Table 1 Definition of access categories at the journal level
Category | Definition | Article processing fees | Subscription fees | Embargo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gold OA journal (no APC) | OA journal that provides immediate access to all of their content free of charge to both readers and authors | No | No | No |
Gold OA journal (with APC) | OA journal that provides free immediate access to all of their content based on an author-pays model via APCs | Yes | No | No |
Delayed OA journal | Subscription journal that provides all content for free after an embargo period, which differs depending on the journals; journals that provide delayed OA to only some of their content were classified as subscription journals and their free papers identified as delayed OA articles | No | Yes | Yes |
Hybrid journal | Subscription journal that is primarily financed by the reader-pays model based on subscriptions and pay-per-view fees, but allows authors to pay an APC to make their article available free of charge for the reader without delay | Sometimes | Yes | Sometimes |
Subscription only journal | Subscription journal that is financed by reader-pays model based on subscriptions and pay-per-view fees and does not offer author-pays OA options | No | Yes | Yes |
Unknown | Journal for which the access status could not be determined | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |