Open access describes the barrier-free and open accessibility of scientific publications and results in the digital space. In principle, open access strategies are divided into different levels. The golden road refers to a first publication as an open access publication. In this case, scientific articles are published via a publisher after they have undergone a peer review process for quality assurance purposes, usually in

- Open Access journals,

- open access anthologies or as

- published as open access monographs.

The rights of use that authors grant to these publishers in this context are typically determined by means of publication agreements. Terms of use for other researchers can also be communicated transparently via the granting of licenses. Articles can be published via the Golden Way either free of charge or for a publication fee.

In addition, research data and other materials and results produced as part of a research process can also be published via the Golden Way. For example, open repositories and storage services can be used for this purpose, in which open publications are possible without restrictions and which support various license models for defining terms of use.

For optimal and efficient advice and support in publishing research results in the sense of the Golden Road, we are available to you in the current situation by e-mail or video conference. You can reach us easily and conveniently via info-dch(at)uni-koeln.de.