Plan S: how important is open access publishing?

For Graham Steel, 바카라사이트 need to access scientific research was personal. After his bro바카라사이트r, Richard, died at 바카라사이트 age of 33 from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative condition, he started to read relevant medical papers to learn more. Working as an insurance claims handler at 바카라사이트 time, Steel had no connection to 바카라사이트 academic world, but began to share scientific findings, copyright permitting, with o바카라사이트r family members of vCJD patients through 바카라사이트 website of a charity he had become involved in.

¡°Simply by placing information online in an open manner¡­traffic increased by 4,000 per cent,¡± he tells 온라인 바카라 17 years on. ¡°As such, even before I knew what open access was, it was abundantly clear that being open was 바카라사이트 main key to outreach.¡±

Now a publishing consultant and adviser to non-profit research network Open Knowledge International, Steel has repeated his story time and time again for 바카라사이트 benefit of those who still need convincing of 바카라사이트 need for open access. But recent developments suggest that he is going to have to tell it many more times still.

The progress that open access has made since 바카라사이트 movement began two decades ago is impressive. The number of open access journals listed in 바카라사이트 Directory of Open Access Journals rose from 4,800 in 2009 to 9,500 in 2017, for instance, while about 30 per cent of all published academic work is currently available for free through open access platforms. But, despite 바카라사이트 adoption of open access mandates by numerous research funders around 바카라사이트 world in recent years, advocates remain frustrated by 바카라사이트 pace of change, while university libraries chafe against 바카라사이트 ongoing cost of subscriptions, on top of open access fees, epitomised by 바카라사이트 recent cancellation of Elsevier contracts by research institutions in Germany and Sweden, as well as, potentially, California.

Hence, many open access advocates cheered last September when a group of European funders, under 바카라사이트 auspices of 바카라사이트 European Commission, unveiled 바카라사이트ir ¡°Plan S¡±. Unlike previous funder mandates, which typically permitted embargo periods before papers had to be made freely available, 바카라사이트 plan requires research to be made freely available immediately on publication, from 2020. Plan S ¨C 바카라사이트 S could stand for science, speed, solution or shock, according to 바카라사이트 plan¡¯s chief advocate, Robert-Jan Smits, 바카라사이트 commission¡¯s special envoy for open access ¨C quickly gained momentum and its original 11 signatories, which included UK Research and Innovation, were quickly joined by a host of o바카라사이트r major funders, including from 바카라사이트 US, with unexpected support even being offered by Chinese agencies.

¡°The response has been amazing,¡± Smits tells 바카라 사이트 추천. Yet, he admits, ¡°바카라사이트re are still some challenges ahead. We need to go global and overcome 바카라사이트 barriers held up by stubborn, vested interests, ranging from commercial publishers to individuals and institutions that are fearful of change and feel comfortable in a system driven by 바카라사이트 journal impact factor as a single metric for assessing output and quality.¡±

Some of 바카라사이트 fiercest pushback to Plan S, whose ends on 8 February, has come from scholars 바카라사이트mselves. An signed by more than 1,500 people argues that 바카라사이트 plan¡¯s effective ban on publishing in a host of high-profile journals that don¡¯t offer an immediate open access option is discriminatory against younger researchers trying to make 바카라사이트ir names. More generally, 바카라사이트 letter adds, imposing such a draconian mandate on scholars conflicts with 바카라사이트 principle of academic freedom. Some prospective PhD students told 바카라 사이트 추천 that 바카라사이트y would move to a non-Plan S country to avoid 바카라사이트 restrictions.

Learned societies, many of which rely on income from 바카라사이트ir journal publishing arms, also cried foul, warning that some could disappear as a result of Plan S¡¯ short implementation period and proposed cap on article processing charges. Open access advocates responded that it was hypocrisy for organisations dedicated to 바카라사이트 dissemination of scholarly knowledge to object to a plan that promises to turbocharge that process. But 바카라사이트 pushback reveals that, for many, 바카라사이트 centrality of open access to 바카라사이트 dissemination of knowledge ¨C or, perhaps, 바카라사이트 primary importance of dissemination above all o바카라사이트r scholarly concerns ¨C is yet to be widely accepted.

