Gone are the days when researchers had to spend long hours sifting through stacks of journals and books to supplement their study. Today, information gathering has been made easier not only because of digital technologies and networked access but also because of the increasing number of open access journals. Open access publishing enables researchers to share information without paywall restrictions, and helps to build a research culture that encourages faster and more advanced outcomes for global challenges. In fact, recently the White House announced new guidelines that require all taxpayer-funded research, including data used for a study, to be made public at no cost by the end of 2025.1
However, some researchers are still wary of submitting their work to open access journals as they believe that these online publications have less gravitas and are not as professionally impressive as those in print.2
For those who are still uncertain about publishing in open access journals, here’s a look at the many advantages that it offers:
Faster and wider reach and visibility
Publishing in open access journals makes it possible for you to reach a much wider audience as it offers immediate, unrestricted, and free global access to your research. Given that your research is no longer bound behind prohibitive paywalls, chances are that it will not just be your peers or those with easy access to a research library who read your work. Researchers, subject-matter enthusiasts, people from related industries, and policymakers can easily access and engage with your research, which increases the chances of it being put into action leading to greater impact of your work.
Potential for increased citations
There is more evidence today to prove that research published in open access journals attracts more citations and online attention than paid versions. Open access papers typically get more page views, are downloaded more over a longer period, and are more prominently featured on social media than pay-walled articles. This is supported by the fact that articles published in 2016-2020 in Taylor & Francis’ Open Select, which is a hybrid model, typically saw 95% more citations and more than 7 times as many downloads as compared to those that were not published in open access journals.3
Prospects for interdisciplinary research
Open access allows for the free and accelerated exchange of ideas between scientists from different disciplines, irrespective of their geographical locations. Access to these different research materials and the corresponding body of knowledge serves to stimulate novel conversations and opens the door to new areas of inquiry that may have not been considered before. This insight and interaction often inspires more and better interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research work.
Greater opportunities for collaboration
The enhanced global visibility that open access publishing offers to your research may bring with it opportunities to find new connections for collaborative research. Collaborations with different scientists and institutes could potentially create new opportunities, cut down on the duration of research, and may even help bring down the cost of research.
Compliance with funder mandates
Given the increasing move toward open access publishing, there is a concurrent rise in the number of funding institutions and research organizations that require authors to publish in journals that are not restrictive or offer at least a hybrid model of open access. As funding and grant management moves into the digital space, publishing in open access will become more important as it will become easier to assess the outputs and impact of funded research.
The benefits listed above are enough to allay any concerns researchers may have with publishing in open access journals. However, before rushing to publish open access, it is critical that researchers spend some time to choose the right open access journal to submit work to. Check to see if the journal of your choice is listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high-quality, peer-reviewed open access journals. Also remember to tap into the Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies to check on existing policies and ensure compliance on all important aspects of open access publishing.
With policy changes and more journals moving to adopt some form of open access publishing, the scientific community is on the brink of a new era. Open access empowers researchers to build more quickly on new discoveries and gives the world (industry players, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and members of the public) a better, more accurate sense of latest developments in science.
References:
- Tavernier W.L. The Nelson Memo: Public Access to Research and what this means for researchers. Indiana University Bloomington, September 2022. [Accessed November 1, 2022] Available at https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/scholcomm/2022/09/20/the-nelson-memo-public-access-to-research-and-what-this-means-for-researchers/
- Albert K.M. Open access: implications for scholarly publishing and medical libraries. Journal of the Medical Library Association, July 2006 [Accessed November 1, 2022] Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1525322/
- Benefits of open access publishing. Author services, Taylor & Francis. [Accessed November 1, 2022] Available at https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/publishing-open-access/oa-benefits/#
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