Introducing Sensors & Diagnostics

It is with great pleasure that we introduce Sensors & Diagnostics, a new gold open access journal by the Royal Society of Chemistry dedicated to promoting research on innovative sensors, systems, devices, and technology for diagnostics and other applications.

Open access in the humanities, arts and social sciences: Complex perceptions of researchers and implications for research support

Adoption of open access in the humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS) is a work in progress, with lower engagement in HASS than most of the natural sciences. HASS research impacts how we live, how we learn and how we see ourselves, and research institutions should encourage and enable their HASS research communities to increase the prevalence of open access research outputs. Six experienced HASS researchers at a single academic institution in Perth, Australia, were interviewed to explore their perceptions and experiences of open access, and any barriers that they had encountered. Thematic analysis was used to code the transcribed interviews, and generate themes. This study found a wide variance in the adoption of open access practices among HASS researchers. Some participants are publishing via APC-based gold open access (in DOAJ listed journals), while other participants encounter multiple barriers to sharing more of their work as open access. Confusion about aspects of open access is evident. Even among participants who support open access, some have had poor experiences of open access publishing. This research also found that some participants hold extremely complex opinions on open access, which directly influence participants’ behaviour depending on which perspective they are considering. These perspectives are: research supervisor, editorial role at journal, funding assessor and global citizen. Within HASS a diversity of behaviours exists around open access, and research institutions need to tailor their research support services around open access and scholarly publishing for different communities of researchers.

Author Choice of Journal Type Based on Income Level of Country

Readers can access open access articles for free, but authors or research funders pay article-processing charges to publish them. This requirement may deter authors in low-income countries from publishing in open access. This study investigates the choices that authors make among three types of open access journal and closed (subscription) journals in history, economics, science, and technology based on their countries’ income level. The sample comprises research articles published in journals in English in 2020 and indexed in Scopus. The results show that authors in low-income countries publish more in gold open access than do authors in lower-middle- and upper-middle-income countries, who tend not to publish in hybrid open access and to favour closed journals. Authors from high-income countries publish more in hybrid open access than do authors in the other groups of countries. Although major publishers waive their article-processing charges for authors in low-income countries, these authors amount to less than 1 per cent of the total. Improving the effectiveness of publishers’ waiver policies is necessary.

Is gold open access the only option for nurse researchers?: Questioning the efficacy of this unrestricted publication access approach.

Open access is unrestricted access to academic, theoretical, and research literature that is scholarly and peer-reviewed. Two models of open access exist and have been identified as: 1) gold and 2) green. Gold open access is based on the principal of providing open access throughout all stages of the publication process. Green open access, also called self-archiving, is the second, and most frequently used form of open access publishing. This type of open access involves placing an already published article into a repository that is created by either an institution or an author in order to provide unrestricted access. Self-archiving is a more economic and efficient means of granting open access to scholarly literature. In spite of these advantages, gold open access continues to thrive. This paper questions the need for gold open access publishing, in light of the significant advantages associated with self-archiving.

Questioning the efficacy of ‘gold’ : open access to published articles

Aim To question the efficacy of ‘gold’ open access to published articles. Background Open access is unrestricted access to academic, theoretical and research literature that is scholarly and peer-reviewed. Two models of open access exist: ‘gold’ and ‘green’. Gold open access provides everyone with access to articles during all stages of publication, with processing charges paid by the author(s). Green open access involves placing an already published article into a repository to provide unrestricted access, with processing charges incurred by the publisher. Data sources This is a discussion paper. Review methods An exploration of the relative benefits and drawbacks of the ‘gold’ and ‘green’ open access systems. Discussion Green open access is a more economic and efficient means of granting open access to scholarly literature but a large number of researchers select gold open access journals as their first choices for manuscript submissions. This paper questions the efficacy of gold open access models and presents an examination of green open access models to encourage nurse researchers to consider this approach. Conclusion In the current academic environment, with increased pressures to publish and low funding success rates, it is difficult to understand why gold open access still exists. Green open access enhances the visibility of an academic’s work, as increased downloads of articles tend to lead to increased citations. Implications for research/practice Green open access is the cheaper option, as well as the most beneficial choice, for universities that want to provide unrestricted access to all literature at minimal risk. Keywords Open access, self-archiving, publishing, repository, scholarly literature, dissemination

