What open access means at AAAI
Open access (OA) is a publishing approach where scholarly articles are available online without paywalls for readers. In practical terms, open access removes subscription barriers so research can be read by anyone with an internet connection—clinicians in busy practice settings, researchers working across institutions, trainees, policymakers, and readers in regions where library subscriptions may be limited.
AAAI’s open-access approach has two important dimensions: (1) access—the ability to read and download the article freely, and (2) permission—clear reuse rights that tell readers what they may do with the content (for example, sharing, teaching, translation, or reanalysis). Both dimensions matter. A paper that is “free to read” but has unclear reuse permissions can still be difficult to incorporate into education, systematic reviews, or health communication initiatives.
Plain-language promise
When AAAI publishes an article, it is intended to be openly accessible and accompanied by explicit licensing that supports broad lawful reuse with proper attribution.
License and reuse: Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0)
AAAI articles are published under a Creative Commons license intended to enable broad sharing and reuse while ensuring that authors receive appropriate credit. On article pages across the journal, the copyright/license block states that the work is an open-access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License and permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Under CC BY 4.0, readers and downstream users may generally:
- Read and download the article without charge.
- Share the article (e.g., email to colleagues, post to course sites, include in reading lists).
- Reuse and adapt the content (e.g., figures in presentations, translated summaries, teaching materials), provided attribution is given.
- Text and data mine the content for research purposes, subject to lawful and ethical use.
- Create derivatives (e.g., explainers, evidence briefs) while citing the original source.
The key requirement is attribution. Attribution should include the article title, author(s), journal name, year, and DOI (when available), along with a link to the license. When reusing figures or adapting text, it is also good practice to indicate whether changes were made (e.g., “adapted from…”).
| If you reuse a figure | Include: author(s), article title, journal, year, DOI, and “Licensed under CC BY 4.0.” If you modified the figure, add “adapted from” and describe the change briefly. |
|---|---|
| If you translate content | Cite the original article and indicate that your translation is unofficial unless the journal explicitly commissioned it. Keep the scientific meaning faithful to the original. |
| If you create a derivative educational resource | Provide a reference list entry and link to the DOI landing page. Avoid implying endorsement by the authors or the journal unless you have written permission. |
Third-party material inside an article
Sometimes an article contains images, scales, or material owned by third parties. In such cases, reuse may require additional permission unless the material is itself openly licensed or clearly covered by the article’s license. Authors should label third-party content clearly so readers can reuse responsibly.
Author rights and responsibilities
Open access works best when authors understand both their rights and their responsibilities. AAAI’s author guidance emphasizes practical submission steps and encourages clear reporting. In an open-access context, authors also benefit from improved reach: readers can share work widely, and the content can be integrated into education and evidence synthesis more readily.
What authors typically retain (practically)
While specific licensing and copyright language is detailed on the journal’s Copyright and Licensing page, open-access publication under CC BY 4.0 generally supports: author recognition as the creators of the work, broad lawful reuse by others with attribution, and the ability for authors to share the final article link widely (e.g., personal website, academic profile, departmental page). This supports compliance with many funder and institutional open-access expectations.
What authors must ensure
- Originality and permissions: obtain permission for third-party content not covered by open licensing and cite sources appropriately.
- Ethics and privacy: protect patient privacy, include ethics approvals/consent statements where required, and de-identify clinical materials properly.
- Accurate attribution: ensure references are complete so downstream users can cite correctly.
- Responsible sharing: share the DOI or official article link to preserve the authoritative version of record.
Funding open access: publication charges and waivers
Publishing open access removes subscription fees for readers, but it does not eliminate the costs of editorial processing, peer review coordination, production, hosting, and long-term maintenance. AAAI’s legacy guidance notes that journal operations may be supported through contributors, sponsors, and institutional arrangements, and it discusses publication charges used to compensate for processing and production activities.
AAAI aims to keep fee practices transparent for authors. The journal provides separate pages for Article Processing Charges and Waiver Policy, where detailed amounts and eligibility criteria are described. Authors are encouraged to review those pages before submission so there are no surprises at late stages of the workflow.
