Will making my work open access expose me to plagiarism?

The academic discourse has long-held conventions for the attribution of work through citations. Any work, regardless of its dissemination platform (online, open access or in print) can be plagiarised. Making work available through a repository clearly identifies the author as the owner of the work.

Is open access vanity publishing?

No. The focus of the open access movement is on providing open access to peer reviewed research articles. Open access journals use the same peer review procedures, the same standards, and even the same people as subscription journals. The key variables in journal quality are the quality of authors, the quality of editors, and the quality of referees, all of which are independent of the journal’s access policy and business model, according to Peter Suber.

Making work open access through a repository is in addition to having it published in a peer reviewed journal.

Will OA constrain the capacity of scholarly societies to fund other activities?

Society membership generally confers a range of benefits beyond access to a print journal. It is unlikely that society members would cancel their membership just because the journal was freely available online. Limiting access to research articles as a means of paying for activities for the few is not a good form of cross subsidy. Alternative sources of funding for activities can often be found.