Pediatrics Open Science Open Access Policy

What is Open Access?

Open Access (OA) is a scholarly communication publishing model by which research information is made permanently free online for anyone to read, with no access fees. Pediatrics Open Science is a Gold OA journal, meaning that every article published in the journal is made fully open access through an article publishing charge (APC) paid by the authors or their funding source.

Why Publish OA?

Pediatrics Open Science, the first fully open access journal from the American Academy of Pediatrics, offers a reputable home for your research. Publishing OA means that you get to retain the copyright for your work, which will be more readily discoverable online without any paywalls or embargos to deter potential readers. Readers will be free to share articles with colleagues, trainees, students, and their entire network. Because you retain the copyright to your work, you get to choose how your work can be reused or adapted by selecting either the CC BY or CC BY-NC-ND license. Many funders and grants require publishing OA for compliance. Pediatrics Open Science is compliant with Plan S and many other funder requirements.

Article Publishing Charge (APC)

There is no charge to submit a manuscript for peer review. The APC is only charged after an article has been through peer review and is accepted for publication, and it must be paid within ten days of acceptance. The APC price is determined by the license chosen by the authors and any applicable discounts. Authors from Research4Life countries receive either a full or 50% discount, based on whether the authors are from a Group A or Group B country. AAP members receive a 15% discount.

License Options

Pediatrics Open Science offers two different licenses. The CC BY license allows readers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the article as long as the authors are credited for the original creation. The CC BY-NC-ND license is more restrictive, and only allows users to download the article and share it with others as long as the authors are credited. Articles under the CC BY-NC-ND license can’t be changed in any way, built upon, or used commercially. Check with your funding body to determine which license is the most appropriate for your research.

Authors retain the copyright for their work with either license, and all authors are required to sign the Pediatrics Open Science License to Publish agreement, giving Pediatrics Open Science the right to produce/publish the article, create derivatives, license, sell reprints, and repurpose content under new products created by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Editorial decisions are not impacted by which license the authors select, and all manuscripts undergo rigorous editorial and peer review regardless of the selected license.

These guidelines are subject to change.