Research Paper on "Open Access Publishing Is Revolutionizing Peer-Reviewed Journals"

Research Paper 9 pages (3026 words) Sources: 25

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Furthermore, the community publishing model allows the journal to remain within the academies themselves, enabling creative control.

Institutional subsidies are another part of the Open Access budgeting model. Some journal managers attract corporate and private-sector sponsorship in the form of direct advertising. Advertising can, however, only become a "partial solution" in fields like medicine due to the collusion with pharmaceutical concerns in funding research (Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook 2012). Friend (2011) points out that no open access can survive on private funding alone.

Other methods of pricing management include offering value-added services such as a print copy to those who would like one, hyperlinks to references, other formatting benefits, and also auxiliary services like recommendations, customization (Suber 2004, p. 3; 14). The point is that each Open Access journal demonstrates flexibility and can individually determine how to attract funding and create a sustainable business model. Although not actually a formal "business model" itself, Open Access is compatible with many business models and is a business ethos (Suber 2004, p. 3).

Costs of operating Open Access scholarly journals include peer reviewing, editing, final preparation of articles, rejecting articles that had been reviewed and rejected, overhead or administrative costs. Open Access journals can become profitable. "Open-access publishing is compatible with revenue, and even profit, just as it is compatible with a non-profit business model," (Suber 2002, p. 1). For example, BioMed Central is a for profit Open Access journal.

Integral to the business ethos of Open Access is the concept of sharing and the Creative Commons standard. A Creative Commons license enables sharing, even transforming and "remixing" material in accordance with the terms of the license, even when the remix is for commercial use -- so long as credit is given to the original author (Creative Commons n.d., p. 1). There are similar licensing options available to authors in addition to Creative Commons (Suber 2004).

The technologies behind Open Access are relatively straightforward, especially when compared with the complex technologies required to manage subscription services, payment systems, encryption, and the full gamut of options that traditional journals use. For community publishing, journal production systems like Open Journal Systems software can be used (Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook 2012).

Benefits:

The benefits of Open Access journals are many and include increased or maximized visibility for authors, programs, fields, institutions, and issues (Springer 2015). Research shows that in four academic disciplines, including philosophy, political science, electrical and electronic engineering, and mathematics, authors who use the Creative Commons License have a "greater impact" on their academic peers, as measured by citations in the ISI Web of Science database (Antelman 2004, p. 372). Likewise, researchers have been finding "dramatic citation advantages" for OA (Harnad & Brody 2004). Swan & Brown (2004) point out that Open Access increases author access to grants by increasing visibility. Open Access also propagates academic inquiry in select fields and allows for "self archiving" (Swan & Brown 2004, p. 1).

With less elitism in scholarly publishing, Open Access promotes "public enrichment," (PLOS n.d.). In fact, public funds were used to fund research, so taxpayers have a right to "see the results of their investment," (PLOS n.d., p. 1). Open Access could even lead to improved educational systems throughout the world because all teachers and students around the world have access to quality academic research (COAR 2015).

Open Access also improves journal quality due to the increased public scrutiny (Chen 2006). The author retains copyright, with clear benefits to researchers and their peers. Publication processes are streamlined, and an article can make it to audiences far faster than using traditional print methods. There is also no space constraints for authors who have lengthy articles with tables or appendixes (Suber 2004). Authors also enjoy the immediate entry into bibliographic databases (PLOS n.d).

Suber (2004) adds that there are legal benefits because journal managers have no need to impinge on copyright laws. Digital media reduces costs of distribution and publication, enabling "wider distribution and lower costs at the same time" (Suber 2004, p. 12). The cost of maintaining digital publications are negligible compared to the traditional subscription services, requiring a "tiny part of a technician's time," (Suber 2004, p. 11). There is no need for DRM (user authentication and associated technologies), no need for subscription management, no need for fee processing and other administration, no need for marketing unless the publication deems it necessary, and Open Access generally benefits institutions by liberating funds (Suber 2004, p. 12). Open Access also helps authors and institutions keep abreast and current, using "innovative technologies" (Chen 2006).

Challenges

Main challenges of implementing Open Access on a wider scale include resistance on the part of large universities in particular. Persuading the stubborn publication managers that the changeover is required depends largely on grassroots efforts, led by authors and researchers committed to creating a sustainable and credible Open Access journal community. Given the potential increase in quality, and with virtually no loss in terms of profitability, academic journals need to transition to new technologies and business models lest their brands become obsolete. Other challenges to Open Access may be legal in nature. For example, there may be the potential for needing copyright reform (Suber 2004). Some journals may need to rethink their pricing methods and philosophies. However, if there are no publication or distribution costs, then the market should respond in turn. Other considerations include the need for more server space and the associated costs with database management. "The largest university libraries may be harmed the most," (McCabe & Snyder 2015, p. 1).

The Future

Current academic publishers of traditional journals using traditional journal management models do "need to take into account OA in their business strategies and copyright policies, as well as research funders," (Bjork, Welling, et al. 2010, p. 1). Academic publishing has already changed and Open Access continues to grow. Some recommendations for future journal management using Open Access includes a so-called "harvesting model," which capitalizes on the benefits of a national service of distributed archives (Swan, et al. 2005, p. 25). Suber (2013) points out that most academic institutions promote "green" access, which means that authors can publish wherever they choose instead of forcing authors to use an Open Access journal. Using the "green" model in large universities is the best current option, while smaller institutions can avail themselves immediately of the Open Access solutions. The money has already been invested in academic journals, their brands, and their propagation; Open Access can become a sustainable industry (Schimmer, Geschuhn & Vogler 2015).

References

Antelman, K., 2004. Do Open Access articles have a greater research impact? College and Research Libraries 65(5): 372-382.

"Author Fees and Other Business Models Fund Open Access Journals," 2011. Idea. Retrieved online: http://www.idea.org/blog/2011/04/04/fees-and-other-business-models-fund-open-access-journals/

Bjork, B., Welling, P., et al., 2010. Open Access to the scientific journal literature: Situation 2009. PLOS One. Retrieved online: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0011273

Chen Chi Chang, 2006. Business models for open access journals publishing. Online Information Review 30(6): pp.699-713

Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR, 2015). Statement against Elsevier's sharing policy. Retrieved online: https://www.coar-repositories.org/activities/advocacy-leadership/petition-against-elseviers-sharing-policy/

Creative Commons (n.d). Attribution 4.0 International. Retrieved online: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Elsevier, 2015. Open Access journals. Retrieved online: http://www.elsevier.com/about/open-science/open-access/open-access-journals

Friend, F., 2011. Open Access Business Models for research funders and universities. Retrieved online: http://www.knowledge-exchange.info/Default.aspx?ID=459

Groves, T. & Sands, R., n.d. BMJ Open. Retrieved online: http://bmjopen.bmj.com/site/about/Welcome_to_BMJ_Open.pdf

Harnad, S. & Brody, T., 2004. Comparing the impact of Open Access (OA) versus Non-OA articles in the same journals. D-Lib Magazine, 10 (6). Retrieved online: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/260207/

Laakso, M., Welling, et al., 2011. The development of Open Access Journal Publishing from 1993 to 2009. PLOS ONE. Retrieved online: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0020961

McCabe, M.J. & Snyder, C.M., 2015. The best business model for scholarly journals: an economist's perspective. Nature. Retrieved online: http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/accessdebate/28.html

Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook, 2012. Open Access Journals: Business models. Retrieved online: http://www.openoasis.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=347&Itemid=377

Peet, L., 2015. Sharing policy draws criticism; Elsevier responds. Library Journal. July 25, 2015. Retrieved online: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/06/industry-news/sharing-policy-draws-criticism-elsevier-responds/

PLOS, n.d. The case for Open Access. Retrieved online: https://www.plos.org/open-access/

Schimmer, R., Geschuhn, K.K., & Vogler, A., 2015. Disrupting the subscription journals' business model for the necessary large-scale transformation to open access. Max Planck Digital Library Open Access Policy White Paper. Retrieved online: http://pubman.mpdl.mpg.de/pubman/item/escidoc:2148961:7/component/escidoc:2149096/MPDL_OA-Transition_White_Paper.pdf

Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC, 2015).

Springer, 2015. "What is Open Access?" Retrieved online: http://www.springeropen.com/openaccess

Suber, P., 2002. Open Access to the scientific journal literature. Journal of Biology 1(3).

Suber, P.. 2004. What is Open Access? An overview. Retrieved online: http://www.planta.cn/forum/files_planta/what_is_open_accessan_overview_2004_162.pdf

Suber, P., 2013. Open Access: Six myths put to rest. The Guardian. Retrieved online: http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/oct/21/open-access-myths-peter-suber-harvard

Swan, A. & Brown, S., 2004. Authors and open access publishing. Learned Publishing 17(3): 219-224.

Swan, A., et al., 2005. Developing a model for e-prints and open access journal content in UK further and higher education. Learned Publishing 18(1): 25-40.

Van Noorden, R., 2013. Open access: The true cost of science publishing. Nature. Retrieved online: http://www.nature.com/news/open-access-the-true-cost-of-science-publishing-1.12676

Wise, A., 2015. Unleashing the power of academic sharing. Elsevier. 30 April, 2015. Retrieved online: http://www.elsevier.com/connect/elsevier-updates-its-policies-perspectives-and-services-on-article-sharing READ MORE

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