scholarly journals Questioning the efficacy of ‘gold’ : open access to published articles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Fredericks

Aim To question the efficacy of ‘gold’ open access to published articles. Background Open access is unrestricted access to academic, theoretical and research literature that is scholarly and peer-reviewed. Two models of open access exist: ‘gold’ and ‘green’. Gold open access provides everyone with access to articles during all stages of publication, with processing charges paid by the author(s). Green open access involves placing an already published article into a repository to provide unrestricted access, with processing charges incurred by the publisher. Data sources This is a discussion paper. Review methods An exploration of the relative benefits and drawbacks of the ‘gold’ and ‘green’ open access systems. Discussion Green open access is a more economic and efficient means of granting open access to scholarly literature but a large number of researchers select gold open access journals as their first choices for manuscript submissions. This paper questions the efficacy of gold open access models and presents an examination of green open access models to encourage nurse researchers to consider this approach. Conclusion In the current academic environment, with increased pressures to publish and low funding success rates, it is difficult to understand why gold open access still exists. Green open access enhances the visibility of an academic’s work, as increased downloads of articles tend to lead to increased citations. Implications for research/practice Green open access is the cheaper option, as well as the most beneficial choice, for universities that want to provide unrestricted access to all literature at minimal risk. Keywords Open access, self-archiving, publishing, repository, scholarly literature, dissemination

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Fredericks

Aim To question the efficacy of ‘gold’ open access to published articles. Background Open access is unrestricted access to academic, theoretical and research literature that is scholarly and peer-reviewed. Two models of open access exist: ‘gold’ and ‘green’. Gold open access provides everyone with access to articles during all stages of publication, with processing charges paid by the author(s). Green open access involves placing an already published article into a repository to provide unrestricted access, with processing charges incurred by the publisher. Data sources This is a discussion paper. Review methods An exploration of the relative benefits and drawbacks of the ‘gold’ and ‘green’ open access systems. Discussion Green open access is a more economic and efficient means of granting open access to scholarly literature but a large number of researchers select gold open access journals as their first choices for manuscript submissions. This paper questions the efficacy of gold open access models and presents an examination of green open access models to encourage nurse researchers to consider this approach. Conclusion In the current academic environment, with increased pressures to publish and low funding success rates, it is difficult to understand why gold open access still exists. Green open access enhances the visibility of an academic’s work, as increased downloads of articles tend to lead to increased citations. Implications for research/practice Green open access is the cheaper option, as well as the most beneficial choice, for universities that want to provide unrestricted access to all literature at minimal risk. Keywords Open access, self-archiving, publishing, repository, scholarly literature, dissemination


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Fredericks

Open access is unrestricted access to academic, theoretical, and research literature that is scholarly and peer-reviewed. Two models of open access exist and have been identified as: 1) gold and 2) green. Gold open access is based on the principal of providing open access throughout all stages of the publication process. Green open access, also called self-archiving, is the second, and most frequently used form of open access publishing. This type of open access involves placing an already published article into a repository that is created by either an institution or an author in order to provide unrestricted access. Self-archiving is a more economic and efficient means of granting open access to scholarly literature. In spite of these advantages, gold open access continues to thrive. This paper questions the need for gold open access publishing, in light of the significant advantages associated with self-archiving.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Fredericks

Open access is unrestricted access to academic, theoretical, and research literature that is scholarly and peer-reviewed. Two models of open access exist and have been identified as: 1) gold and 2) green. Gold open access is based on the principal of providing open access throughout all stages of the publication process. Green open access, also called self-archiving, is the second, and most frequently used form of open access publishing. This type of open access involves placing an already published article into a repository that is created by either an institution or an author in order to provide unrestricted access. Self-archiving is a more economic and efficient means of granting open access to scholarly literature. In spite of these advantages, gold open access continues to thrive. This paper questions the need for gold open access publishing, in light of the significant advantages associated with self-archiving.


F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Tennant ◽  
François Waldner ◽  
Damien C. Jacques ◽  
Paola Masuzzo ◽  
Lauren B. Collister ◽  
...  

