Favoring open access when evaluating academic merits
By Jan Kunnas
A survey conducted in 2010 found that 89 percent of the 38 000 active researchers that answered the survey are convinced that open access is beneficial for their research field, directly improving the way the scientific community work. Still only 8—10 percent of articles are published yearly in open access journals (Dallmeier‐Tiessen et al., 2011 http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1101/1101.5260.pdf).
One of the main advantages of the various open access journals operating on the Internet is that they make original scientific research available also to laymen, the taxpayers who finance scientific research in the first place. There is, however, a need for carrots to induce scholars to publish in open access journals. I would toss the ball to the Ivy League and other prestigious universities. They could take the first step by favoring open access journals when evaluating academic merits. I am confident that the rest of the academic world would follow, it usually does. The advantage of this approach is that it would lift up researchers with more interest in the societal impact of their research, as it would favor researchers valuing accessibility of their research over the prestige of the outlet of their research.
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Though I like your idea, I think the actual step to publish in OA journals deserves consideration. The fact that many well-reputed OA journals require publication fees is an obstacle to less well-funded researchers and institutions and may therefore eventually reproduce the same selection in favor of prestigious (well-funded) institutions we currently have. What do you think?
Tanja Gabriele Baudson · 13 Feb, 2016
I completely agree with you Tanja. The solution is what Haschak calls Platinum route to open-access: "It is my firm belief that all scholarly journal articles should be free and freely accessible. There never should be a charge to the readers, the authors, or the institutions for access.” http://InformationR.net/ir/12-4/paper321.html
Financing could come from money freed up from journal subscriptions. Resources put in open access journals could also be considered as an investment in the recognizability & prestige of the hosting University.
Jan Kunnas · 2 May, 2016