"Mr. Publisher, tear down this wall!": let's move towards Open Access
By Roshae Miller
One simply cannot avoid doing academic research when pursing a university degree. According to the University of Skovde (2016), “Through detailed research, students develop critical thinking expertise, as well as effective analytical, research, and communication skills that are globally sought-after and incredibly beneficial” (para. 1). Undoubtedly, research plays a major role for scholars to advance into meaningful and thriving careers. Even then, to be efficient workers, professionals must conduct research to stay ahead of the competition.
There is, however, a wall that stands in the way of many scholars and professionals who try to access academic research. This structure is called “paywall”. Paywall, in accordance to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is “a system that prevents Internet users from accessing certain Web content without a paid subscription.” Most academic journal articles are trapped behind this wall, inaccessible to the scholars who need them. This wall must fall and journal articles must be liberated to accomplish the purpose they were created for, "to spread knowledge and allow that knowledge to be built upon" (Sprac, n.d.).
Paywalls follow an outdated and unfair publishing approach. Before the rise of the internet, individuals had to pay (subscribe) in order to receive new publications of evidence-based research, predominantly because the production of these journals was expensive. Today, the internet has almost completely eliminated the hefty cost behind publishing, as most journals are produced in digital format.
Open Access is a model for publishing scholarly peer reviewed journals online, free of charge with little or no usage restrictions (Laakso et al., 2011; Sprac, n.d.; Suber, 2004; UNESCO, 2015). This movement offers readers the ability to access scholarly articles free of charge. However, many publishers opt not to use an Open Access framework.
The reputation of Open Access is plagued by a few misconceptions, some of which concern sustainability, quality and academic infringement. Researchers such as Frank Manista in his article “Open Don’t Mean Free”: A Reflection on the Potential Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access Publishing, talks about the attempts made to disrupt the traditional subscription-based model and the initiatives that emerged as a result.
Open don't mean free, of course not! Publishing is a business, and like every other business, it needs to be sustained, and it can be sustained in a variety of other ways.
Peter Suber, a well-known advocate for Open Access, has worked tirelessly to dispel myths about the movement. But many are still doubtful. With all the different components of Open Access, this is not only understandable, but it also reinforces the importance of research, and why having access to it is even more essential. Research and become enlightened!
Admittedly, I had little understanding of Open Access until my second semester at the University of Ottawa, when one professor advised against it and another was seemingly all for it. To learn more about Open Access, I carried out my own research, learned more about it and of course, joined the movement. I wrote a chapter entitled “The Future is Open Access” in an effort to educate others about this initiative and hopefully gain more advocates to help tear down the wall. The best part: my chapter is free for you to access and share!
References
Laakso, M., Welling, P., Bukvova, H., Nyman, L., Bjork, B., & Hedlund, T. (2011). The development of open access journal publishing 1993-2009. PLoS ONE 6(6).
Manista, F. C. (2012). “Open don’t mean free”: A reflection on the potential advantages and disadvantages of open access publishing. Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication, 1(2).
Open Access. [def. 2]. (n.d.). In Sprac. Retrieved on February 2, 2018.
Paywall [def 1]. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved on April 2, 2018.
Suber, P. (June 21, 2004). Open access overview. Earlham College.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2015). Introduction to open Access.
University of Skovde. (2016). The importance of research and its importance in education. SI News.