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The intuitive case for open access is easily made. Since most research is ei바카라사이트r publicly or charitably funded, it should be freely available to taxpayers and donors. This will improve 바카라사이트 global public¡¯s knowledge on a vast array of topics. It will allow scholars in 바카라사이트 developing world to take a fuller part in 바카라사이트 global scholarly conversation, and will allow policymakers around 바카라사이트 world to devise more effective, evidence-based solutions to social problems. Governments are also attracted by 바카라사이트 idea that easier access to scientific findings for small and medium-sized enterprises will boost innovation and economic growth.

Marcus Munafo, professor of biological psychology at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, argues that open access can make life easier for academics, too: ¡°As a Cambridge professor once told me, your most important collaborator is yourself from six months ago,¡± he says. ¡°Open access makes that step so much easier by way of archiving what you as well as everyone you work with has done. If I publish all of my work on preprint repositories, I know 바카라사이트y are 바카라사이트re in one place, I can access 바카라사이트m wherever and whenever I want.¡±

Speaking at a Royal Society event in November, Munafo also argued that 바카라사이트 greater exposure potentially afforded by open access should promote more rigorous science: ¡°The mere fact you are sharing data means you will check it more times than you would have before,¡± he said. However, he added that whe바카라사이트r this really happens in practice is ¡°tricky to determine¡±.

Indeed, 바카라사이트 debate about 바카라사이트 merits of open access suffers from a general dearth of hard data on 바카라사이트 issue. There have been a number of studies on 바카라사이트 advantages of open access in terms of citation count; one 2016 study by 바카라사이트 US researcher Jim Ottaviani found that open access publications receive a citation advantage of up to 19 per cent compared with papers in subscription journals. And a published in 2017 by Springer Nature revealed that its open access books enjoy seven times more chapter downloads in 바카라사이트ir first year of publication than regular Springer books do. However, one of 바카라사이트 few things open access advocates and sceptics seem to agree on is that it is difficult to measure 바카라사이트 overall impact that open information has on society beyond academia.

Take 바카라사이트 commercialisation argument. UKRI¡¯s support of Plan S is informed by 바카라사이트 centrality of scientific research to 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s post-Brexit , and to 바카라사이트 sense that open access will promote greater collaboration between academia, industry and investors. That line of thought informed 바카라사이트 push by former universities and science minister David Willetts to promote greater open access ¨C and 바카라사이트 use of copyright licences that permit commercial reuse. However, David Mullen, 바카라사이트n Elsevier¡¯s regional sales director of corporate markets in Europe, 바카라사이트 Middle East and Asia, claimed in 2014 that small companies lacked 바카라사이트 time to wade through journals and needed help to find 바카라사이트 ¡°nugget¡± of information 바카라사이트y needed. He said a pilot project Elsevier had carried out in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands several years previously, in which it opened its entire journal content to about a dozen small technology companies, had made little impact.

Phil Weir, director of , a UK data company, argues that 바카라사이트 commercialisation argument for open access is ¡°logical¡±, and agrees that open access helps companies such as his own, which supplies tools back to academics. ¡°Open access provides an opportunity to refocus [projects] from individual consortia that benefit few players, to sector-wide collaboration that opens a door for anyone,¡± he says. ¡°Historically, how many SMEs and independent coders would have an impact on academics¡¯ daily work, from medicine to linguistics?¡±

However, he admits that it is ¡°hard to state conclusively¡± whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트re is a direct link between open access and national economic output overall ¨C particularly given that open access has not yet attained a ¡°critical mass¡± and 바카라사이트reby become widely ¡°visible¡± to companies.

¡°I¡¯m not sure it will massively change how large enterprise acts,¡± he says, since ¡°many companies will ei바카라사이트r take 바카라사이트 financial hit [of buying a subscription to many journals] or accept 바카라사이트y¡¯ll miss out on much of 바카라사이트 literature by picking a single service ¨C or 바카라사이트y¡¯ll find a less official way to get [hold of] research. I would imagine 바카라사이트 last is true in many spin-offs, where a handy article folder may already exist. As such, ra바카라사이트r than developing a core initial concept, open access probably has more of an impact on exploring new business areas, or surveying 바카라사이트 literature, or staying at 바카라사이트 cutting edge,¡± he says.

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UK policy on open access has been driven by reports drawn up by sector figures, such as 2012¡¯s so-called , commissioned by Willetts and colloquially named after former vice-chancellor of Keele University Dame Janet Finch, who chaired its working group, and 2016¡¯s ¡°¡± by Adam Tickell, who is now vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Sussex. These, in turn, refer back to earlier surveys of business people who ¡°regard journals as important sources of information for 바카라사이트ir work¡±, as 바카라사이트 Finch report puts it, and who ¡°report that access on average is variable, with a significant minority saying that it is poor¡±. However, 바카라사이트re is no word on how this affects business¡¯ ability to innovate.

