Open access
To publish research as open as possible
Lund University encourages researchers to publish their work via open access, making articles and publications freely available online to increase visibility and impact. This page provides information on ways to publish, funding, copyright, and choice of publication venue.
Open access (OA) is a publishing model in which scientific articles and publications are freely available online, allowing anyone to read and use the research at no cost. Greater open access makes it easier to disseminate knowledge and increase the impact of research. OA is supported and encouraged by universities, research funders, organisations and publishers worldwide. In addition to dissemination and visibility, there are also requirements and guidelines regarding open access, depending on how the research is funded.
Guidelines and requirements
EU requirements
Research funded by the EU must be published as open access and managed in accordance with the FAIR principles. The EU also requires a Data Management Plan for project data.
National policy
Sweden has a national goal that publicly funded research should be made as openly accessible as possible. Swedish higher education institutions are encouraged to work according to the principles of open science. In Sweden, the National Library of Sweden and the Swedish Research Council are working on national guidelines and coordination for open science.
Swedish research funders
Swedish research funders often have clear policies requiring that publications based on the research they support must be published open access. Publication fees are usually eligible costs and can be included in the project budget.
Some funders also participate in Plan S, an international initiative that sets additional requirements for immediate open access and the use of open licences.
Find OA policies for research funders in Policy Finder
Lund University’s open access policy
Lund University has a policy that recommends researchers make their publications openly accessible in order to increase the visibility, use and impact of research. Through this policy, the University aims to contribute to make open access the standard for research publications and artistic works.
Read Lund University’s Open Access Policy for publications and artistic works in full (PDF, new tab)
International initiatives to support open access
cOAlition S
cOAlition S comprises international research funders and organisations working to ensure that research is published with immediate open access. The organisation has launched the Plan S initiative, which requires that research funded by its members be published in open access. Swedish research funders that are members of cOAlition S – Formas, Forte and Vinnova – require that the research they fund be published with immediate open access and under open licences in accordance with Plan S.
Plan S
Under Plan S, publications resulting from funded research must be made immediately open access.
Many Swedish research funders recommend publishing open access and using open licences. Plan S goes further by setting more specific requirements, including immediate access and defined licence terms.
Learn more about Plan S on the cOAlition S website
Using a digital tool, you can quickly check whether a journal complies with Plan S:
Search for a journal in the Journal Checker Tool
EU initiatives and research infrastructure
In addition to requirements for EU-funded research, the EU offers initiatives that support open science by providing infrastructure, guidance, and resources for researchers.
Open Research Europe: The EU’s publication platform for researchers in EU-funded projects.
An open publishing platform where researchers can publish with immediate open access—without fees for either authors or readers. From 2026, researchers in Sweden will also be included through joint European funding.
OpenAIRE: A European infrastructure that aggregates publications and research data from multiple sources and improves their discoverability and visibility.
European Open Science Cloud: An initiative to create a common European environment for storing and sharing research data.
Ways to publish open access
By publishing in a journal where all articles are openly available, the entire journal is free and open to everyone. In most cases, paid for by a so-called Article Processing Charge (APC), and for books, a Book Processing Charge (BPC).
A hybrid open access journal is a subscription journal in which some of the articles are open access for a fee. The article is also available in the publisher's subscription journal.
The model offers the possibility for researchers to publish in traditional journals while meeting the requirements set by funders. It is, however, controversial. The most common objections are that the costs for publishing in hybrid journals are on average twice as high as those of established OA journals, regardless of the journal’s prestige. The freely available articles “disappear” among the large majority of articles in a journal that require a subscription. It is unclear how publishers can deal with the transition from increasing revenues from hybrid publications to reduced subscription prices in a transparent way.
Through publishing agreements, researchers at Lund University can take advantage of discounts and free or subsidized author fees for publishing with open access in hybrid journals. Some of the agreements also include pure OA journals.
Search for journals included in current publishing agreements
Self-archiving, also called green open access, provides free access to a published or accepted research publication. A version of an article is made publicly available through an institutional archive or a research information system such as LUCRIS, even if the final version is behind a paywall. There may be restrictions on making a version available, such as which version to use or that it must take place with a delay, a so-called embargo period.
