scholarly journals The Potential of a Cost-Per-Use Analysis to Assess the Value of Library Open-Access Funds

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 99-101
Author(s):  
Jessica Koos

A Review of: Hampson, C., & Stregger, E. (2017). Measuring cost per use of library-funded open access article processing charges: Examination and implications of one method. Journal of Librarianship & Scholarly Communication, 5(1), eP2182. https://doi.org/10.7710/2162-3309.2182 Abstract Objective – To determine the feasibility and potential effects of a cost-per-use analysis of library funds dedicated to open access. Design – Cost-per-use analysis, case study. Setting – PLOS and BioMed Central. Subjects – 591 articles published in PLOS ONE, 165 articles published in PLOS Biology, and 17 articles published in BioMed Central. Methods – Three specific examples are provided of how academic libraries can employ a cost-per-use analysis in order to determine the impact of library-based open access (OA) funds. This method is modeled after the traditional cost-per-use method of analyzing a library collection, and facilitates comparison to other non-OA items. The first example consisted of using a formula dividing the total library-funded article processing charges (APCs) by the total global use of the specific PLOS journal articles that were funded. The second and third examples demonstrated what a library-funded OA membership to BioMed Central would cost alone, and then with APCs that cost could be divided by the total usage of the funded articles to determine cost-per-use. Main Results – The authors found both of the examples described in the article to be potential ways of determining cost-per-use of OA articles, with some limitations. For instance, counting article usage through the publisher’s website may not capture the true usage of an article, as it does not take altmetrics into consideration. In addition, article-level data is not always readily available. In addition, the cost-per-use of OA articles was found to be very low, ranging from $0.01 to $1.51 after the first three years of publication based on the cost of library-funded APCs. The second and third methods revealed a cost-per-use of $0.10 using membership-only payments, while using the cost of membership plus APCs resulted in a cost-per-use of $0.41. Conclusion – Libraries may wish to consider using these methods for demonstrating the value of OA funds in terms of return on investment, as these techniques allow for direct comparison to the usage of traditional journals. However, several barriers need to be overcome in how article-level usage is obtained in order for these methods to be more accurate and efficient. In addition, while the authors report that "The specific examples in this study suggest that OA APCs may compare favorably to traditional publishing when considering value for money based on cost per use," they also caution that the study was not designed to answer the question if the ROI is greater for OA publications than for traditional articles, stating that "...the data in this study should not be interpreted as a verification of such an argument, as this study was not designed to answer that question, nor can it do so given the limitations on the data. This paper was designed to present and illustrate a method. Further study would be necessary to verify or refute this possibility" (p. 15).

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11417
Author(s):  
Richard K.A. White ◽  
Anton Angelo ◽  
Deborah Fitchett ◽  
Moira Fraser ◽  
Luqman Hayes ◽  
...  

We studied journal articles published by researchers at all eight New Zealand universities in 2017 to determine how many were freely accessible on the web. We wrote software code to harvest data from multiple sources, code that we now share to enable others to reproduce our work on their own sample set. In May 2019, we ran our code to determine which of the 2017 articles were open at that time and by what method; where those articles would have incurred an Article Processing Charge (APC) we calculated the cost if those charges had been paid. Where articles were not freely available we determined whether the policies of publishers in each case would have allowed deposit in a non-commercial repository (Green open access). We also examined citation rates for different types of access. We found that, of our 2017 sample set, about two out of every five articles were freely accessible without payment or subscription (41%). Where research was explicitly said to be funded by New Zealand’s major research funding agencies, the proportion was slightly higher at 45%. Where open articles would have incurred an APC we estimated an average cost per article of USD1,682 (for publications where all articles require an APC, that is, Gold open access) and USD2,558 (where APC payment is optional, Hybrid open access) at a total estimated cost of USD1.45m. Of the paid options, Gold is by far more common for New Zealand researchers (82% Gold, 18% Hybrid). In terms of citations, our analysis aligned with previous studies that suggest a correlation between publications being freely accessible and, on balance, slightly higher rates of citation. This is not seen across all types of open access, however, with Diamond OA achieving the lowest rates. Where articles were not freely accessible we found that a very large majority of them (88% or 3089 publications) could have been legally deposited in an institutional repository. Similarly, only in a very small number of cases had a version deposited in the repository of a New Zealand university made the difference between the publication being freely accessible or not (125 publications). Given that most New Zealand researchers support research being open, there is clearly a large gap between belief and practice in New Zealand’s research ecosystem.


Author(s):  
Tomonori Honda ◽  
Eric Saund ◽  
Ion Matei ◽  
Bill Janssen ◽  
Bhaskar Saha ◽  
...  

To minimize the design cost of a complex system and maximize performance, a design team ideally must be able to quantify reliability and mitigate risk at the earliest phases of the design process, where 80% of the cost is committed. This paper demonstrates the capabilities of a new System Reliability Exploration Tool based on the improved simulation capabilities of a system called Fault-Augmented Modelica Extension (FAME). This novel tool combines concepts from FMEA, traditional Reliability Analysis, and Quality Engineering to identify, gain insight, and quantify the impact of component failure modes through time evolution of a system’s lifecycle. We illustrate how to use the FAME System Reliability Exploration Tool through a vehicle design case study.


