You've worked hard to research new topics and to create output to share with the scholarly community. Why should you share the results of your work openly with others?
Communicating the results of your research is an essential part of the research lifecycle. When research is available only through a subscription or by purchase, it may be inaccessible to policymakers, the media, independent researchers, institutions with limited funding, or practitioners. However, work that is published open access or is archived in a repository can be located, used, built-upon, and cited by anyone, regardless of affiliation. Open access can increase the visibility and impact of a work and accelerate scientific progress.