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Getting Published: Open Access Options at Duke

Duke-Supported Open Access Initiatives

Duke libraries have partnered with several publishers to enable open access publication of Duke-authored research via reduced or waived article processing charges. In addition to the three listed on this page (PLOS, BMJ, and Cambridge University Press), other open access initiatives include:

PLOS

PLOS logo

The Duke libraries have an institutional partnership with PLOS to enable Duke authors to publish in all PLOS journals for no article processing fees.

 

Who is eligible to participate?  

  • Any corresponding author affiliated with Duke University, Duke Health, and Duke Kunshan University is covered under this agreement. This includes faculty, staff, students, and residents.

How does the agreement work?  

  • Beginning in 2023, the PLOS agreement provides Duke corresponding authors with unlimited, no-fee publishing in all fourteen PLOS journals.
  • While there are different business models for publication fees for PLOS journals, this agreement ensures that Duke corresponding authors will pay no fee for any article accepted at any PLOS journal.
  • The author experience will vary slightly according to the three different business models for PLOS journal and this agreement will cover all publication fees regardless of business model. The three models are:
    • PLOS Community Action Publishing (CAP): includes PLOS Medicine, PLOS Biology, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.
    • Flat Fees: includes PLOS ONE, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Pathogens, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, PLOS Digital Health, and PLOS Complex Systems.  
    • PLOS Global Equity model: includes PLOS Water, PLOS Climate, PLOS Global Public Health, and PLOS Mental Health.
  • Duke-affiliated contributing authors for PLOS Biology, PLOS Medicine, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation (CAP titles) receive a 25% discount on the article processing charge.  

What journals are included?  

  • This agreement covers articles published in 14 PLOS journals: PLOS Biology, PLOS Climate, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS Medicine, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, PLOS ONE, PLOS Pathogens, PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, PLOS Mental Health, PLOS Complex Systems, and PLOS Water.  

How do I participate?  

  • Use your Duke email account when submitting the manuscript.
  • List Duke University as your institutional affiliation.
  • For the CAP titles, including PLOS Biology, PLOS Medicine, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, authors take no action until the article is accepted.  
  • For the Flat Fee and the Global Equity titles, including PLOS Climate, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, PLOS ONE, PLOS Pathogens, PLOS Mental Health, PLOS Complex Systems, and PLOS Water.
  • You need to properly self-identify during manuscript submission.
  • At the payment step, accept all charges. If you have used your Duke email account, you will not receive an invoice. If you end up receiving an invoice in error, you may reach out to the PLOS customer service. 

How many articles can I publish for free under this agreement?  

  • Unlimited through the length of the agreement.

Where can I get more information?

BMJ

The Medical Center Library maintains an institutional publishing subscription with two BMJ journals: BMJ Case Reports and BMJ Open Quality.

Who is eligible to participate?

  • Duke faculty, residents, staff, and students.

How do the agreements work?

  • The agreement provides Duke authors with unlimited no-fee publishing in two BMJ journals: BMJ Case Reports and BMJ Open Quality. Authors should use the codes below upon submission.
  • For BMJ Open Quality: our institutional fellowship covers open access and, upon acceptance, you will not have to pay article processing charges.
  • For BMJ Case Reports: our institutional fellowship does not cover the optional open access fees. You can still submit your article and if accepted, you can either move forward without the open access option or choose to pay the open access fees yourself. You should still follow the steps below, but if you do not have funding to make the article open access, simply do not select that option. 

What are the steps for Duke authors?

Cambridge University Press (CUP)

The libraries have an open access publishing agreement with Cambridge University Press to waive the costs of article processing charges at Cambridge University Press journals.

What are eligibility requirements?

To be eligible, your article must:

  • Have a corresponding author affiliated with Duke University. Authors must use their @duke.edu email address to qualify for the APC waiver.
  • Be original research – eligible article types include research articles, review articles, rapid communications, brief reports and case reports.
  • Be accepted for publication in a Cambridge University Press journal covered by the agreement.
  • Be accepted for publication from January 1, 2022.

How do I participate?

  • Submit your research using your institutional affiliation (ideally using ORCID). Please note that eligibility is based on the corresponding author's affiliation.
  • Upon acceptance, choose the Gold Open Access option in your author publishing agreement form and select a creative commons license.

Where can I get more information?