If Open Access will increase my citation rate, how will I know if my published articles are available through Open Access (OA) repositories?

Check the policies of the journal you’ve published in, or intend to publish in.  You may find that the journal does not allow for depositing your articles in OA repositories.  Some journals allow depositing pre-print and post-print versions of the publication in an OA repository.  Some journals place an embargo period on the uploading of a publication into an OA repository, i.e. there are strings attached.  The embargo period may be anything from as little as a few months to 24 months or more.  An embargo could also be permanent.

The website SHERPA/ROMEO (http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/) assists in identifying the OA permissions granted by various journals.  If the journal you intend to publish in is listed with SHERPA/ROMEO, then you just type in the name of the journ

If you intended journal in not listed with this site, then you will have to enquire from the journal editors themselves regarding OA permissions.

The following 8 minute video will explain OP in further detail:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5rVH1KGBCY

DK can be accessed at the following URL:  http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/xmlui/.  DK is administered by the Institutional Repository Librarian:  Mr MP Snyders (snydersmp@cput.ac.za).