Open Access (OA) is scholarly literature that is free to read and often has various re-use rights.
Open Access is entirely compatible with and insists on upholding standards of peer review, copyright, quality, prestige, and research impact. As an author Open Access provides you with a larger potential audience and citation advantage.
Across disciplines, Open Access articles get more citations:
There are two ways to participate in Open Access:
Myth #1: Publishing Open Access is the only Open Access
You can participate in Open Access in two ways: publishing Open Access or archiving your research.
Myth #2: You're paying to publish
Open Access journals operate on a different funding model. It is not vanity publishing. The "article processing charge" business model shifts the cost and makes the content available to everyone.
Myth #3: All Open Access journals charge fees
The majority of Open Access journals do not charge fees. 60% of journals in the Directory of Open Access Journals do not charge an article processing charge to the author.
Myth #4: Open Access journals are low in quality
Open Access journals have the same standards of peer review, copyright, quality, prestige, and research impact.