Equitable Open Access Publishing: Changing the Financial Power Dynamics in Academia

Abstract

publishing is steadily growing but associated with high article processing charges that exacerbate disparities between funded and unfunded researchers. n Early-career and underrepresented researchers often are not eligible for waivers or discounts, thus resulting in either publishing barriers or financial hardship. n Journals should adopt equitable solutions that enable every author to pursue open access publishing regardless of one's funding status or affiliation. n Publishing companies should rethink open access publishing models to reduce the financial barriers for readers and authors alike.O pen access (OA) publishing is increasing, allowing articles to be read by anyone, anywhere. The publishing costs for these articles (article processing charges, APCs) are typically paid by the authors or their respective funders. 1 In global health, authors pay an average of US$2,732 per OA publication. 2 Articles that are freely accessible are more read, shared, and cited, ultimately benefitting scientific discourse and integration in public health, medicine, and other sciences. 1 In response to the growing interest in OA publishing, journals are increasingly adopting OA models: some adopt hybrid models that allow authors to choose whether or not to publish OA, some adopt full OA, and some simply create an entirely new sister journal as an OA alternative to their own. However, few create means to support authors who are not funded by research grants, their institutions, or institutional agreements. 3,4 Those that do should be commended for taking this step, especially given how rare such genuinely equitable OA models are.To date, a majority of journals remain hybrid, allowing both subscription-based publishing (i.e., not OA, no APCs to publish) and an OA option (i.e., freely accessible for readers, but APCs to publish). For example, in the fields of cardiology and cardiac surgery, 60.9% of journals are hybrid. 4 Although this may appear a sensible approach, hybrid journals rarely provide waivers or considerable discounts to authors who cannot afford such APCs, which typically range from a few thousand US dollars to a staggering US$11,000. 5 In addition, hybrid journals have median APCs of up to 50% higher compared to fully OA journals, as observed in cardiovascular journals

Article Processing Charges may not be sustainable for academic researchers

“…For example, the European Union mandated that the beneficiaries of funds from Horizon 2020, a major research grant program, must ensure OA to all peer-reviewed scientific publications relating to its results [10]. Making research articles available on an OA basis is clearly preferable to paywalling them; OA enables greater participation in academic knowledge production, especially for smaller research institutions and for researchers in lowand middle-income countries [11]. However, OA requires a fundamental rethinking of the business model behind academic publishing: if subscription fees can no longer generate revenues in a fully-OA paradigm, who is expected to shoulder the costs associated with providing editorial support, arranging peer review, and making articles available to read online [12]?…”

The role of open research in improving the standards of evidence synthesis: current challenges and potential solutions in systematic reviews

“…35 However, open-access publishing is associated with increasing article processing charges that place an increased financial burden, especially on unfunded and early-career researchers. 36 Although journals and publishers should continue to encourage open-access publishing, we encourage them to consider alternate models of support to reduce the financial barriers that lesser-funded or unfunded researchers face. 36 Furthermore, given that institutional affiliation contact details frequently change in a researcher's career, the availability of research websites such as ResearchGate or other social networking sites for researchers could facilitate communication across the research community and promote accessibility to full text or data of a study.…”

“…36 Although journals and publishers should continue to encourage open-access publishing, we encourage them to consider alternate models of support to reduce the financial barriers that lesser-funded or unfunded researchers face. 36 Furthermore, given that institutional affiliation contact details frequently change in a researcher's career, the availability of research websites such as ResearchGate or other social networking sites for researchers could facilitate communication across the research community and promote accessibility to full text or data of a study. In addition, we believe researchers should be entitled to free access to articles related to the SR they are conducting to promote knowledge and improve the scientific rigour of the study.…”

Factors Associated With Open Access Publishing Costs in Oncology Journals: Cross-sectional Observational Study

“…Many journals require authors to pay article processing charges (APCs) in order to publish an OA manuscript. These fees can be significant, in the ranges of thousands of US dollars and thus may inadvertently serve as a barrier to OA publication, particularly for authors with limited personal or institutional resources [9,10]. To address this concern, some publishers have introduced APC waivers to authors from low-and middle-income countries.…”