Questioning the efficacy of ‘gold’ : open access to published articles

Aim To question the efficacy of ‘gold’ open access to published articles. Background Open access is unrestricted access to academic, theoretical and research literature that is scholarly and peer-reviewed. Two models of open access exist: ‘gold’ and ‘green’. Gold open access provides everyone with access to articles during all stages of publication, with processing charges paid by the author(s). Green open access involves placing an already published article into a repository to provide unrestricted access, with processing charges incurred by the publisher. Data sources This is a discussion paper. Review methods An exploration of the relative benefits and drawbacks of the ‘gold’ and ‘green’ open access systems. Discussion Green open access is a more economic and efficient means of granting open access to scholarly literature but a large number of researchers select gold open access journals as their first choices for manuscript submissions. This paper questions the efficacy of gold open access models and presents an examination of green open access models to encourage nurse researchers to consider this approach. Conclusion In the current academic environment, with increased pressures to publish and low funding success rates, it is difficult to understand why gold open access still exists. Green open access enhances the visibility of an academic’s work, as increased downloads of articles tend to lead to increased citations. Implications for research/practice Green open access is the cheaper option, as well as the most beneficial choice, for universities that want to provide unrestricted access to all literature at minimal risk. Keywords Open access, self-archiving, publishing, repository, scholarly literature, dissemination

Is gold open access the only option for nurse researchers?: Questioning the efficacy of this unrestricted publication access approach.

Open access is unrestricted access to academic, theoretical, and research literature that is scholarly and peer-reviewed. Two models of open access exist and have been identified as: 1) gold and 2) green. Gold open access is based on the principal of providing open access throughout all stages of the publication process. Green open access, also called self-archiving, is the second, and most frequently used form of open access publishing. This type of open access involves placing an already published article into a repository that is created by either an institution or an author in order to provide unrestricted access. Self-archiving is a more economic and efficient means of granting open access to scholarly literature. In spite of these advantages, gold open access continues to thrive. This paper questions the need for gold open access publishing, in light of the significant advantages associated with self-archiving.

OPEN ACCESS, RESEARCH COMMUNITIES, AND A DEFENSE AGAINST PREDATORY JOURNALS

In this opinion article, the author describes his experiences of naming, listing, and analyzing predatory journals. The gold open-access model has led to the creation of many predatory journals that exist only to exploit researchers. Medical research is the most valuable research for humans, so we must guard against the publishing of medical research in predatory journals. Community-based journals that combine a geographical and a disciplinary focus may be seen as a defense against the pathological nature of predatory publishers.

Publishing work on the authority

In a conversation with the executive editor of a reputable periodical, I noticed that the journal “Economic Consultant”, according to the financial model of Gold Open Access, publishes its articles in the open access, but at the same time charges the authors (or institutions) for publishing services. In response, I heard the editor exclaim: “If our journal becomes paid, I will leave my job!” The authors are also dissatisfied with the need to pay for the publication, I quote: “I don’t agree! I have never paid for my intellectual product, and I am not going to pay for it. I give it for free, and I consider the publication of my material as a fee for my work”. Indeed, some institutions have their own journals, the publication of which is free for employees. However, this is possible because the work of proofreaders, reviewers, and employees of the printing house is paid by the scientific or educational organization itself. Young commercial publishers that do not have sponsorship have to cover their costs through payments from authors. It should be noted that the absence of printed versions of journals does not in any way simplify publishing: electronic periodicals have additional expenses for maintaining the site, preparing data for uploading to bibliographic and information databases, etc. With that, it is necessary to understand that the reflection of the results of specialists’ research work in periodicals significantly increases the authority not only of the authors themselves but also of these publications. A number of commercial periodicals take a hybrid approach to publishing. For example, some publications do not charge authors who “do credit to the journal”. There are journals in which the authors act as free consultants, reviewers, thereby getting the opportunity to publish their own articles free of charge. The rector of one of the higher education institutions, after another open day, said: “We used to choose, and now they choose us”. Something similar is now observed in the publishing industry – there is a struggle between authors for publication in reputable periodicals, and young journals themselves have to fight for authors. The journal “Economic Consultant” adheres to the financial model of Gold Open Access, which provides for payment by the authors for the services of preparing an article for publication. Almost the entire amount received from the author is spent on translating Russian-language articles into English, the rest – on typesetting, that is, the author understands what he is paying for. No fee is charged for authors of English-language articles – in this case, we work according to the Platinum Open Access model since we do not charge either readers or authors. Publishing activities under the open access model are funded by institutions, societies, using grants. In the absence of financial support, the publisher is forced to work for free – for the future, for credibility.