Waiver requests: best timing
If you need a waiver or discount, request it during submission (not after acceptance) and provide a brief, factual explanation. Early requests help the editorial office handle finances in parallel with editorial processing.
Why AAAI separates editorial decisions from fees
Editorial decisions should be based on scientific merit and integrity. To protect the credibility of published respiratory and immunology research, AAAI’s editorial workflow is designed so that acceptance is driven by scope fit, methodological soundness, and peer-review evaluation—not by the author’s ability to pay. When fees apply, the journal works within its stated waiver/discount policies to support equitable participation where possible.
Funder and institutional open-access compliance
Many funders and institutions require that research outputs be openly accessible and licensed for reuse. Publishing in an open-access journal under a recognized Creative Commons license can help authors comply with these requirements. AAAI supports compliance by clearly presenting license and citation information on article pages and by using DOIs for persistent identification.
If your institution asks for repository deposit, follow the journal’s Repository Policy (menu item) for permitted versions, required citation language, and any recommended metadata. When in doubt, share the DOI landing page and the final citation rather than uploading files to multiple locations without consistent metadata.
Recommended author actions for compliance
- Use the final article citation and DOI on CVs, grant reports, and academic profiles.
- When depositing in a repository, include the license, DOI, and journal citation fields clearly.
- Keep your author name consistent across publications; consider using ORCID if available.
- For clinical studies, ensure trial registration and ethics approvals are reported as needed.
Quality, version of record, and post-publication updates
Open access increases reach, so quality assurance is essential. AAAI uses peer review and integrity checks (as described on Peer Review and Plagiarism policy pages) to maintain reliable publication standards. Once published, the article becomes the version of record—the authoritative scholarly version intended for citation and long-term reference.
When corrections are needed, they should be handled transparently so readers can track what changed and why. For serious issues that undermine reliability (for example, proven plagiarism, major errors, or ethical violations), journals may take actions such as retraction. AAAI provides a Withdrawal Policy that discusses how record stewardship is managed, including preservation considerations.
Why this matters in health sciences
In asthma and immunology, published claims can influence clinical choices and patient education. Transparent corrections protect readers and reduce the risk of misapplication of findings.
Open access for readers: accessibility and practical use
Open access is not only about price—it is about usability. AAAI aims to present articles in forms that are practical for real-world use, including PDF access and HTML article pages where available. Readers can use open-access content for teaching, journal clubs, guideline discussions, and evidence-based patient education—so long as attribution is preserved and any third-party restrictions are respected.
Common reader use cases
- Clinicians: rapid access to evidence on asthma control strategies, allergic rhinitis treatment, immunotherapy considerations, and respiratory complications.
- Researchers: reuse of figures and methods descriptions to compare results, plan replication, or design new studies.
- Educators: inclusion of articles in course reading lists without paywalls; use of figures in lectures with proper citation.
- Systematic reviewers: open full text supports accurate data extraction and reduces access barriers.
- Public health professionals: evidence for prevention and self-management programs, including smoking prevention and environmental exposure interventions.
Text and data mining
Open licensing supports lawful text and data mining for research and analytics. Users should ensure they respect privacy rules, avoid re-identification attempts, and cite the sources used in analyses.
Frequently asked questions
Is AAAI a “Gold Open Access” journal?
AAAI provides immediate open access to published articles and uses a Creative Commons attribution license for broad reuse. This aligns with a Gold Open Access approach in common publishing terminology.
What license applies to AAAI articles?
AAAI articles display a Creative Commons Attribution license statement on article pages, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Can I reuse a figure in my presentation or lecture?
Yes, in most cases under CC BY 4.0, provided you cite the source and indicate if you adapted it. If an article includes third-party material not covered by the license, you may need additional permission.
Do I need to pay to read or download AAAI articles?
No. AAAI content is intended to be openly accessible online without subscription barriers. Publishing charges (when applicable) are associated with production and processing, not reader access.
How do I request a waiver or discount?
Review the Waiver Policy and request a waiver during submission with a brief explanation. Early requests help the editorial office process finances alongside editorial workflow.
Where should I link to my article?
Use the DOI landing page (or official journal URL) to ensure readers reach the authoritative version of record and citations remain consistent.
License reference: CC BY 4.0
