About Open Access

Open Access (OA) means making research results, such as papers and research data, publicly available on the internet, allowing anyone to freely access and use them.

The Background behind Open Access Promotion

Scholarly research results, such as papers and research data, are fundamentally a shared intellectual asset of humanity, and it is essential that all those who need access to their content can do so. From this perspective, the method of "Open Access," which allows free and unrestricted online access to papers and other scholarly works, has gained attention.

Moreover, research results generated with public funds should particularly be made widely available to the public. But, on the other hand, the circulation of those research results is still under the market control of a small number of worldwide academic publishing companies, and prices are surging for subscription fees and academic theses' open access posting and public disclosure charges (APC). There are concerns that those price surges will increase the burden of expenses for universities and researchers in relation to the fundamentals of academic research, such as subscriptions to academic journals and publishing of academic theses and cause adverse effects on research itself.

Concerning the promotion of open science* that includes open access, initiatives aimed at proactive utilization of open data are being promoted, mainly in the United States and Europe, and such matters are also being discussed at international meetings.

* "Open Science" means efforts aimed at accelerating research and fostering the creation of new knowledge by promoting the sharing and publication of research results under an open-and-closed strategy through the use of ICT.

Social Benefits

• By eliminating the need for subscription fees, it helps create a society where anyone can freely access academic information, regardless of economic disparities, thus addressing the issue of the digital divide.
• It is expected that Open Access will stimulate academic exchange, promote innovation, and lead to economic development and the resolution of social issues.
• It leads to ensuring the social transparency of research activities funded by public funds.

Benefits for Researchers

• It enhances the ability to disseminate information and creates opportunities for people around the world to read researchers' theses.
• It leads to an increase in access opportunities to theses, thereby raising the likelihood of more citations.
• It is expected to stimulate academic exchange and create new opportunities for research collaboration.

As methods of using open access for theses, there are mainly the two methods of Green OA and Gold OA.

About Green OA

This is a method by which the author of a thesis personally uses open access for the thesis by conducting public disclosure (self-archive) in an institutional repository or a field-specific repository (ex: RePEc, arXiv, PMC) or on the Internet through the author’s own website or social media intended for researchers. Green OA can generally be conducted free of charge. If Green OA is used for research results posted in an academic journal, a manuscript version that makes public disclosure by a publishing company possible may be designated or a period of prohibition of public disclosure (embargo) may be set. Many publishing companies designate the author’s final manuscript (a manuscript that has gone through peer review) as the manuscript version that can be registered at an institutional repository. Meiji University recommends registration at Meiji Repository. For registration procedures, click here.

About Gold OA

This is a method in which an author uses open access for a thesis on an electronic journal site by paying the APC (Article Processing Charge: the open access posting and public disclosure charge) to an academic journal publishing company. A journal in which all of the posted theses are Gold OA is called a full OA journal or a gold OA journal, and the costs for publishing are covered by the APC. On the other hand, although fundamentally only subscribers can use the theses, there are also hybrid OA journals for which only theses for which the authors have paid APC (chosen the open access option) are publicly disclosed free of charge.

Beware of Predatory Journals!

A predatory journal is a low-quality journal that has an objective of obtaining expensive APC from authors and that claims to be a peer-reviewed journal while actually not conducting appropriate peer reviews. There are many cases in which, at first glance, it is difficult to judge whether a journal falls under the category of a predatory journal, and if you accidentally make a submission without knowing that a journal is a predatory journal, there is a risk that people’s evaluation of you as a researcher will decline, and you will damage your academic reputation. Please take sufficient care so that you do not make submissions to predatory journals.

The Meiji University Open Access Policy

On December 4, 2019, the Meiji University Open Access Policy was established in order to promote the creation of open access for research results. We are promoting even more creation of open access for research results, contributing to further development of academic research, and making contributions to society’s sustainable development.

• Open Access Policy
• Open Access Implementation guidelines※Available in Japanese only

The Meiji University Research Data Management Policy

On March 5, 2025, we established the Meiji University Research Data Management Policy in order to promote appropriate management, saving, and utilization of research data.

• Research Data Management Policy※Available in Japanese only