Open Access (OA) publishing allows your research outputs to be made freely available to anyone, anywhere in the world. To extend this to a definition, Open Access publications are digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What makes open access possible is the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder [definition language courtesy of OA expert Peter Suber]. When you publish with OA, it promotes the sharing of research and knowledge and has significant social, economic and scientific benefits. Open Access is part of the wider Open Research movement.
The Aston University Open Access Policy states that Aston researchers should make all their journal articles and conference proceedings Open Access by depositing their work in Aston Publications Explorer, via Pure.