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UCQ

Open Access and Publishing

A guide to help you with publishing your research.

Quiz - Answer Key

Question 1.What is the difference between open access journals and subscription-based journals?

  • Open access articles are not peer-reviewed while subscription-based journals are peer-reviewed.
  • Open access journals do not allow authors to retain ownership of their work while subscription-based journals do.
  • Open access journals are of poorer quality than traditional, subscription-based journals.
  • Open access journals are free for the individual while subscription-based journals require a fee for access.
Explanation: Open access is about providing free, unrestricted access to digital information for everyone. According to UNESCO (2022), a publication is open access if the content is universally accessible with no additional cost and is protected by intellectual property law.

 

Question 2. Why should the public care about open access (OA)?

  • OA gives access to research information at no additional cost.
  • OA fulfills our right to knowledge.
  • OA clarifies permissions to reproduce and distribute content.
  • OA allows us to access research that is often funded by public money.
  • OA allows the author to retain copyright.
  • All the above
Explanation: The philosophy behind open access is that publicly funded research should be accessible to everyone. Beyond the fiscal component, open access is about making information accessible, advancing science, and improving lives. Read the UNESCO (2022) article to learn more about why open access is important.

 

Question 3. Open access and public domain are the same.

  • True
  • False 
Explanation:  Open access is not the same as public domain. Works you may find through the public domain are not always protected by intellectual property laws like copyright or patents. However, for open access resources, the creator/author retains the copyright. Refer to the Open access Oxford page to read more about public domain works and intellectual property laws.

 

Question 4. Journals can have both open access and subscription-only content.

  • True  
  • False
Explanation: The term "Hybrid journals" refers to subscription-based journals that allow authors to publish open access articles. Such journals can have both open access and subscription articles. For example, the European Journal of Neurology is hybrid and publishes both open access and subscription articles.

 

Question 5. Who is the largest funder of research?

  • Universities
  • Organizations
  • Governments
  • Think Tanks.
Explanation: Most scientific research is funded by governments. We, the public, indirectly support scientific research by paying taxes or donations. Read the article Understanding Science from the University of California to learn more.

Question 6.  What does this symbol represent?

  • Copyright Clearance
  • Creative Copyright
  • Creative Commons
  • Cut-copy
Explanation: The creative commons license is a copyright license to grant public permission to use a work. There are six licensing options under creative commons. 

 

Question 7. Which license allows you to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(image source: creative commons)

Explanation: This is one of the creative commons licenses that allows "reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator." Refer to the creative commons page for more information.

 

Question 8. You have received an email below. After reading the journal and contact details, what do you think of the journal?

(image source: Leabharlaan UCD Library)

  • The journal looks credible.
  • This looks suspicious and could be a predatory journal.
Explanation: Be careful of predatory journals and publishers. To point out few red flags here: the email starts with a call out to teachers/scholars/ professors etc, which is not the same way genuine conferences send invites to you. They may address you by your name or just by your professional role. Secondly, the email provided is a Gmail address and is not associated with any particular organization.

 

Question 9. Choose the phrase(s) that are not connected to OER.

  • Open Educational Resources
  • re-use, re-purpose, adapt, and redistribute
  • educational materials you or your university paying for access to
  • materials including books, lesson plans, quizzes, syllabi, instructional modules, simulations
Explanation: Open Educational Resources (OER) are educational materials available in electronic format at no cost to students and educators. The educational materials include books, lesson plans, presentations, course outlines, etc. To learn more, refer to the UNESCO(2022) page.

 

Question 10. Which of the following websites will help you find out about the open access policies of publishers?

  • DOAJ
  • unpaywall
  • SHERPA/ROMEO
  • SPARC
Explanation: The SHERPA/ROMEO "is an online resource that aggregates and analyses publisher open access policies from around the world and provides summaries of publisher copyright and open access archiving policies on a journal-by-journal basis." You can search for open access policies of a journal by its title or by ISSN number.