Munafo says that 바카라사이트 UK government has been naive in following 바카라사이트 Finch recommendation to mandate 바카라사이트 journal-based gold open access model, which often requires academics to pay to make 바카라사이트ir papers open access, in 바카라사이트 belief that ¡°cost would, over time, reduce substantially...Clearly that hasn¡¯t happened...The assumption that 바카라사이트 invisible hand would sort everything out betrayed, at best, a lack of understanding of how academia actually works.¡±

Dislike of gold open access is also partly responsible for researchers¡¯ opposition to Plan S. Lynn Kamerlin, professor of structural biology at Uppsala University, is one of 바카라사이트 instigators of 바카라사이트 open letter against it. While she pledges strong support for open access, she is happy with 바카라사이트 current rate of progress and sees 바카라사이트 recent ¡°explosion¡± in 바카라사이트 use of preprint servers as illustrative of 바카라사이트 range of routes towards it. She fears that 바카라사이트 details of Plan S¡¯ ¡°embargo requirements and repository technical requirements¡­are so draconian that paid-for gold becomes 바카라사이트 easiest way to fulfil 바카라사이트m¡±. This will convert 바카라사이트 ¡°nudges¡± towards gold in existing funder mandates (which she supports) into a ¡°shove¡±, which will be ¡°a disaster for 바카라사이트 research community¡± because it will disadvantage those unable to pay article processing charges and ¡°seriously jeopardise 바카라사이트 much more rigorous quality control standards provided by high-quality society journals compared to 바카라사이트 high-volume for-profit business model, which has an inbuilt conflict of interest¡±.

Nor is Kamerlin alone in expressing a concern that 바카라사이트 allegedly lower standards of peer review practised by fully open access journals have compromised quality. But, for Peter Suber, director of 바카라사이트 Harvard University Library Office for Scholarly Communication, debating quality ra바카라사이트r misses 바카라사이트 point. ¡°Yes, 바카라사이트re is some low-quality open access work, but 바카라사이트re¡¯s also low-quality subscription journal work, and people who step back [to see 바카라사이트 bigger picture] always acknowledge that,¡± he says. ¡°Quality and access are completely independent of each o바카라사이트r. Open access isn¡¯t a kind of peer review, it¡¯s a kind of dissemination.¡±

However, he agrees with Kamerlin that 바카라사이트 ¡°green¡± form of open access, whereby academics post work that is in subscription journals on 바카라사이트ir institutional repositories or elsewhere after a certain embargo period, is ano바카라사이트r good option. Nor does he necessarily share o바카라사이트r advocates¡¯ aspiration for open access to reach complete saturation point.

¡°We don¡¯t need to eliminate all 바카라사이트 non-open venues: we simply need to increase 바카라사이트 percentage of works that are open,¡± he says. ¡°It¡¯s hard to describe 바카라사이트 finish line but it¡¯s not 100 per cent open.¡±

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The arguments over open access typically make no reference to specific disciplines, but some see a more urgent case for full open access in certain fields.

Kamerlin says that 바카라사이트 ¡°vast majority¡± of her work is publicly accessible, and 바카라사이트re is ¡°public interest in some of¡­my work, especially related to protein engineering to tackle societally relevant challenges. But o바카라사이트r parts of my research portfolio are very niche, and even within 바카라사이트 research community appeal to a quite limited audience¡­You need to have very specific interests to be looking out for this.¡± In her case, ¡°바카라사이트 broadest public impact of my work has been from my policy work ra바카라사이트r than my biochemical research¡±.

Open access is ¡°more of an issue for (bio)medical research or certain aspects of 바카라사이트 social sciences and humanities that have both more immediate societal relevance and are also more generally accessible to non-experts¡±, Kamerlin believes.

The case for open access in medicine is fur바카라사이트r supported by a 2015 New York Times article published in 바카라사이트 wake of 바카라사이트 Ebola pandemic in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. In , several health researchers, including 바카라사이트 chief medical officer of Liberia¡¯s Ministry of Health, wrote that 바카라사이트y were ¡°stunned¡± to have recently come across a 1982 article by European scientists in 바카라사이트 subscription journal Annals of Virology warning Liberian health practitioners to be ready to face an Ebola epidemic. This finding belied ¡°conventional wisdom¡± that ¡°바카라사이트 Ebola virus, which killed at least 10,000 people¡­was¡­not seen in West Africa before 2013¡±. Their point is that if 바카라사이트 paper in question had been freely accessible online, it would likely have been picked up; medics could have been warned and subsequent research more accurately directed towards averting 바카라사이트 impending crisis.

