Open access (OA) refers to the free, immediate, online availability of research outputs such as journal articles or books, combined with the rights to use these outputs fully in the digital environment.
As the author of a research article or book, you have the ability to ensure that your research can be accessed and used by the widest possible audience. Springer Nature supports immediate Gold OA as the most open, least restrictive form of OA: authors can choose to publish their research article in a fully OA journal, a hybrid or transformative journal, or as an OA book or OA chapter.
Alternatively, where articles, books or chapters are published via the subscription route, Springer Nature allows authors to archive the accepted version of their manuscript on their own personal website or their funder’s or institution’s repository, for public release after an embargo period (Green OA).
Gold OA publication offers the simplest, most open, and most sustainable route to OA and open science. Content published via the gold OA route is accessible immediately on publication, while manuscripts deposited via the green OA route may, in many cases, be made accessible only once a self-archiving embargo period has elapsed.