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Education: Open Access Resources

This guide is intended to assist students and researchers find resources in Education.

What are Open Access Resources?

  • Open Access refers to resources that are freely available for viewing and/or use. Open Access is not the same as Public Domain, and most Open Access creators do retain their copyrights.
  • Open Access is part of a continuum ranging from completely closed, subscription/purchase only access to completely open, no barrier publishing. Open Access is not related to the quality of materials or the peer-review/non-peer-review status of the publications.
  • Open Access differs from Open Source or Open Licensed in that the primary use of Open Access materials will be viewing or reading, while Open Source materials are available for modification of the underlying software or text. For instance, Linux is an open source operating system, while the The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education is an open access journal. An increasing number of Educational Resources are being published with Open Licenses, allowing for modification, re-editing, and other customization.

What is Open Access?

Institutional Repositories

The library has developed a list of Institutional Repositories that allow the management and dissemination of digital materials created by the University and its community members. These are:

  1. University of Malaya Research Repository is an Open Access digital archive containing the details of published and upublished research work produced by the UM researchers. It has been established to provide a deposit service for the academic staff and researchers.
  2. Students Repository is an online archive for the written work of University of Malaya students such as academic exercises, dissertations and these
  3. Common Repository is an initiative by the library to preserve printed items digitally to increase accessibility, visibility as well as conserve old copies of items such as gazzettes, magazines, journals and books.

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