scholarly journals The Two Faces of Open Access

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-194
Author(s):  
Peter Black
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Scientific Publishing ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
New Research ◽  
Global World ◽  
Published Research

The two faces of open access remain a point of contention in the global world of scientific publishing, and this carries over into the microcosm of urologic publishing. Many of us are part of the research community and all of us are consumers of new research findings. On both sides of the research enterprise—as providers and consumers—our interests are best met by broad dissemination and universal access to all published research. These are the underlying objectives of open access publishing.

scholarly journals Researchers' perspectives on open access scholarly communication in Tanzanian public universities

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
F.W. Dulle ◽  
M.K. Minishi-Majanja
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Institutional Repositories ◽  
Recognition Quality ◽  
Dissemination Of Research ◽  
Research Findings

This research explored the awareness, usage and perspectives of Tanzanian researchers on open access as a mode of scholarly communication. A survey questionnaire targeted 544 respondents selected through stratified random sampling from a population of 1088 university researchers of the six public universities in Tanzania. With a response rate of 73%, the data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The study reveals that the majority of the researchers were aware of and were positive towards open access. Findings further indicate that the majority of researchers in Tanzanian public universities used open access outlets more to access scholarly content than to disseminate their own research findings. It seems that most of these researchers would support open access publishing more if issues of recognition, quality and ownership were resolved. Thus many of them supported the idea of establishing institutional repositories at their respective universities as a way of improving the dissemination of local content. The study recommends that public universities and other research institutions in the country should consider establishing institutional repositories, with appropriate quality assurance measures, to improve the dissemination of research output emanating from these institutions.

scholarly journals Cost hurdles to open access publishing: A citizen scientist perspective

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenfa Ng
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Peer Review Process ◽  
Journal Article ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Scientific Enterprise ◽  
New Research

Besides offering fun activities for non-scientists to explore the natural world through experiments, simulations or games, the evolving concept of citizen science is increasingly allowing some serious publication quality science to be published by the practitioners (citizen scientists) themselves. The latter is in contrast to the common perception of citizen science, where most citizen science projects such as Foldit are distribution of piecemeal segments of complex projects suitable for solution by individuals, and where the results are pooled together, or used to inform the design and direction of more complex research initiatives. Usually novices in science publishing but nonetheless aware of the importance of journal articles as the primary medium for communicating new research to the wider community (scientific and general public), citizen scientists do encounter significant challenges in science publication. One challenge is in navigating the lengthy and time-consuming peer review process of most journals. But, as benefactors of open access publishing where most journal articles are within pay walls inaccessible to citizen scientists without any research funding, open access publishing is one platform sought after or exist as an option for citizen scientists. Is the option open? Yes, at the preprint level where figshare, and PeerJ Preprints help provide an avenue for citizen scientists to have a published non peer reviewed article online, but no at the higher end “journal article” level where the manuscript needs to be peer reviewed. Even the biological sciences preprint server, bioRxiv, is closed to citizen scientists as publication on the server requires an institution affiliation with either a university or research institute. Most open access publishers (except eLife) charge a publication fee (in the thousands of dollars per article) to defray the cost of maintaining an online presence for a peer reviewed manuscript as well as those for copyediting during final stages of journal publication. This is a significant barrier to cost constrained citizen scientists who want to contribute to the scientific discourse. For the scientific enterprise, this represent a loss, whose magnitude or severity cannot be quantified since ideas help seed new research or entirely new fields. Thus, can we as a community provide citizen scientists worldwide a chance to publish open access peer reviewed articles without significant cost through a competitive publication fee subsidy scheme where each application is reviewed by the national science funding agency? If the above is possible, it would open up another area where ideas from citizen scientists could percolate into the scientific mainstream, where, as always, vibrancy and diversity of ideas power science forward.

Open Access Policies

2016 ◽  
pp. 299-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ratnaria Wahid ◽  
Bakri Mat
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Scholarly Publishing ◽  
Research Dissemination ◽  
Access Policy ◽  
Dissemination Of Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right ◽  
Access Policies ◽  
Published Research

Scholarly publishing is central to the efficiency of research, dissemination of research findings and diffusion of scientific and technical knowledge. Studies however reported that gaining access to published research findings is still a problem due to the increasing costs of journal subscription, a system protected by copyright law. This chapter briefly explains open access and explores its strengths and weaknesses. It further explains why the UK accepted the Finch Report recommendations to encourage innovations by enabling more people to read and use research publications. This chapter emphasizes that the benefit of open access policy as an incentive to enhance innovation must be encountered with caution as it will bring varying implications for different countries and disciplines. It also argues that although those involved in scholarly publishing have the right to be fairly compensated, they also have the moral obligation to ensure its dissemination for the benefit of public interest.

