Open Access is an initiative to widen the availability of content, such as information and even entertainment, to a larger audience who might have been previously out of access due to prohibitive costs, through the distributive powers of the Internet. It is an issue that has been increasing in importance as many traditional methods of information and research dissemination, have become increasingly expensive (e.g. traditional published scientific journals), and new, easy, and cheap methods of distribution have sprung up on the Internet (green open access) as well as a rise in open access physical publishing (gold open access).
Open Access presents many positives and negatives, which has stirred fierce debate about whether it should be adopted.
Pros:
- Content can reach a wider audience
- Greater propagation of information leads to higher quality research
- Money that may otherwise have been spent on subscription fees can be saved by academics and academic institutions, and spent on other things such as further research
- Articles can be published quicker
Cons:
- Lacking the reputation of respected journals
- Could lead to poor quality work
- Model may not be sustainable
Whilst it is easy to understand both perspectives, eventually the scientific community is going to have to decide how it wishes to proceed. In my personal opinion, the benefits here outweigh the negatives, but can the community as a whole be convinced? It has been noted that scientists are often wary of changing the way things have been done and are likely to cling onto established practices. It is understandable that greater trust is placed in long standing peer-reviewed journals, but “green” open access (open access delivered via online repositories) has been growing and many repositories such as the Social Science Research Network and PubMed Central, now dominate their fields.
Another point of contention, are the costs of open access publishing. The most widely known format for providing open access content, charges the author for submission of a scientific paper, which has caused many to question the open access method. However, the Directory of Open Access Journals has reported that roughly two thirds of open access journals do not charge author-side fees, whereas up to three quarters of non-open access journals do.
To understand more about the differences between the methods of open access publishing, watch the following video:
The majority of my post has focused on open access from a higher-education academic perspective but it is important to note that open access can also benefit other parts of education and society. An interesting and beneficial organisation is the Khan Academy which provides high quality and free online education for anyone, in the form of articles, tutorials, and videos. The content is wide and varied from subjects such as Maths, Computing, Economics, and even Art.
Whilst it is clear that open access initiatives are increasing in number and scope, proving wrong those who have insisted that the majority of content would be behind paywalls by now [see here], the lasting success of open access remains to be seen.
Sources:
Open Access: Six Myths to Put to Rest (2013). The Guardian. Last Accessed: 6/5/16. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/oct/21/open-access-myths-peter-suber-harvard
Education Finally Ripe For Radical Innovation by Social Entrepreneurs (2013). Forbes. Last Accessed: 6/5/16. Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/skollworldforum/2013/04/07/education-finally-ripe-for-radical-innovation-by-social-entrepreneurs/#c88eb2b7a557
Open Access Explained! (2012) . PHD Comics. Last Accessed: 6/5/16. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=L5rVH1KGBCY
90% of Online Content to be Held Behind Paywalls in Three Years Media Company Survey Suggests (2013). The Drum. Last Accessed: 6/5/16. Available: http://new.thedrum.com/news/2013/04/12/90-online-content-be-held-behind-paywalls-three-years-media-company-survey-suggests
Dramatically Bringing Down the Cost of Education with OER (2012). Wiley, D., Green, C., and Soares, L. Last Accessed: 6/5/16. Available: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535639.pdf
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