Open access, open source and open science all share similar goals of promoting transparency, collaboration, and innovation.
Open access (or OA) refers to unrestricted public access, usually in the context of research. It means making research publications, such as journal articles, books, and conference proceedings, freely available to anyone with internet access, without requiring payment or subscription fees. This is typically achieved through open access journals or repositories, which make research publications available online for free. For an in-depth definition of OA, see Peter Suber’s great introduction. (Peter Suber also has a great summary of OA myths.)*
Highly recommend to check the OA libguides of HKUST to get more information about OA terminologies, how to make your works OA and choose the approriate license when publishing your work OA.
Open source refers to exclusively to software. It means that the source code for that software is openly available, thus allowing for modification, and that the software may be redistributed freely. (The related term “free software” refers to the users’ freedom to copy, run, distribute, and modify software, rather than meaning free of cost.) Much open source software is free of cost, but some applications do carry licensing fees.* You may want to check The best open source software of 2022.
In summary, open access, open source, and open science are all related concepts that share similar goals of promoting transparency, collaboration, and innovation in research. Open access and open source are important components of open science, but open science encompasses a broader range of practices and principles beyond just open access and open source.
(*Source: Hoffman, S. (2014, June 26). OPEN SOURCE VS. OPEN ACCESS (VS. FREE). Geeky Artist Librarian. https://geekyartistlibrarian.wordpress.com/2014/06/26/open-source-vs-open-access-vs-free/)
