One of the open access publishing models whereby journal publishers make all articles and related content available free of charge on the journal’s website immediately after publication.
There are two variants:
- Full Gold OA or Pure Gold OA - there are no subscription fees in this model, and publishers earn by charging authors or institutions. These fees are known as Article Processing Charges (APCs).
- Hybrid Gold OA - in this variant, authors publish in traditional subscription-based journals, but can choose gold access for their publications by paying the APC. Once the article is published, it is open to all readers. In hybrid journals, only some of the articles can be accessed in this way. Other articles which are not available through Gold OA cannot be viewed by readers who are not subscribed to these journals.
Advantages of publishing in the gold model:
- Free access immediately when first published - an article is available to all users as soon as it is published, which means that it can be used immediately. This significantly improves access to the most recent research and positively affects further research.
- Broad exploitation right - typically, articles from publisher websites are licenced under more liberal terms than standard copyright. This means that articles can be accessed openly and used.
- More citations - consistent and instant availability of online publications ensures high visibility, contributing to wider availability of content and more citations.