journals that offer a Gold Open Access option for individual articles involving payment of an APC
In Press: An article accepted for publication which the publishers have begun editing ready for publishing.
Institutional Repository: A digital archive and showcase of an institution’s research
ISSN: An 8-digit code which identifies a journal.
Metadata: Data that describes other data, in this case the bibliographic information of the research outputs
Open Access: A publishing model which makes research available to readers free of charge (rather than through subscriptions).
Open Access Journals: Journals in which all articles are open access. An APC is usually payable for publication.
Open Policy Finder: An online tool provided by JISC to help researchers make decisions about making their work open access
REF(Research Excellence Framework): The UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in HEIs
Rights retention: Researchers and institutions retain rights, allowing them to license and reuse their own scholarly outputs without any restrictions imposed by publishers
Self-archiving: see green open access
Submitted Manuscript: The original version of the article which was first submitted to a journal and has not been through peer review.
Subscription Journals: Journals where institutions or individuals pay to access content
Version of Record: This is the final version of a manuscript which is fully copyedited, typeset and formatted for publication.