To find out what applies to your article, you can search for the journal in Sherpa Romeo's database. It contains information about the conditions for many journals and publishers.
Publication fees and funding options
Open access publishing is offered by most journals and publishers and is often funded by article processing charges (APC) or book processing charges (BPC).
Lund University has agreements with publishers that help reduce costs and simplify administration. For journals not covered by these agreements, researchers can apply for additional funding to cover the article processing charges (APCs).
Agreements with publishers allow researchers at Lund University to publish open access in hybrid or fully open access journals. Some publishers give discounts on article processing charges (APCs).
Read more about all the publishing agreements and discounts
Search for journals included in current publishing agreements
Apply for funding of article processing charges (APCs) in fully open access journals not covered by any publishing agreements.
Read more and apply for financial support for publication fees
Authors can apply for funding for publishing books open access (monographs or anthologies).
Read about and apply for funding for publishing books open access
Handling costs for open access
When publishing with open access, the University Library initially covers the publication fee, for articles and books.
Some costs are allocated and invoiced to the faculties at a later stage. This includes publications covered by publishing agreements, the additional publication funding, and the book fund. In some cases, researchers may need to contribute, depending on how the faculty manages these costs.
Lund University’s model for allocating publishing costs was established by the Vice-Chancellor in 2022.
Open access publishing funded by Swedish funders
The Swedish research funders Vetenskapsrådet, Forte, Formas, and Vinnova have decided to jointly fund publication in fully open access journals. This means that researchers at organizations participating in the Bibsam Consortium, including Lund University, can publish with certain publishers without the university or the researchers themselves having to pay any article processing charges (APCs).
Journals and publishers covered by this agreement:
- Copernicus
- eLife
- Frontiers
- JMIR Publications
- MDPI
- MJS Publishing
- Pensoft Publishing
- PLOS
Articles published under this agreement will not be invoiced to researchers, the faculty, or the university.
Choosing where to publish
How and where you choose to publish your research depends on several factors, such as your subject area, available funding, and funder requirements. The easiest way to publish open access is to select a journal or publisher that is fully open access and fits the available journal offerings in your field.
A useful resource is the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – the largest database of peer-reviewed, quality-controlled open access journals.
Search DOAJ for open access journals
The most direct way to publish a book as open access is to use an open access publisher, but most publishers offer some form of open access option.
Search for open access publishers in the Directory of Open Books
Dubious publishers or journals
Most journals and publishers are reputable, but some exploit the open access funding model in an unethical way. As a researcher, it can be difficult to know which ones are trustworthy.
Do you want to check if a journal or publisher is reputable? Learn more on our page via the link below, or contact your faculty library or the University Library for guidance and support.
What to consider when choosing a journal
Copyright, licensing and distribution
Copyright
As an author, you always own the copyright to your work. Swedish copyright law distinguishes between two types of rights:
- Moral rights – you must always be recognized as the author, and your name must appear on the work. These rights cannot be transferred or waived.
- Economic rights – these give you the right to earn money from your work. You can sell or transfer these rights, for example to a publisher or academic journal.
An author will always have the copyright to the own text, i.e., the moral rights and the economic rights. The moral rights are non-negotiable, but the economic rights can be sold or transferred to, for example, a publisher or a scientific journal. Add a Creative Commons license (CC license) to specify how a publication can be used for copying, sharing, and reuse.
Publisher agreements define the terms for how your research can be used. It is therefore important to understand how your work may be used both before and after publication. The agreement with the publisher determines which rights you retain and which rights you transfer.
Read more about copyright and how you can share and disseminate your research
CC licenses
Open access allows everyone to read and access your research. Creative Commons (CC) licenses specify the rights others have to use, share, and reuse your work. Using a CC license is standard in open access publishing and makes it clear what others are allowed to do with your work. If your goal is maximum dissemination, use CC BY.
Journals and publishers have different policies regarding copyright and self-archiving. In the Policy Finder database, you can find out the specific conditions that apply to different journals. You can also read the policies on the journals’ or publishers’ websites.
Contact
For questions regarding the publishing process, bibliometrics, research data, open access, please contact your faculty library or publicera [at] lub [dot] lu [dot] se
Publishing agreements and discounts
Current publishing agreements for open access publishing.
Publication fee funding in non-agreement journals
Apply for funding