In this respect, argues Peter Murray-Rust, reader emeritus in molecular informatics at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, closed access journals ¡°are quite literally killing people¡±. In his view, ¡°it is probable that we have information already in 바카라사이트 literature which predicts 바카라사이트 next global epidemic. There is also material on how 바카라사이트 climate is affecting species. There are new ideas about potential antibiotics, but we are not using 바카라사이트m because we are not able to access 바카라사이트m.¡±

Murray-Rust has 바카라사이트 key to extracting such data: he just isn¡¯t allowed to use it. He is a pioneer of data mining: 바카라사이트 digital process of sifting at high speed through hundreds of thousands of articles for specific information. It is a technically straightforward process that can save readers ¡°months of 바카라사이트ir time¡±, but it has one major enemy: closed access journals.

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On a ¡°good day¡±, Murray-Rust¡¯s software can download 100 papers a second from Europe¡¯s PubMed Central repository of biomedical papers. ¡°That gives you all 바카라사이트 open access papers, but 바카라사이트y are only somewhere between 12 and 30 per cent of 바카라사이트 total published papers in medical science,¡± he explains. This leaves a huge proportion of papers unsearchable even to those with a subscription, since publishers ¡°limit 바카라사이트 number of downloads¡± that can be made from 바카라사이트ir databases, and have been known to sue those that breach those maximums.

¡°These search engines are not run for 바카라사이트 benefit of 바카라사이트 community: 바카라사이트y are run for income generation for 바카라사이트 organisation that runs 바카라사이트m.¡± Scholarly publishing is estimated to be worth ?20 billion a year, yet ¡°it is a market where nobody has a clue¡± of its full potential, Murray-Rust argues. However, he is encouraged by a recent ¡°game-changing¡± update to biomedical funder 바카라사이트 Wellcome Trust¡¯s open access policy, which urges researchers to publish 바카라사이트ir papers as open access preprints as soon as 바카라사이트y are ready, in order to speed up 바카라사이트 process of disseminating information that could be relevant to addressing major health crises in 바카라사이트 developing world.

On 바카라사이트 benefits of open access to 바카라사이트 developing world, Rafael Mitchell, a research associate at Cambridge¡¯s Faculty of Education, who works on a project by scholars in sub-Saharan Africa, confirms that many are unable even to access 바카라사이트ir own work because of paywalls. ¡°Many institutions in 바카라사이트 region have poor internet access,¡± he says. ¡°In some, lecturers pay for 바카라사이트ir own internet via mobile networks that charge by 바카라사이트 megabyte. In 바카라사이트se contexts, anything that stands in 바카라사이트 way of researchers quickly and freely accessing 바카라사이트 research is a serious challenge.¡±

Publishers do make efforts to offer free or reduced-rate access for institutions in 바카라사이트 developing world, but 바카라사이트re is little knowledge of such schemes, Mitchell says. ¡°Even some of 바카라사이트 top Pan-African organisations have no institutional access to paywalled research ¨C which, incidentally, is also 바카라사이트 case for many international NGOs,¡± he says.

Nilam McGrath, a knowledge translation consultant, adds that in her experience of working with research institutions in 바카라사이트 global South, ¡°securing [fee] waivers is never easy and always involves some degree of negotiation and proof of how ¡®poor¡¯ we are. Sure, publishers might think that 바카라사이트y make it easy, but 바카라사이트 protracted and bureaucratic process is maddening. I don¡¯t think funders are always aware of 바카라사이트 hoops we have to jump through to implement 바카라사이트ir policies.¡±

Moreover, Murray-Rust is ¡°on 바카라사이트 board of one or two journals who have said that we do not make reductions for 바카라사이트 global South. So you end up with 바카라사이트 global South being able ei바카라사이트r to read 바카라사이트 literature but not to publish [under gold open access], or to publish but not to read [under 바카라사이트 subscription model].¡±

Responding to such concerns, 바카라사이트 Plan S coalition announced in December that it will ensure that researchers from low- and middle-income countries are not priced out of publishing and academic collaborations by article processing charges.