Author(s):  
Noreen Kirkman ◽  
Gaby Haddow ◽  

Introduction. Despite funder policies recognising the repository route as critical to achieving open access compliance, most accepted manuscripts in repositories have embargoes on access. This paper explored the extent to which embargoes hinder open access for grant recipients. Method. The study applied bibliometric research methods to analyse 7,562 journal articles, published in 2019 and funded by Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council. The primary data sources included Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Sherpa Romeo. Analysis. Analysis was performed for the embargo periods of accepted manuscripts of non-open access articles (43.76%, n = 3,309) in institutional repositories and the effects of embargoes on compliance with funder policies. Results. Three-quarters of non-open access articles had embargo periods of twelve months. However, 30.94% of total articles remained publicly inaccessible, with accepted manuscripts in institutional repositories comprising only 9.65%. Conclusions. Publishers’ embargo periods complicate the cost-free solution of depositing accepted manuscripts in institutional repositories. The promotion of zero-embargoed journals and the adoption of zero-embargoes for funded articles in institutional repositories through funder-publisher agreements would achieve higher open access levels and compliance with the Council’s Policy.


PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2264 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Solomon ◽  
Bo-Christer Björk

Background.Open access (OA) publishing via article processing charges (APCs) is growing as an alternative to subscription publishing. The Pay It Forward (PIF) Project is exploring the feasibility of transitioning from paying subscriptions to funding APCs for faculty at research intensive universities. Estimating of the cost of APCs for the journals authors at research intensive universities tend to publish is essential for the PIF project and similar initiatives. This paper presents our research into this question.Methods.We identified APC prices for publications by authors at the 4 research intensive United States (US) and Canadian universities involved in the study. We also obtained APC payment records from several Western European universities and funding agencies. Both data sets were merged with Web of Science (WoS) metadata. We calculated the average APCs for articles and proceedings in 13 discipline categories published by researchers at research intensive universities. We also identified 41 journals published by traditionally subscription publishers which have recently converted to APC funded OA and recorded the APCs they charge.Results.We identified 7,629 payment records from the 4 European APC payment databases and 14,356 OA articles authored by PIF partner university faculty for which we had listed APC prices. APCs for full OA journals published by PIF authors averaged 1,775 USD; full OA journal APCs paid by Western European funders averaged 1,865 USD; hybrid APCs paid by Western European funders averaged 2,887 USD. The APC for converted journals published by major subscription publishers averaged 1,825 USD. APC funded OA is concentrated in the life and basic sciences. APCs funded articles in the social sciences and humanities are often multidisciplinary and published in journals such as PLOS ONE that largely publish in the life sciences.Conclusions.Full OA journal APCs average a little under 2,000 USD while hybrid articles average about 3,000 USD for publications by researchers at research intensive universities. There is a lack of information on discipline differences in APCs due to the concentration of APC funded publications in a few fields and the multidisciplinary nature of research.


Author(s):  
Michael Hochberg

The cost of publishing is hotly debated. Until the 1990s, publication was either free of charge, paid per page or per article, or covered partially or completely if subscribing to a journal or if a member of the academic society overseeing a journal. A major shift occurred in the early 2000s when new “Open Access” publishers made articles freely available for all to read and reuse, with article processing charges being covered by the author. This chapter discusses the paradigm shift and how it has changed the landscape of who pays for scientific publication.


2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark G Duggan ◽  
William N Evans

As health care consumes a growing share of GDP, the demand for better evidence regarding the effects of health care treatments and how these vary across individuals is increasing. Estimating this with observational data is difficult given the endogeneity of treatment decisions. But because the random assignment clinical trials (RACTs) used in the FDA approval process only estimate average health effects and do not consider spending, there is no good alternative. In this study we use administrative data from California's Medicaid program to estimate the impact of HIV antiretroviral treatments (ARVs). We use data on health care utilization to proxy for health status and exploit the rapid takeup of ARVs following their FDA approval. Our estimate of a 68 percent average mortality rate reduction is in line with the results from RACTs. We also find that the ARVs lowered short-term health care spending by reducing expenditures on other categories of medical care. Combining these two effects we estimate the cost per life year saved at $19,000. Our results suggest an alternative method for estimating the real-world effects of new treatments that is especially well-suited to those treatments that diffuse rapidly following their approval.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 294-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Bonnet ◽  
Marisa Méndez-Brady

