Research shows growing awareness and uptake of Open Access publishing by authors
2 views
Skip to first unread message
Peter Suber
Feb 3, 2012, 3:04:54 PM2/3/12
to SOAF post, BOAI Forum post
[Forwarding from Jennie Johnson at InTech. --Peter Suber.]
Research shows growing awareness and uptake of Open Access publishing by authors/
Today InTech, an Open Access publisher, has published the results of a survey appraising attitudes and awareness of the research community towards the Open Access (OA) business model in scholarly publishing.
The InTech white paper: “Open Access: Awareness and Attitudes amongst the Author Community”, is based on a review of current research and a survey sent to 20,000 STM researchers worldwide. The survey attracted an overall response rate of 1.3%, with 275 participants taking part and 253 (92%) completing it. The majority of respondents were researchers (75%) based at a university (70%). The data was sourced from an independent provider of contact data for the research community (Mardev).
Key findings:
* High levels of awareness of Open Access - of 258 participants who responded when asked, 51% said they understood OA publishing, and 36% said they had some knowledge of it
* OA publishing experience is lower but still strong - 26% said they had published with an OA publisher for a journal article and 10% for a book
* Awareness and experience of OA publishing varies by subject – researchers in Biological Sciences had greater awareness and experience, particularly in journals, while participants from the Earth Sciences and Technology had lower awareness and less OA publishing experience
* Over 25% of researchers are aware of Open Access publishers such as PLoS, InTech, BioMedCentral and Hindawi
* For Open Access journal publications, it is the image and reputation of the journal itself that is the most important factor for authors when considering where to submit their work; but for books it is the image and reputation of the publisher
* The survey highlighted that authors want more support from publishers in getting their work noticed – services provided by publishers where the level of satisfaction scored lowest centred on PR and media support; post-publication information on usage / citations / peer feedback; and promoting the author effectively alongside their work.
Henk Compier, Managing Director at InTech is not surprised by the evidence supporting widespread awareness of Open Access within the research community, “We have seen great enthusiasm amongst our authors for the Open Access model.”
The survey also explored the most common concerns surrounding OA publishing; among these were author fees – over 65% (of the 256 participants who responded) said they were willing to pay author fees, 30% said they would be willing to pay if it helped ensure the widest possible audience for their work, while 38% would only pay in exceptional circumstances.
Henk Compier commented on this saying, “Any concerns that we hear from authors usually come from a lack of understanding of this relatively new model. Often we find that if we get a chance to explain our processes and dispel some of the myths surrounding Open Access publishing, authors are generally supportive of the principles.”
The full results can be downloaded from:
Research shows growing awareness and uptake of Open Access publishing by authors/
Today InTech, an Open Access publisher, has published the results of a survey appraising attitudes and awareness of the research community towards the Open Access (OA) business model in scholarly publishing.
The InTech white paper: “Open Access: Awareness and Attitudes amongst the Author Community”, is based on a review of current research and a survey sent to 20,000 STM researchers worldwide. The survey attracted an overall response rate of 1.3%, with 275 participants taking part and 253 (92%) completing it. The majority of respondents were researchers (75%) based at a university (70%). The data was sourced from an independent provider of contact data for the research community (Mardev).
Key findings:
* High levels of awareness of Open Access - of 258 participants who responded when asked, 51% said they understood OA publishing, and 36% said they had some knowledge of it
* OA publishing experience is lower but still strong - 26% said they had published with an OA publisher for a journal article and 10% for a book
* Awareness and experience of OA publishing varies by subject – researchers in Biological Sciences had greater awareness and experience, particularly in journals, while participants from the Earth Sciences and Technology had lower awareness and less OA publishing experience
* Over 25% of researchers are aware of Open Access publishers such as PLoS, InTech, BioMedCentral and Hindawi
* For Open Access journal publications, it is the image and reputation of the journal itself that is the most important factor for authors when considering where to submit their work; but for books it is the image and reputation of the publisher
* The survey highlighted that authors want more support from publishers in getting their work noticed – services provided by publishers where the level of satisfaction scored lowest centred on PR and media support; post-publication information on usage / citations / peer feedback; and promoting the author effectively alongside their work.
Henk Compier, Managing Director at InTech is not surprised by the evidence supporting widespread awareness of Open Access within the research community, “We have seen great enthusiasm amongst our authors for the Open Access model.”
The survey also explored the most common concerns surrounding OA publishing; among these were author fees – over 65% (of the 256 participants who responded) said they were willing to pay author fees, 30% said they would be willing to pay if it helped ensure the widest possible audience for their work, while 38% would only pay in exceptional circumstances.
Henk Compier commented on this saying, “Any concerns that we hear from authors usually come from a lack of understanding of this relatively new model. Often we find that if we get a chance to explain our processes and dispel some of the myths surrounding Open Access publishing, authors are generally supportive of the principles.”
The full results can be downloaded from:
http://www.intechweb.org/js/ckeditor/kcfinder/upload/files/InTech_WhitePaper_FutureofOA_Dec11.pdf
By sharing the results of this survey, InTech hopes to encourage other OA publishers and advocates to promote understanding and discussion of the issues while making progress in shaping the model to meet the needs of the research community.
For more information, please contact:
Paul MacKenzie-Cummins, Head of Corporate Communications
Tel: +385 51 770 447 / Email: mack...@intechweb.org
About InTech
InTech is an Open Access company within the fields of Science, Technology and Medicine. Established in 2004, the company is one of the earliest pioneers of open access and have since become one of the fastest growing publishers in the world today.
Useful facts and figures: In 2011 -
* InTech published 800 books using the Open Access publishing model
* Worked with 60,000 authors
* Received 735,000 downloads of books and over1.7 million downloads of chapters and articles
* Averaged 154,000 unique users per month.
By sharing the results of this survey, InTech hopes to encourage other OA publishers and advocates to promote understanding and discussion of the issues while making progress in shaping the model to meet the needs of the research community.
For more information, please contact:
Paul MacKenzie-Cummins, Head of Corporate Communications
Tel: +385 51 770 447 / Email: mack...@intechweb.org
About InTech
InTech is an Open Access company within the fields of Science, Technology and Medicine. Established in 2004, the company is one of the earliest pioneers of open access and have since become one of the fastest growing publishers in the world today.
Useful facts and figures: In 2011 -
* InTech published 800 books using the Open Access publishing model
* Worked with 60,000 authors
* Received 735,000 downloads of books and over1.7 million downloads of chapters and articles
* Averaged 154,000 unique users per month.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages