Open Access Journals: A Boon or Bane for Early Career Researchers in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashok K. Sundramoorthy

Background : It is demonstrated that for a junior research faculty in India, a proper guidelines and funding resources are required to publish research articles in the Open Access (OA) journals. Recently, many of the important scientific journals are turned out to be OA journals. When we need to publish in an OA journal, the funding support for article processing charge (APC) is uncertain due to the limited funds or absence of institutional level support. Objective: To find out the total number of open access and subscription based articles published from the top ten countries in the scientific journals up to July 2020. Materials and Methods: For the data collection a keyword of “Chemistry” was used in all fields in the “Scopus database” on 07 July 2020. Results: From the articles published by top ten countries, it was found that USA has published more number of publications (open access plus subscription based) followed by China, Japan, Germany, UK, India, France, Canada, Italy, and Russian Federation. However, if we carefully look at the total numbers of OA publications up to July 2020, Japan (33.47%) has published more percentage of OA documents compared to UK (26.92%), Germany (24.63%) and USA (24.53%). In this list, India (13.02%) and Russian Federation (10.14%) have published lowest numbers of OA publications compared to other countries.

Author(s):  
Jesse Wolf ◽  
Layla MacKay ◽  
Sarah Haworth ◽  
Marie-Laurence Cossette ◽  
Morgan Dedato ◽  
...  

The usage of preprint servers in ecology and evolution is increasing, as it allows for research to be rapidly disseminated and available through open access at no cost. This is relevant for Early Career Researchers (ECRs), who must demonstrate research ability for funding opportunities, scholarships, grants, or faculty positions in short temporal windows in order to advance their careers. Concurrently, limited experience with the peer review process can make it challenging for those who are in the early stages of their research career to build publication records. Therefore, ECRs face different challenges relative to researchers with permanent positions and established research programs and have different requirements in terms of research output and timelines. These challenges might also vary according to institution size and country, which are associated with the availability of funding for open access journals. Herein, we hypothesize that career stage and institution size impact relative usage of preprint servers among researchers in ecology and evolution. Using data collected from 500 articles (100 from each of two open access journals, two closed access journals, and a preprint server), we demonstrate that ECRs generate more preprints relative to non-ECRs, for both first and last authors. We speculate that this pattern is reflective of the advantages of quick and open access research that is disproportionately beneficial to ECRs. There is also a marginal effect of first author institution size on preprint usage, whereby the number of preprints tends to increase with institution size for ECRs, although the interaction between ECR status and institution size was not significant. The United States and United Kingdom contributed the greatest number of preprints by early career researchers, whereas non-western countries contributed relatively fewer preprints. This research provides empirical evidence regarding motivations of preprint usage and barriers surrounding large-scale adoption of preprinting in ecology and evolution.


Author(s):  
David Nicholas ◽  
Hamid R. Jamali ◽  
Eti Herman ◽  
Jie Xu ◽  
Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri ◽  
...  

This study explores early career researchers’ (ECRs) appreciation and utilisation of open access (OA) publishing. The evidence reported here results from a questionnaire-based international survey with 1600 participants, which forms the second leg and final year of a four year long, mixed methods, longitudinal study that sought to discover whether ECRs will be the harbingers of change when it comes to scholarly communications. Proceeding from the notion that today’s neophyte researchers, believed to hold millennial values of openness to change, transparency and sharing, may be best placed to power the take-up of OA publishing, the study sought to discover: the extent to which ECRs publish OA papers; the main reasons for their doing or not doing so; and what were thought to be the broader advantages and disadvantages of OA publishing. The survey data is presented against a backdrop of the literature-based evidence on the subject, with the interview stage data providing contextualisation and qualitative depth. The findings show that the majority of ECRs published in OA journals and this varied by discipline and country. Most importantly, there were more advantages and fewer disadvantages to OA publishing, which may be indicative of problems to do with cost and availability, rather than reputational factors. Among the many reasons cited for publishing OA the most important one is societal, although OA is seen as especially benefiting ECRs in career progression. Cost is plainly considered the main downside.


Author(s):  
Alan Kelly

This chapter reviews the development of the modern scientific paper, from the sixteenth century forward, and explores the ways in which scientific information has been disseminated in the past. Great scientific advances of the past are discussed in the context of how they were first published, or otherwise brought to the attention of the broader scientific community, and the modern scientific publishing sector is explored. The types and categories of scientific journals are discussed, along with an overview of current publishing trends, such as the exponential increase in number of journals, changes in the ways in which researchers access the literature, and in particular the emergence and current state of open access journals. In addition, various ways in which journals are ranked are discussed, and key trends in such lists over the last ten years or so explored.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-16
Author(s):  
Matt Gallagher

Purpose – This paper aims to give an overview of OpenCon 2014, organized by the Right to Research Coalition, SPARC (The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and an organizing committee of students and early career researchers from around the world that took place between the 14th and 17th of November 2014 in Washington DC. Design/methodology/approach – A narrative approach was used to describe events. Findings – OpenCon 2014 is an exciting new conference that targets early career librarians and researchers who are involved with and/or interested in aspects of the open-access movement. It is attempting to galvanize the upcoming generation of scholars to demand more of traditional publishing models by bringing together a selective group that spans diverse interests and experience levels. Originality/value – This report outlines the author's takeaways and opinions concerning the events of the conference, as well as identifies some of the themes and issues that were relevant to librarians in research institutions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Da Silva Neubert ◽  
Rosângela Schwarz Rodrigues ◽  
Luiza Helena Goulart