PurposeWhereas traditional book and journal publishing remain the gold standard for many post-secondary institutions, nontraditional publishing is just as prolific at the flagship university in Maine. The university has strong land and sea grant missions that drive a broad research agenda, with an emphasis on community outreach and engagement. However, the impact of researchers’ contributions outside of academe is unlikely to be accurately reflected in promotion, tenure or review processes. Thus, the authors designed a series of altmetrics workshops aimed at seeding conversations around novel ways to track the impact of researchers’ diverse scholarly and creative outputs. Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a case study of the instructional approach taken at the University of Maine library to facilitate discussions of alternative impact assessments that reach beyond traditional publications. FindingsEvaluations revealed an increased awareness of, and interest in, impact tracking tools that capture both traditional scholarship, like journal articles, and nontraditional scholarly and creative outputs, such as videos, podcasts and newsletters. The authors learned that altmetrics provides an entry point into a broader conversation about scholarly impact, and was best received by those whose scholarly output is not always captured by traditional metrics. Practical implications Scholars are equipped with novel methods for describing the value of their work and discovering a broader audience for their research. Future initiatives will target the needs identified through initial conversations around altmetrics. Originality/valueAltmetrics workshops provide spaces to explore the potential for new tools that capture a range of previously unconsidered measures of impact, and to discuss the implications of those measures.


Author(s):  
Zohreh Estakhr ◽  
Hajar Sotudeh ◽  
Javad Abbaspour ◽  
◽  

Introduction. The present study investigated the cost-effectiveness of article-processing-charge-funded model across the world countries in terms of its citation value proportional to the article processing charges. Method. Using a comparative citation analysis method at the macro level, it explored a sample of articles in forty-seven Elsevier hybrid open access journals that had been following the model since 2007. Analysis. The contributing countries' open access citation advantages were calculated based on the percentage of their open access citation surplus proportional to that of their non-open access articles. Their relative open access citation cost-effectiveness was obtained based on their open access citation counts proportional to the article processing charges, normalised by those of non-open access papers. The countries were categorised into four scientific blocks using Rand's categorization of countries' scientific development. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data in SPSS. Results. The results supported the citation advantage of the article-processing-charge-funded papers, encompassing the majority of the contributing countries in the four scientific development blocks. The articles showed relative cost-effectiveness over the years and for most countries in all the scientific development blocks. Conclusions. Publishing article-processing-charge-funded papers is relatively cost-effective, implying higher visibility and influence in exchange for the money paid.


Author(s):  
Francisca Clotilde de Andrade Maia ◽  
Maria Giovanna Guedes Farias

Objetivo: A revisão por pares aberta é um dos modelos de avaliação vem sendo discutido na literatura científica, por estar em consonância com os princípios da ciência aberta. Diante disso, este estudo objetiva identificar o modelo de revisão adotado pelos periódicos científicos indexados no filtro open peer review do Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), a fim de analisar se essas revistas contemplam as setes características apontadas por Ross-Hellauer (2017a). Método: Baseou-se na abordagem quanti-qualitativa, com uso do método exploratório e das técnicas de coleta de dados: pesquisa documental e entrevista não-estruturada. No DOAJ procedeu-se com o download de metadados e visitas aos websites de cada periódico a ser analisado. Já a entrevista não-estruturada foi efetivada por e-mail e mídia social dos editores. Para a análise dos dados adotou-se a análise de conteúdo, com o estabelecimento de categorias. Resultados: Apontam que a maior parte da amostra dos periódicos é oriunda do Reino Unido, está sob responsabilidade da editora BioMed Central (BMC), publicam em inglês, cobram o pagamento de taxa Article Processing Charges (APC) e cobrem a área Ciências da Saúde. As características identidades abertas e pareceres abertos são as mais adotadas pelos periódicos científicos da amostra. Além disso, de acordo com os editores, as revisões abertas são mais justas e atuam como um tutorial de ensino sobre como realizar um parecer científico. Os resultados demonstram ainda que a revisão aberta impacta na qualidade do manuscrito, resulta em avaliações melhores, mais construtivas, menos negativas e atua como uma alternativa para valorizar o trabalho voluntário dos avaliadores. Conclusões: Conclui-se que o modelo de revisão aberta mostra-se ser uma alternativa viável e que, com base nos resultados, pode-se considerá-lo como um modelo eficaz e que proporciona diversas contribuições para o processo de revisão por pares, em especial, para torná-lo mais transparente e justo.  


2021 ◽  
Vol 03 (07) ◽  
pp. 314-328
Author(s):  
Ghazi Abdulazeez SULAIMAN BAG ◽  
Rafiq Faraj MAHMOOD

This research was - case study in Rstin company for the steel structures in Erbil- addressed the cost technique of product life cycle, as discussed the kinds, relevance and the stages of the life cycle of the product, also it referred to the corporate governance of discussing its inception the concept and importance of the principles, objectives, and mechanisms was addressed to the technical aspects of the overlap between the cost of the product life cycle corporate governance and show the appropriate techniques used in each stage of the life cycle of the product and how it achieved by a reduction of costs. The result of this study indicates that the integration between the product life cycle cost and corporate governance works on reduce costs through the various stages of product life cycle. It also concluded that this integration increases the company ability to compete in market which leads to rise in its market share and eventually lead to maximize the profit which has been achieved through the optimal use of a company available resources. It also found that the techniques of life cycle cost of the product cannot be applied without support of the company directors, throughout the technical requirements of the application. Corporate governance ensures directors of the company to utilize firm resources which makes the company to achieve several stakeholders' objectives.


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