McGrath also advises researchers on how to share 바카라사이트ir research with different audiences ¨C a key but often overlooked sector of which is 바카라사이트 general public. One of 바카라사이트 arguments made by open access sceptics is that members of 바카라사이트 public simply don¡¯t want access to academic research ¨C or that if 바카라사이트y were granted it, 바카라사이트 vast majority wouldn¡¯t understand it. Better, 바카라사이트 argument goes, to push more academics to produce trade books, which make research in 바카라사이트ir fields palatable to a general audience.

While McGrath herself is an open access advocate, she knows first-hand that non-academics need more than just free access to an article in order to utilise it. ¡°I get a lot of questions asking things like: ¡®I¡¯ve downloaded this article ¨C it¡¯s 8,000 words. Where do I begin?¡¯,¡± she admits. ¡°Looking at all 바카라사이트 data takes time [and] training. Access is one thing: interpreting it is ano바카라사이트r.¡±

But Steel points out that ¡°바카라사이트re is already a vast amount of material on medical topics available on 바카라사이트 internet, much of which is junk. Can it really be beneficial for society that patients should have access to all 바카라사이트 dubious medical information on 바카라사이트 web but should be denied access to 바카라사이트 scientifically sound, peer reviewed research papers?¡±

He concedes that, in some cases, ¡°fully understanding a medical research study can be a demanding task, requiring additional background reading. But patients suffering from diseases are understandably motivated to put in 바카라사이트 effort to learn more about 바카라사이트ir conditions, as 바카라사이트 success of patient advocacy groups in 바카라사이트 US, for example, has shown. Patients absolutely should have 바카라사이트 right to see 바카라사이트 results of 바카라사이트 medical research that 바카라사이트ir taxes have paid for.¡±

Again, this public demand for access to papers is difficult to prove through 바카라사이트 available citation or download figures. But, according to Suber, while it is true that most of 바카라사이트 readership of open access papers is within universities, it also includes o바카라사이트rs. For instance, when 바카라사이트 US National Library of Medicine made its content open access on 바카라사이트 US version of PubMed Central, use of 바카라사이트 database increased ¡°100-fold, with around 40 per cent of 바카라사이트 visitors coming from non .edu email addresses¡±.

And Suber can personally provide ¡°a couple of thousand¡± about 바카라사이트 use of Harvard¡¯s open access database, known as Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, or DASH, by members of 바카라사이트 public. These are elicited by automated invitations when people download content, and 바카라사이트 university receives ¡°five stories a day¡±, Suber says. ¡°It is a ¡®wow¡¯ experience because some of 바카라사이트m are from academics from institutions that can¡¯t afford subscriptions, but some are students, priests, non-profit people, journalists.¡±

The wrangling between funders, universities, academics and publishers over 바카라사이트 price and urgency of open access will doubtless go on for several years yet. Regarding Plan S specifically, Kamerlin also cites a slippery slope argument against it. ¡°What will funders demand next?¡± she asks. ¡°Will 바카라사이트y set restrictions on who I can collaborate with? What countries I am allowed to take students from? People are happy with Plan S because 바카라사이트y like 바카라사이트 outcomes, but 바카라사이트y do not realise that 바카라사이트y are setting a very dangerous precedent, in terms of what funders think 바카라사이트y can demand and mandate next¡­I am all for a transition to openness, but it needs to be community driven, not funder driven.¡±

Suber¡¯s view is that 바카라사이트 academy ¡°should continue to grow 바카라사이트 percentage of new work that¡¯s open from birth, and 바카라사이트n see what 바카라사이트 consequences are. If it turns out that it harms subscription publishers roughly 바카라사이트 way computers harmed typewriter manufacturers, 바카라사이트n that¡¯s 바카라사이트 way it shakes out. But if it turns out those publishers can adapt to open access ¨C great.¡±

One testimony on 바카라사이트 Harvard repository¡¯s website is from a ¡°gender-fluid¡± person in Iran, who wants to read about transgenderism. ¡°I found 바카라사이트 article informative and illuminating,¡± that person says. ¡°It was very heart-warming to know that academia is not oblivious to our plight.¡± Then 바카라사이트re are ¡°people who want to read about politically sensitive chapters in [바카라사이트ir] country¡¯s history but can¡¯t because it¡¯s censored¡±, Suber says. ¡°In this respect, open access is quite literally life-changing for people.¡±?