Ongoing debates surrounding Open Access to the scholarly literature are multifaceted and complicated by disparate and often polarised viewpoints from engaged stakeholders. At the current stage, Open Access has become such a global issue that it is critical for all involved in scholarly publishing, including policymakers, publishers, research funders, governments, learned societies, librarians, and academic communities, to be well-informed on the history, benefits, and pitfalls of Open Access. In spite of this, there is a general lack of consensus regarding the potential pros and cons of Open Access at multiple levels. This review aims to be a resource for current knowledge on the impacts of Open Access by synthesizing important research in three major areas: academic, economic and societal. While there is clearly much scope for additional research, several key trends are identified, including a broad citation advantage for researchers who publish openly, as well as additional benefits to the non-academic dissemination of their work. The economic impact of Open Access is less well-understood, although it is clear that access to the research literature is key for innovative enterprises, and a range of governmental and non-governmental services. Furthermore, Open Access has the potential to save both publishers and research funders considerable amounts of financial resources, and can provide some economic benefits to traditionally subscription-based journals. The societal impact of Open Access is strong, in particular for advancing citizen science initiatives, and leveling the playing field for researchers in developing countries. Open Access supersedes all potential alternative modes of access to the scholarly literature through enabling unrestricted re-use, and long-term stability independent of financial constraints of traditional publishers that impede knowledge sharing. However, Open Access has the potential to become unsustainable for research communities if high-cost options are allowed to continue to prevail in a widely unregulated scholarly publishing market. Open Access remains only one of the multiple challenges that the scholarly publishing system is currently facing. Yet, it provides one foundation for increasing engagement with researchers regarding ethical standards of publishing and the broader implications of 'Open Research'.


F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Tennant ◽  
François Waldner ◽  
Damien C. Jacques ◽  
Paola Masuzzo ◽  
Lauren B. Collister ◽  
...  

Ongoing debates surrounding Open Access to the scholarly literature are multifaceted and complicated by disparate and often polarised viewpoints from engaged stakeholders. At the current stage, Open Access has become such a global issue that it is critical for all involved in scholarly publishing, including policymakers, publishers, research funders, governments, learned societies, librarians, and academic communities, to be well-informed on the history, benefits, and pitfalls of Open Access. In spite of this, there is a general lack of consensus regarding the advantages or disadvantages of Open Access at multiple levels. This review aims to to be a resource for current knowledge on the impacts of Open Access by synthesizing important research in three major areas of impact: academic, economic and societal. While there is clearly much scope for additional research, several key trends are identified, including a broad citation advantage for researchers who publish openly, as well as additional benefits to the non-academic dissemination of their work. The economic case for Open Access is less well-understood, although it is clear that access to the research literature is key for innovative enterprises, and a range of governmental and non-governmental services. Furthermore, Open Access has the potential to save publishers and research funders considerable amounts of financial resources. The social case for Open Access is strong, in particular for advancing citizen science initiatives, and leveling the playing field for researchers in developing countries. Open Access supersedes all potential alternative modes of access to the scholarly literature through enabling unrestricted re-use, and long-term stability independent of financial constraints of traditional publishers that impede knowledge sharing. Open Access remains only one of the multiple challenges that the scholarly publishing system is currently facing. Yet, it provides one foundation for increasing engagement with researchers regarding ethical standards of publishing. We recommend that Open Access supporters focus their efforts on working to establish viable new models and systems of scholarly communication, rather than trying to undermine the existing ones as part of the natural evolution of the scholarly ecosystem. Based on this, future research should investigate the wider impacts of an ecosystem-wide transformation to a system of Open Research.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf Halse ◽  
Lena Cecilie Linge

