To determine the Open Access status of a work, we try to find a PDF of other fulltext format of the work on the landing page of the journal and also by looking through institutional repositories. Our default is to call a publication 'closed' unless we find an open access version.
If we find an open access version on the record's main webpage, we call it open access (diamond, gold, hybrid, and bronze depending on the journal OA policy and license information). If we do not find an open access version, we call it closed.
If we are able to find an open access version of the work in an institutional repository, we link that version to the work's main record. If the work was also available at the source, its OA status remains the same. But if it wasn't open at source and it is open in a repository, we label it green open access.
Some reasons you might see an error in open access status:
- Open Access status can change (especially status=bronze) and we are not set up to catch such changes immediately;
- Sometimes we miss the link to the OA version (on a source page or repository);
- We might not check your institution's repository for green OA versions (check and fix that here)
To suggest a change to a work's Open Access status, you can use this google form.