FAQ
Definition of Open Access
Why does the Max Planck Society support Open Access?
Who in the MPS can I contact regarding Open Access?
Does the MPS have a central Open Access repository?
Do Max Planck Institutes publish Open Access journals?
In which cases does the Max Planck Society pay Open Access publication charges?
What are Open Access repositories?
How can I find Open Access repositories?
Why should I put the full texts in the central repository as well as on my own homepage, etc.?
What is an Open Access journal?
Where can I find an overview of Open Access journals?
What are the benefits of publishing in an Open Access journal?
How can I publish in an Open Access journal?
What do I do if the publication was written by several authors?
Where can I obtain information on Open Access relating to my field of research?
What is the relationship between Open Access and freedom of scientific publication?
Does Open Access make it easier for people to plagiarise the published work?
Open Access literature is accessible to all readers free of charge on the Internet and can be distributed and used in science, teaching and related areas. Open Access refers to peer-reviewed scientific publications and their manuscript versions (pre-print/post-print).
Why does the Max Planck Society support Open Access?
The Max Planck Society sees it as its duty to make the results of its basic research accessible to the general public. In its internal “Rules of Good Scientific Practice” it therefore calls upon all scientifically active members to implement the principle of public access. The Society also publicly demonstrated its enduring support for Open Access by initiating the 2003 Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities.
Who in the MPS can I contact regarding Open Access?
For general information, please contact your local library.
A list of OA contact persons at individual Max Planck Institutes can be found here.
For questions on Open Access policy at the MPS, Open Access licences and infrastructure, please contact:
Open Access Policy: open-access@mpdl.mpg.de
Repository (eDoc): edoc-support@mpdl.mpg.de
Repository (PubMan): pubman-support@mpdl.mpg.de
Licence Team: lic.contact@mpdl.mpg.de
Does the MPS have a central Open Access repository?
The Max Planck Society currently operates two central, institutional repositories: eDoc and PubMan, through which the research findings of Max Planck scientists are stored and made available to the public.
Only the newly developed PubMan repository will continue to be operated in the medium term (see MPS repositories). All content currently stored in eDoc will also be available there. Detailed information on the two repositories is provided on their websites.
http://edoc.mpg.de/
http://pubman.mpdl.mpg.de
Do Max Planck Institutes publish Open Access journals?
The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) publishes an Open Access journal called Living Reviews in Relativity as far back as 1998. The successful concept has since been consistently extended to other research areas, such that the Living Reviews series now encompasses several renowned journals (www.livingreviews.org).
The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research publishes an Open Access journal on population sciences entitled Demographic Research.
In cooperation with the Howard Houghes Medical Institute and the Wellcome Trust the Max Planck Society supports the innovative Open Access journal eLife.
Furthermore, numerous Max Planck scientists have published Open Access journals.
In which cases does the Max Planck Society pay Open Access publication charges?
In which cases does the Max Planck Society pay Open Access publication charges?
The Max Planck Society has concluded a number of contracts with Open Access publishers under which the open access publication charges are paid from central funds and do not impact on the individual institute budgets.
For more detailed information, please refer to the latest list of central contracts:
www.mpdl.mpg.de/services/scip_content_oacontracts_de.htm
Furthermore, charges for other Open Access journals or publishers that are not covered by central contracts are also paid by some Max Planck Institutes. Please contact your local library or publication officer for more advice.
What are Open Access repositories?
In the context of Open Access, the term “repository” refers to databases that make publications and research date available electronically, permanently and with a persistent identifier.
See also “Repositories” in the glossary.
How can I find Open Access repositories?
You can search the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) for subject and institutional repositories:www.opendoar.org/find.php
Why should I put the full texts in the central repository as well as on my own homepage, etc.?
With its central repositories, the Max Planck Society gives its staff a place to permanently store and manage their publication data, to add supplementary materials and make the data available to other web services. See MPS repositories.
What is an Open Access journal?
Journals that make some or all of the articles they contain available to the public free of charge and in line with Open Access requirements at the time of their initial publication are called Open Access journals.
For more details, please refer to „Open Access Journals“ in the glossary.
Where can I find an overview of Open Access journals?
You can search the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The database lists both genuine and hybride Open Access journals.
Please note: Hybrid Open Access journals are only shown if you search through this link.
What are the benefits of publishing in an Open Access journal?
Both authors and readers benefit from publication in Open Access journals. What is especially good for authors is that,
- their article is published quickly,
- the visibility of their work is not affected by payment barriers and
- they keep the rights of use on their work, which are often completely transferred to the publisher when articles are submitted for publication in toll access journals.
Readers benefit from the free access and the licensing, which extends the opportunities they have to use the article further.
The moral rights of the author, such as the obligation to name the source of a citation, are not restricted by Open Access licences.
How can I publish in an Open Access journal?
The publication process, and above all the quality assurance aspects, is not impacted by the free availability that results. In practical terms, there is no difference between an Open Access journal and a toll access journal in terms of the article submission and peer review process. Like many toll access journals, some Open Access journals also demand publication charges. The Max Planck Digital Library pays the charges for a range of journals for authors who are members of the Max Planck Society. An overview of journals to which this currently applies can be found here.
What do I do if the publication was written by several authors?
The decision to publish in an Open Access journal has no impact here. The article is submitted to the publisher by the corresponding author who has the authority to do so.
Where can I obtain information on Open Access relating to my field of research?
Subject-specific information on the topic of Open Access is available from the Open Access Information Platform. here you will see a selection box on the left-hand side of the page where you can choose to view subject-specific information.
What is the relationship between Open Access and freedom of scientific publication?
The concept of Open Access is bound by the principle of scientific freedom. It does not restrict freedom of publication.
A growing number of scientific organisations around the world demand that their members or recipients of their funding publish works in a manner that is compatible with Open Access.
The ROARMAP database provides an overview of these requirements.
However, these mandates do not result in the blockade of certain publication channels. This is because a) publication using the widely permitted “green road” (self-archiving) is in line with the mandates and b) opening clauses are incorporated to cover exceptions. All “mandates” issued by German scientific organisations are merely requests.
Does Open Access make it easier for people to plagiarise the published work?
No, the accessibility that Open Access is meant to achieve does not in any way weaken copyright protection. It actually makes plagiarism more difficult, given that it makes it easier to look for the originals and to compare the material.
Other FAQ can be found on the Open Access Information Platform at:
http://open-access.net/de/allgemeines/faq/