Currently, there is an apparent lack of Gold Open Access journals in Social Science, Humanities and Arts (SSHA), as showcased by the open letter the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) sent to the SSHA communities 16 May 2019. DOAJ asserts in the letter that they agree 100% that DOAJ’s coverage of SSHA journals is insufficient. The implications of the lack of available outlets for research articles by SSHA grantholders in the early years of Plan S implementation may include disadvantages for researchers in the fields. A mandatory criterion for Plan S compliant OA journals is that they must be registered in the DOAJ. One consequence of the lack of coverage is when SSHA scholars seek funding from any of the research agencies or funders that are part of cOAlition S, as scholars will encounter difficulties in finding relevant quality Gold OA journals in which they can publish their research. This could impair SSHA scholars’ chances of receiving grants. Because of the ongoing and accelerated changes to the scholarly publication landscape today, there is a need to support SSHA communities with identifying quality journals which qualifies as Gold OA. To achieve ‘true’ Gold OA status a journal needs to be indexed in DOAJ, as Gold OA journals are in practice defined by their inclusion in this directory. The European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS) provides a curated register of peer reviewed journals in the social sciences, arts and humanities. Today ERIH PLUS includes 7,473 scientific journals, and 2,220 of the journals are also listed by DOAJ. Furthermore, ERIH PLUS covers 1,469,204 scholarly Gold OA publications, according to data from Dimensions. However, less than half of these, 712,135 publications, are today indexed in DOAJ. Dimensions (free version) classifies Gold OA publications in the following way: “Gold – refers to articles in fully accessible open access journals that are available immediately upon publication without a license”. In this project we seek to identify DOAJ inclusion candidates from the group of journals that have published the 757,069 Gold OA publications that are not listed in DOAJ, according to Dimensions data. We will work with editors/editorial staff of journals that we identify as having the potential to be indexed by DOAJ. The goal is to increase the volume of Gold OA journals in SSHA. We will contact, present arguments and provide support to journal editors in order to convince them to apply for inclusion in DOAJ. In the poster, we will outline and describe some of the key tasks for the project in order to reach our goal. The project that we will briefly outline will center on: Describing incentives for obtaining ‘true’ Gold OA status for SSHA journals Identifying journals in ERIH PLUS for possible DOAJ inclusion Efforts to flip SSHA journals to ‘true’ Gold OA


Author(s):  
Gopal P Sarma

“Open access” has become a central theme of journal reform in academic publishing. In this article, I examine the relationship between open access publishing and an important infrastructural element of a modern research enterprise, scientific literature text mining, or the use of data analytic techniques to conduct meta-analyses and investigations into the scientific corpus. I give a brief history of the open access movement, discuss novel journalistic practices, and an overview of data-driven investigation of the scientific corpus. I argue that particularly in an era where the veracity of many research studies has been called into question, scientific literature text mining should be one of the key motivations for open access publishing, not only in the basic sciences, but in the engineering and applied sciences as well. The enormous benefits of unrestricted access to the research literature should prompt scholars from all disciplines to lend their vocal support to enabling legal, wholesale access to the scientific literature as part of a data science pipeline.


Author(s):  
Valentina Markusova ◽  
◽  
Anna Zolotova ◽  
Levan Mindeli ◽  
Vladimir Ivanov ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 91-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Boock ◽  
Tania Yordanova Todorova ◽  
Tereza Stoyanova Trencheva ◽  
Radostina Todorova

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the findings of a survey of Bulgarian faculty about the extent to which their research is openly available, awareness of the European Union Competitiveness Council open access goal, support for the goal and preferences for achieving it.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey of 584 faculty at six universities in Bulgaria using the Qualtrics online survey software. There were 222 effectively surveyed respondents.FindingsBulgarian researchers are aware of arguments in favor of open access and believe that it benefits researchers in their discipline. Only a little more than a third of Bulgarian faculty are familiar with the E.U. goal of open access to all publicly-funded research by 2020. Once the goal is explained, they support it. Authors may not understand the intricacies of green and gold open access, but they are willing to meet the E.U. goal by either publishing in open access journals (the gold method) or depositing articles in open access repositories (the green method).Research limitations/implicationsThe results are useful to countries and funding agencies interested in achieving open access to state funded research.Originality/valueTo date, there has been no research that seeks to determine the degree to which researchers are aware of the E.U. Competitiveness Council’s goal or that seeks to determine faculty preferences for achieving that goal. This paper explores methods available for achieving open access to the results of publicly funded research in Bulgaria.


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