Definition of Open Access
Open Access is the free, immediate, online availability of research articles, coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment.
- Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)
OA is a way of getting research to as many people as possible without the restrictions of traditional publishing, for example subscription only access, and the lengthy timeframes.
Levels of Open Access
OA is scalable, here is a pamphlet that sets out the degrees of OA, made available via CC from University of Iowa's guide
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What is an institutional repository?
Institutional repositories are digital collections of the research output of an institution. This output can come in many formats including journal articles, theses, presentations from conferences and audiovisual recordings.
Unitec’s Research Bank
Unitec’s repository is Research Bank. Administered by the Unitec Library, Research Bank is currently a platform for the research output of Unitec, Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), Otago Polytechnic, Toi-Ohomai and Southern Institute of Technology (SIT).
Research Bank is also accessible from the Library Home page (under “Key Resources”)
Other repositories
You can find a comprehensive selection of NZ research output at nzresearch.org.nz.
Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA) is a collaboration between several bodies to represent OA publishers. It is a reliable source. From its website you can access:
Visit the SPARC website for in-depth information on Open Access.