Five common myths about green open access

If you’re publishing in a subscription journal, you likely already have the right to share an earlier version of your article online—free of charge, for anyone to read. 

Green open access allows you to make your research freely available to researchers, government, industry, not-for-profits and communities. Still sceptical? Here, we address five of the most common misconceptions. 

Myth 1: It’s illegal 

Most publishers have policies that expressly permit authors to share earlier versions of their work online—whether on a personal webpage or an institutional repository such as Griffith Research Online (GRO). Use the Jisc Open Policy Finder to check your journal’s sharing policy or refer to your publishing agreement directly. 

Myth 2: It costs money 

Unlike gold open access, which typically requires payment of an article processing charge (APC), green open access incurs no additional fees. All Griffith researchers and HDR students can deposit articles via GRO, which is integrated with Symplectic Elements, at no cost. 

Myth 3: The quality is lower 

Publisher policies commonly allow authors to share their accepted manuscript—the final peer-reviewed version of the article, prior to publisher formatting. In GRO, accepted manuscripts are clearly labelled and linked to the published version on the journal’s website, making it straightforward for readers to locate the definitive record. 

Myth 4: No one will find it 

GRO is indexed by both Google and Google Scholar, directing readers to the full-text PDF from search results. Readers using the Unpaywall or LibKey Nomad browser extension are automatically alerted to freely available versions when they encounter a paywall. Additionally, Griffith Experts draws directly from GRO, providing one-click access to full-text articles from your researcher profile. 

Myth 5: It’s complicated 

The Library is here to help! We have a dedicated team specialising in green open access and publisher sharing policies ready to assist you in making your research free and open, every step of the way.   

Interested in posting your manuscript on GRO? Find out more or contact the Library