scholarly journals Copyright: the immoveable barrier that open access advocates underestimated

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Poynder
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Communication System ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Hearts And Minds ◽  
Scholarly Communication System ◽  
Personal Case

In calling for research papers to be made freely available open access advocates promised that doing so would lead to a simpler, less costly, more democratic, and more effective scholarly communication system. To achieve their objectives they proposed two different ways of providing open access: green OA (self-archiving) and gold OA (open access publishing). However, while the OA movement has succeeded in persuading research institutions and funders of the merits of open access, it has failed to win the hearts and minds of most researchers. More importantly, it is not achieving its objectives. There are various reasons for this, but above all it is because OA advocates underestimated the extent to which copyright would subvert their cause. That is the argument I make in this book, and I include a personal case study that demonstrates the kind of problems copyright poses for open access. I also argue that in underestimating the extent to which copyright would be a barrier to their objectives, OA advocates have enabled legacy publishers to appropriate the movement for their own benefit, rather than for the benefit of the research community, and to pervert both the practice and the concept of open access.

scholarly journals Cost hurdles to open access publishing: A citizen scientist perspective

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenfa Ng
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Peer Review Process ◽  
Journal Article ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Scientific Enterprise ◽  
New Research

Besides offering fun activities for non-scientists to explore the natural world through experiments, simulations or games, the evolving concept of citizen science is increasingly allowing some serious publication quality science to be published by the practitioners (citizen scientists) themselves. The latter is in contrast to the common perception of citizen science, where most citizen science projects such as Foldit are distribution of piecemeal segments of complex projects suitable for solution by individuals, and where the results are pooled together and informs the design and direction of more complex research initiatives. Usually novices in science publishing but nonetheless aware of the importance of journal articles as the primary medium for communicating new research to the wider community (scientific and general public), citizen scientists do encounter significant challenges in science publication. One challenge is in navigating the lengthy and time-consuming peer review process of most journals. But, as benefactors of open access publishing given that most journal articles are within pay walls inaccessible to citizen scientists without any research funding, open access publishing is one platform sought after or exist as an option for citizen scientists. Is the option open? Yes, at the preprint level where figshare, and PeerJ Preprints help provide an avenue for citizen scientists to have a published non peer reviewed article online, but no at the higher end gold (or immediate) open access journal article level where the manuscript needs to be peer reviewed. Even the biological sciences preprint server, bioRxiv, is closed to citizen scientists as publication on the server requires an institution affiliation with either a university or research institute. Most open access publishers charge a publication fee (in the hundreds to thousands of dollars per article) to defray the cost of maintaining an online presence for a peer reviewed manuscript as well as those for copyediting during final stages of journal article production. This is a significant barrier to cost constrained citizen scientists who want to contribute to the scientific discourse. For the scientific enterprise, this represent a loss, whose magnitude or severity cannot be quantified since ideas help seed new research ideas and fields. Thus, can we as a community provide citizen scientists worldwide a chance to publish gold open access peer reviewed articles without significant cost through a competitive publication fee subsidy scheme where each application is reviewed by the national science funding agency? If the above is possible, it would open up another area where ideas from citizen scientists could percolate into the scientific mainstream, where, as always, vibrancy and diversity of ideas power science forward.

scholarly journals Need for a change in scientific publishing

2018 ◽  
pp. 13-29
Author(s):  
Steinar Risnes
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Present System ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Scientific Publishing ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Open Access Journals ◽  
Article Processing Charges

Outsourcing of scientific publishing to scientific journals is problematic, both economically and academically. It is expensive, slow, non-transparent, unbalanced and excluding. Academic library subscriptions contribute substantially to the publishing companies’ 30-40% profit. There is general consensus that scientific reports should be openly accessible on the Internet. This is generally not the case with articles published in the traditional scientific journals. Open access journals are multiplying fast, but many are of questionable quality. Although open access publishing is less expensive than journal subscription, the article processing charges (APC) of open access journals are still high (up to 5,000 USD) and should be reduced. Science is expensive, scientific publishing should not be expensive.The impression the present system, with its editors and anonymous reviewers, conveys of quality and objectivity, is partly an illusion. The basis for decision on manuscripts is too thin and the balance of power is too uneven.Instead of a complicated fallible system, a simple fallible system is suggested: web-based, indexed and searchable repositories funded and organized by accountable and non-profit institutions/organizations where researchers may upload reports that have been thoroughly reviewed by and are supported by one or more competent, impartial, unbiased and named expert peers chosen by the authors themselves. After publication, reports may be further openly evaluated and commented online by named researchers in the field. Article processing charges should be moderate. Such a system would be simple, reasonable, fast, transparent, balanced, including, efficient, and adequately quality secured.