Resumo Analisa os periódicos em acesso aberto da área de ciência da informação listados no DOAJ e indexados na Scopus. Os objetivos específicos são: a) descrever os periódicos científicos da área de ciência da informação em acesso aberto, b) registrar a visibilidade dos periódicos e c) verificar o uso de recursos web. Os periódicos da área de ciência da informação são publicações criadas a partir de 1990 (93,33%) sem patrocínio, publicados na América e Europa (80%), em inglês (73,33%), e mantidos por universidades, institutos de fomento a pesquisa e por associações (86,67%). Possuem Ìndice H com média 8,47, e 40% dos títulos são classificados no Qualis. Quanto aos recursos web, 33,33% possui canal de notícias, 26,66% feeds RSS, 13,33% blogs e 6,67% página no Facebook. Em relação aos recursos para compartilhamento pelo leitor, os 13,33% cuja plataforma é o Scielo disponibilizam recursos para compartilhamento por e-mail e por widget.Palavras-chave periódicos científicos; Ciência da Informação; acesso aberto; bases de dados; visibilidade dos periódicos; recursos webAbstract Analysis of open access journals in the field of library and information science listed in DOAJ and indexed in Scopus. The specific objectives are: a) to describe the scientific journals in the field of information science open access, b) recording the visibility of the journals and c) to check the usage of web resources by the journals. The information science open access publications are mostly created starting from 1990 (93.33%), unsponsored, published in North America and Europe (80%), in English (73.33% ), and maintained by universities, institutes and research funding agencies and associations (86.67%). The H index has an average of 8.47, and only 40% of the titles are classified in Qualis. The actions associated with web: 33.33% have news, RSS feeds are 26.66%, 13.33% blogs and 6.67% have a page in Facebook. Regarding resources for content sharing by the reader, 13.33% is on the Scielo platform for sharing resources available by e-mail and widget. Keywords Scientific journals; Information science; Open Access; Databases; Visibility of journals; Web resources


2021 ◽  
Vol 317 ◽  
pp. 05023
Author(s):  
Dasapta Erwin Irawan ◽  
Yuniarti Ulfa ◽  
Astyka Pamumpuni ◽  
Indra Andra Dinata ◽  
Thomas Tri Putranto ◽  
...  

New oil data is 21st century jargon. This movement has not been widely echoed in Indonesia. Although some initiatives should be recognized and appreciated, the status of the availability of reusable data in most countries, especially in Indonesia is still low. Most of the data published in Indonesian open access journals are in the form of pdf files that cannot be reused. We advise editors of Indonesian scientific journals to consider adopting FAIR data sharing by encouraging authors to share their data as additional files in a machine readables format, e.g. csv or xls. This effort will also contribute to the principles of transparency and sustainable development in Indonesia's research ecosystem.


2018 ◽  
pp. 13-29
Author(s):  
Steinar Risnes

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. iv-v
Author(s):  
Gerda Wielander

In addition to an overview of the issue, this article is a reminder that we are fully open access, free of charge, double-blind peer reviewed, and offer well-above-average editorial support, especially for early-career researchers. All of the editorial team work in a voluntary capacity. We are committed to finding alternative models of publishing, to reclaim the project of Open Access and key it to a different register of shared creativity and responsibility and work towards a more accessible, ethical, transparent, and creative form of scholarly communication. 


2004 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. E
Author(s):  
Pietro Greco

Free information works. In the sense that Open Access Journals, scientific journals which can be accessed at no cost, thereby guaranteeing free access to everyone, are at the same time able to guarantee the same quality as –or even better than- that of traditional journals, which can only be read by those willing to pay a price, be it the cover price or a subscription.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gry Ane Lavik

Watch the VIDEO here.NSD – Norwegian Centre for Research Data operates the Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers on behalf of the University and Higher Education Council. The publishing arena for researchers is changing. Yet every researcher is responsible for publishing in channels that are serious and have a professional impact. At NSD we experience that there is a need for advice about where to publish and about how to recognize quality in new international publication channels. Much of the need for advice stems from the increase of new open access channels and the pressure towards publishing in these channels.The somewhat notorious Beall’s list closed down last year. All though controversial, this list was a useful tool to become aware of channels to check more closely. It also provided a useful checklist to use when evaluating OA-channels. So what to do with no such blacklist operating?* At the Norwegian register, we have come to believe that multiple whitelists can work in much the same way or even better than a blacklist. A simple explanation for this is that if a journal is not featuring on any whitelist, this says something about the quality of the journal in much the same way a blacklist does by including it. But there are fallacies and problems to be aware of when using this approach.The aim of this presentation is to problematize advantages and disadvantages connected to the use of whitelists as a form of quality control. To this end a description of how whitelists are used when evaluating channels for inclusion in the Norwegian register will form the basis for the presentation. The term “whitelist” is here used in broad sense, denoting a list that only includes journals after making some sort of positive judgement about the quality of the journal while leaving out journals considered of poor quality. The Norwegian register has recently entered a Nordic collaboration which gives access to compare with the Finnish and the Danish national lists of authorized research publication channels.  A closer collaboration with Directory of Open Access Journals - DOAJ was also formally in place earlier this year. A description of the Nordic list project and some thoughts on the expected outcome of the collaboration will be part of the presentation.


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