Open Access and undergraduate research
The benefits of Open Access scholarly publishing (the principle that scholarly works should be available for free online) for faculty researchers may seem obvious: broader exposure for the research they publish, and faster and easier access to the materials they need.
Open Access has benefits for undergraduate researchers as well, though:
- You have access to more sources when using Open Access journals, because the library doesn’t have to subscribe to the journal you want. If it’s Open Access, you can get to the article you need.
- Research is easier when using Open Access journals, because it doesn’t matter whether you’re on or off campus — one click takes you to the article without having to log in to the GSU servers.
But undergraduate students are also scholars and authors, and may not be aware that GSU Library’s Digital Archive hosts an Open Access journal just for undergrad research authors: the Colonial Academic Alliance Undergraduate Research Journal. The CAAURJ is a peer-reviewed journal of undergraduate research, open to submissions by students at GSU or eleven other institutions.
If your work is accepted for publication it’s a great opportunity to showcase your best papers in a national forum, and because it’s open access, you can share links to your work in CAAURJ with potential graduate schools and employers. CAAURJ is just one of many open access journals of student research available on the web.