What Is Diamond Open Access and Why Is It Essential for Academia

Diamond Open Access can be a good option for researchers who value open access, have limited funding, work in emerging or interdisciplinary fields, or seek to create social impact with their research. However, as with any other publishing model, it’s important to consider the benefits and drawbacks first concerning your circumstances and goals.

In this article, we explore how Diamond OA compares to Green OA and Gold OA, its advantages and disadvantages, and we conclude with whom can benefit most from choosing this publishing model.

What is Diamond Open Access?

Diamond Open Access is an open-access publishing model where scholarly articles are made freely available to readers without cost or barrier. In the Diamond Open Access model, the entire publishing process, from peer review to publication, is funded by non-profit organizations, research institutions, or government agencies rather than by charging fees to authors or readers.

Unlike Gold Open Access, where authors pay fees to make their articles open access, Diamond Open Access does not require authors to pay any fees. Instead, the costs of publishing are covered by funding from outside sources. This means that readers can access articles without paying, and authors can publish their research without financial burden.

The Diamond Open Access model is a way to make scholarly research more widely available, particularly for researchers and readers in developing countries who may not have the financial resources to access research publications. It also helps address inequality issues and provides greater access to knowledge, which can lead to increased innovation and progress in various fields.

Diamond OA vs. Green OA vs. Gold OA

Diamond Open Access, Green Open Access, and Gold Open Access are all helping make scholarly research available. Here are the main differences between them:

Diamond Open Access: as previously mentioned, Diamond OA (or Platinum OA) is a publishing model where the entire publishing process is funded by non-profit organizations, research institutions, or government agencies; there are no charging fees to authors or readers.
Green Open Access: Green OA involves making articles available through self-archiving in online repositories or institutional archives. Authors can typically self-archive either preprints (versions of articles before peer review) or post-prints (versions of articles after peer review but before formatting and typesetting). Green OA can be done with or without permission from the publisher, depending on the journal’s policies.
Gold Open Access: Gold OA involves making articles freely available on the publisher’s website immediately upon publication. In this model, authors or their funding institutions typically pay article processing charges (APCs) to the publisher to cover the cost of publication. Gold OA is sometimes referred to as Author-Pays Open Access. Be careful, though; predatory publishers use the Gold Open Access model to take advantage of unsuspecting authors.

What Are the Advantages of Diamond Open Access?

Compared to subscription-based journals, Diamond Open Access offers several advantages:

No financial burden on authors: since authors don’t have to pay fees to make their articles freely available, this is particularly beneficial for researchers who don’t have access to funding to cover publication costs.
No financial burden on readers: readers can also access articles without cost or subscription fees, which increases the visibility and impact of research.
Greater access to knowledge: by making research freely available, Diamond OA can help address inequality issues and increase access to knowledge. This can lead to more significant innovation and progress in various fields.
No conflict of interest: since the funding for Diamond OA doesn’t come from active players in the industry, there’s no conflict of interest between publishers and authors. This can help to ensure the integrity of the peer review and publication process.
Increased transparency: the Diamond Open Access model often requires that research data and methodology are made openly available, which helps improve the clarity and reproducibility of research.

Drawbacks of Diamond Open Access

While there are some undeniable advantages, unfortunately, Diamond OA has some drawbacks as well:

Limited funding: since the budget for Diamond OA doesn’t come from companies, there may be limited resources available to support publishing. Over time, this can limit the number of articles that can be published, as well as the quality of the services provided.
Quality control: with this model, the responsibility for quality control rests with the funding organizations rather than the publisher. This can lead to variations in the quality of peer review and editorial services.
Limited options for publishing venues: since Diamond OA is a relatively new and a less common publishing model, there may be limited options for authors wishing to publish in Diamond Open Access journals.
Limited prestige: Diamond Open Access journals are often newer and less established than traditional subscription-based or Gold Open Access journals, which may limit the prestige and impact of research published in Diamond Open Access venues.
Difficulty in sustaining publishing operations: this model relies on external funding, and therefore, supporting publishing operations over the long term can become challenging.

Is Diamond Open Access right for your research?

Deciding whether Diamond Open Access is the most suitable publishing model for your research depends on various factors, including your funding sources, disciplinary norms, and goals for dissemination and impact. Here are some situations where Diamond Open Access might be a good fit for your research:

you have limited funding
you value open access and accessibility
you are working in an interdisciplinary or emerging field where traditional publishing models don’t meet your needs
you are seeking to create social impact and want to reach a wider audience.

Alternatively, you can also give Orvium a try. Our platform helps researchers publish their papers faster, at no additional cost. Peer reviews are made by experts in your field, you have full traceability over all the changes, and the entire flow from submitting to publishing is streamlined thanks to our easy-to-use, platform that lets you control when to submit, peer review, and publish your paper. Here you can find more details about how Orvium helps researchers.

If you want to stay up-to-date with the latest news and product features, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, or Instagram.