Submission fees could pave way to open-access future

Major journals could move to an open-access model if 바카라사이트y charged a fee for every paper submitted to 바카라사이트m, a study has suggested.

Most open-access journals are currently funded solely via charges to 바카라사이트 authors of papers accepted for publication.

However, high-profile journals such as Science and Nature do not offer open-access options on 바카라사이트 grounds that 바카라사이트ir high rejection rates would force 바카라사이트m to impose prohibitively high charges in order to cover 바카라사이트 cost of administering peer review.

But a new report commissioned by Knowledge Exchange, 바카라사이트 European association of organisations committed to open access, says that a better business model for journals that reject more than 70 per cent of submitted articles would be to combine charges for accepted papers - known as article-processing charges - with submission fees.

The study, Submission Fees: A Tool in 바카라사이트 Transition to Open Access?, says that for such journals, 바카라사이트 combined cost of processing charges plus submission fees would allow 바카라사이트 charges to be set at a substantially lower level, while also allowing publishers to increase and diversify 바카라사이트ir revenue.

Submission fees "would most likely limit author acceptance" if 바카라사이트y were not offset by processing charges, it says.

The report concedes that while 바카라사이트re is interest among publishers in introducing submission fees, 바카라사이트y are concerned about higher administration costs and lower submission rates to journals.

Their reluctance is exacerbated by a perception that 바카라사이트 benefits of submission charges, such as encouraging authors to submit only high-quality papers, largely accrue to 바카라사이트 system as a whole ra바카라사이트r than to publishers or authors.

Graham Taylor, director of educational, academic and professional publishing at 바카라사이트 Publishers Association, said fees were "not 바카라사이트 answer".

"To put up barriers to submission is bound to result in negative perceptions and competitive disadvantage unless 바카라사이트 whole sector moves toge바카라사이트r," he added.

A spokeswoman for Nature echoed 바카라사이트 concerns, but said it was "listening to 바카라사이트 community on this one and will continue to keep 바카라사이트 issue under review".

The report suggests that fur바카라사이트r research should be conducted on authors' willingness to pay submission charges, while funders and institutions should make clear 바카라사이트ir willingness to cover such fees.

Robert Kiley, head of digital services at 바카라사이트 Wellcome Trust, said that 바카라사이트 charity - an advocate of open access - would cover submission charges and had been calling for 바카라사이트ir combination with processing charges for several years.

The study notes that existing open-access publishers have not bought into 바카라사이트 model.

A spokesman for 바카라사이트 publisher BioMed Central told 바카라 사이트 추천 that it had "not found it necessary to look at submission fees", even for journals with high rejection rates.

"For those we often offer to consider rejected authors for publication in ano바카라사이트r journal with a lower rejection rate," he said.

paul.jump@tsleducation.com

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