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Join our Research Clinics this summer - the week of 12 June, book a one-to-one with a librarian. Full details on our Skills Training page.

Scholarly Communication

How to publish and communicate your research

TCD Open Access Policy

Trinity's Open Access Policy states that all staff and research students must deposit their Accepted Manuscript into TARA immediately on acceptance for publication.

Read the full policy here

TARA: Trinity's Access to Research Archive

TARA

Funder Open Access Requirements

Many research funders have rules in place which require you to make your work Open Access, including:

In most cases, uploading your publications to TARA will satisfy the requirements of each of these funders and more, and is often the easiest and cheapest way to meet Open Access requirements.

If you are funded by Science Foundation Ireland or another cOAlition S funder, please see our Plan S guide for more information about depositing your publications in TARA.

What is Open Access publishing?

Open Access (OA) refers to the practice of making research outputs freely available on the internet, with no license restrictions. Open Access publications are available for anyone to read, rather than being available only to subscribers.

By making your work Open Access, you can maximise its impact by reaching a much wider audience. Several studies have even found that Open Access publication receive more citations than those published in traditional, subscription journals.

Open Access publications are subject to the same peer-review processes as those published in subscription venues, and comply with all of the same publishing standards.

There are several ways to make your work Open Access. See the methods listed below to find the one that works best for you and your research.

How can I make my work Open Access?

Green Open Access

Green Open Access refers to making your work open by depositing it in a repository, like TARA. Almost all publishers will allow you to deposit your Accepted Manuscript (the final draft after peer-review) in a repository and make it open access. This is the easiest method for making your work open, and it is also required by Trinity's Open Access Publications Policy. You can read more about green open access in our TARA guide.

Open Access Journals

Another way to make your work open access is to publish in a fully open access journal. Some Open Access journals require a fee to publish an article (usually known as an Article Process Charge or APC), but the majority do not charge authors to publish. To find an Open Access journal, start by searching the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Open Access Agreements

Libraries often make agreements with publishers that cover the costs of open access publishing for staff and students. Trinity is part of the IReL consortium, which currently has a number of open access agreements with publishers. In most cases, these agreements will mean that you can publish an Open Access article in one of the publisher's journals, and any Open Access fees will be covered by the agreement. You can find more information about these agreements on the Open Access Agreements page.