Get help with open access

The McGill Library can assist you with making your publications open access, including:

Contact us for assistance in any of these areas or for other questions regarding open access to your publications:

  • robin.desmeules [at] mcgill.ca (Robin Desmeules), Coordinator, Scholarly Communications 

514-398-1896

  • jennifer.innes [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Open%20Access%20Services) (Jennifer Innes), Repository Administrator

514-398-4750

For your research data

Data Management and Data Sharing

  • alisa.rod [at] mcgill.ca (Alisa Rod), Research Data Management Specialist

martin.chandler [at] mcgill.ca (Frequently-Asked Questions)

Does McGill Library have a fund to cover article processing charges (APCs)?

No we do not. However, there are several publisher discounts available via McGill Library subscriptions. Additionally, McGill faculty may use the professional development fund to cover these costs. If you received a grant, typically APCs are an eligible grant expense.

What is an accepted manuscript?

An accepted manuscript is the final version of the paper after peer review minus any publisher enhancements (e.g. design, layout etc.). Also sometimes referred to as the post-print or the author's accepted manuscript (AAM). See example.  Post-prints are most commonly the version for which the author retains the greatest rights.

I heard Canada’s Tri-Agencies (SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR) require grant recipients to make their work open access, what does that mean?

Grant recipients are required to make a copy of their peer-reviewed article open access within 12 months of publication. Recipients can do this through either publishing in an open access journal and/or depositing their work in an open access repository. The policy is applicable to any grants awarded after May 1, 2015. More information can be found here.

How can I tell if a journal is predatory? 

Some indicators of lower quality journals are:

·         Lying about impact factors, indexing databases (e.g. the journal states it is indexed in a paritcular database but is not)

·         Using publisher names or journal titles that can easily be confused with a legitimate body or press

·         Little use of quality control practices (e.g. articles are accepted quickly with little or no peer review or editorial revision)

 If you’re unsure about a journal don’t hesitate to contact your liaison librarian and see our finding legitimate OA publishers page.

How can I make my work open access? 

You can either publish your work in an open access journal and/or deposit a copy of work into a repository like McGill Library's eScholarship. For more details see our ‘How to make your research open access’.  You may need to negotiate your rights as an author to be permitted to make your work available as open access in a repository. 

What is an institutional repository? 

An institutional repository is an online database showcasing and preserving the publications and theses of students and faculty at a particular institution.  The benefits of institutional repositories are two-fold: they preserve one's work long-term and they make one's work openly accessible. McGill University's institutional repository is eScholarship

What is a subject repository? 

A subject repository (sometimes also referreed to as a disciplinary repository) is an online database showcasing the work of researchers in a particular discipline. Subject repositories are open to researchers from any institution. Like institutional repositories, they offer a chance for researchers to make their work openly available to the wider public. 

Where can I find a list of subject repositories? 

 
Discipline Repositories
Agriculture AgEconagriRxiv
Biology bioRxiv, arXiv (quantitative biology)
Computer science arXiv
Education ERIC
Engineering engrXiv
Health & Medicine PubMed Central, medRxiv
Mathematics & Statistics arXiv
Physics arXiv
Social sciences SocArXiv

The Open Access Directory also maintains a list of disciplinary repositories.  

 

 

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