scholarly journals Elsevier’s commitment to Universal Access

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Rosetta
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
High Energy Physics ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Open Access Journal ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Active Engagement ◽  
Scholarly Communication System ◽  
Access Mechanisms

At Elsevier we recognise that access to quality research is vital to the scientific community and beyond. For us this means providing support and the latest tools to maintain the quality and integrity of published scientific literature, achieving the widest dissemination of content, and embracing the opportunities of open access.Elsevier is committed to universal access, quality, and sustainability. We encourage active engagement and discussions about access.  We are investing our resources in developing new initiatives, expanding our open access and other access initiatives, and in developing our policies.Global Access initiatives are enabled with organisations throughout the world. Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors who publish in Elsevier journals to comply with manuscript archiving requirements of several funding bodies, as specified as conditions of researcher grant awards. Our intention is to further explore collaborations with funding bodies to ensure maximum compliance for their authors, hence also the possibility offered by 1214 of STM subscription-based journals for authors, funding bodies, or other parties to sponsor open access to articles. With 74 journals offering Open Archive and 23 Open Access journal titles available on ScienceDirect and a number already in the pipeline, Elsevier offers several ways for authors to make their work available beyond the subscription model in several scientific areas spanning from Immunology, to Pharma, Physics, Genomics and including well-known brands such as Cell Reports.Elsevier Open Access Solutions are thought in line with our commitment to delivering the highest level of sustainable access to quality content. An example of which is our support towards major academic achievements as exemplified by our commitment to annually making the work of Nobel Prize winners freely available on ScienceDirect. Similarly, Elsevier is making all articles in the high-energy physics area reporting results from CERN’s LHC Project freely available on ScienceDirect.We believe subscription and open-access publishing can co-exist and we will continue to invest to close remaining access gaps globally – thus, also via philanthropic programmes that address the needs of less developed countries -  and support a balanced mix of universal access mechanisms as the key drivers for a high-quality and sustainable scholarly communication system.

Open Access and the Future of Scholarly Communication in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 205-220
Author(s):  
Tuesday Bwalya ◽  
Akakandelwa Akakandelwa
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Information Resources ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Improve Access

The concept of open access has opened up access to scholarly communication. Academia today can publish and have access to a cocktail of information resources without restrictions and without paying anything. This chapter seeks to explain open access to scholarly communication and its future in Sub-Saharan Africa. The chapter begins by explaining the concept of open access, various forms of open access publishing, benefits of open access, and a brief history of open access to scholarly communication in Sub-Saharan Africa. The chapter also highlights some notable open access initiatives that have been implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa in the quest to improve access to scientific research findings in order to accelerate economic development. Furthermore, the chapter catalogues some challenges being encountered in the promotion of open access in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lastly, the chapter predicts the future of open access to scholarly communication in Sub-Saharan Africa, based on the current happenings in this sector.

scholarly journals Disseminating science: an illustration of present and future scenarios

ABOUTOPEN ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-73
Author(s):  
Giulio Zuanetti
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Scientific Publishing ◽  
Proper Science

The last years witnessed an unprecedented use of open access in scientific publishing to disseminate science beyond the border of the academic and research community. In this article, the classic paywall and the more recent open access scenario of publishing are summarized in four key images that may be helpful in illustrating opportunities and challenges for the researchers and academics. Combining their forces with institutions, journalists and life science executive to promote proper science and tackle pseudoscience should be a key priority for the next decade and beyond.

scholarly journals Preserving the Open Access Benefits Pioneered by the Journal of Medical Internet Research and Discouraging Fraudulent Journals (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy C Wyatt
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Scientific Publishing ◽  
Online Publishing ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Many

UNSTRUCTURED The <italic>Journal of Medical Internet Research</italic> (JMIR) was an early pioneer of open access online publishing, and two decades later, some readers and authors may have forgotten the challenges of previous scientific publishing models. This commentary summarizes the many advantages of open access publishing for each of the main stakeholders in scientific publishing and reminds us that, like every innovation, there are disadvantages that we need to guard against, such as the problem of fraudulent journals. This paper then reviews the potential impact of some current initiatives, such as Plan S and JMIRx, concluding with some suggestions to help new open-access publishers ensure that the advantages of open access publishing outweigh the challenges.

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