There is a lot of jargon that appears when we start talking about open access. Sometimes it seems like you’re learning another language! We’ve collected the abbreviations and terminology here so you can easily check when you come across something you haven’t seen before or simply need a reminder.

Accepted version – the final accepted text of a research output, after amendment from peer review. Also known as ‘accepted author manuscript’ or ‘post-print’.

APC – Article Processing Charge. Some publishers charge authors an APC before they will publish their article.

Date of publication – the earliest date that the final version of record is made available on the publisher’s website.

Embargo – a period of time during which access to a version of a work deposited in a repository is restricted. For example, if a journal has a 12-month embargo on accepted manuscripts, the file can be deposited in a repository but not made public until the embargo period has ended.

Green and Gold – different methods of open access publishing. ‘Green’ means depositing work in a repository, and ‘gold’ means that the final published version is open access.

Hybrid journal – a subscription journal that also contains individual open access articles published after either payment of an APC or if the university has a deal with the publisher.

ISSN – International Standard Serial Number

ORCID – Open Researcher and Contributor ID. Register with ORCID and get a unique identifying number that distinguishes you (and your work) from other researchers with a similar or identical name

Pre-print – the version of a paper at the point of submission to a journal, before amendments from peer review.

‘Predatory‘ journal – also known as ‘deceptive’ publishing: when a journal or publisher charges a fee for publishing, but does not actually undertake the peer review – they simply publish everything with no regards to quality.

REF – Research Excellence Framework, the periodic research assessment exercise that all UK universities participate in.

Target journal – the journal you’d like or choose to have your research to be published in.

Version of record – version that appears on publisher’s website after publication, including publisher copy-editing, proof corrections, layout and typesetting. Also known as ‘publishers PDF’.