Faculty awareness, use and attitudes towards scholarly open access: A Pakistani perspective

Abstract

Open access is a new scholarly publishing model that aims to provide free access to scholarly information to all members of society. This study analyzes the awareness, use and attitudes of Pakistani faculty members towards scholarly open access. A structured questionnaire was designed to collect data from the respondents by using an online survey tool, Google Forms. The population of the study was the faculty members of 21 universities and higher education institutions located in Islamabad. A sample of 3000 faculty members were invited, through email, to participate in the study; of which 616 completed the survey, with a response ratio of 20.53%. Descriptive statistics and (SPSS) version 21.0 were used for data analysis. The findings of the study reveal that, although majority of the Pakistani faculty members (71.5%) were aware of the scholarly open access before this survey, their awareness level about open access-related resources and initiatives was very low. The Pakistani faculty members used open access venues more frequently to access scholarly contents rather than to publish their own research works. A lack of awareness to publish in open access venues, and publication fees of open access journals were the key challenges faced by the Pakistani faculty members. The attitudes of faculty members towards open access were very positive in all contexts. Large readership, impact factor, free access to readers and no publication fee were the key motivational factors for the faculty members to publish in open access journals.

Drivers and Obstacles of Open Access Publishing. A Qualitative Investigation of Individual and Institutional Factors

“…Here, the need for comprehensive information about the OA model becomes evident. While country-specific studies have already pointed to an information deficit (Sheikh, 2019), it is noteworthy that in our study, many interviewees actively desire more information on OA and also think that publishers should better advertise this model. In addition to questions about the financing model and the lack of transparency regarding high APCs, uncertainty revolves around predatory journals, as especially respondents with less experience face difficulties in distinguishing them from an authentic OA journal.…”

“…This is particularly evident regarding their experience with OA models, and according to what criteria they choose a publication outlet for their own scholarly work. Recent studies show that a considerable share of the scientific community is not sufficiently aware of OA-related initiatives and resources, especially when being located in lower income countries (Sheikh, 2019). Moreover, OA availability is a rather lowranked factor when deciding where to publish (Blankstein and Wolff-Eisenberg, 2019), even among scholars who have already authored an OA publication (Solomon and Björk, 2012).…”

“…While for some researchers in STEM fields, factors as higher quality and greater likely citation might outweigh cost, others perceive APCs as a key challenge for authors without institutional support and research funding (Schroter et al, 2005). Studies conducted among medicine and health researchers in India (Singh, 2015), Pakistan (Sheikh, 2019), or Spain (Hernández-Borges et al, 2006 confirm this view, raising concerns that APCs can reinforce existing hierarchies, as they might exclude authors from publishing in specific (prestigious) outlets. In the literature, attitudes towards OA publishing are mainly assessed from the perspective of researchers as authors.…”

“…However, the OA movement also refers strongly to researchers as readers of scholarly work. Moreover, especially when it comes to costs, the impact of resources-of countries and institutions-becomes apparent (Sheikh, 2019).…”

“…Given the centrality of scientific knowledge for contemporary societies (Weingart, 2001), it is nevertheless crucial to understand the drivers and obstacles for OA publishing to discuss the future development of scholarly communication and to decide on appropriate strategies. Moreover, with some notable exceptions [e.g., Sheikh (2019), Joung et al (2019)], prior studies have mainly focused on the publishing behavior of scientific communities in Europe and the US [e.g., Zhu (2017)]. Research on a global movement such as OA, however, calls for an international perspective that takes into account the varying individual and institutional conditions that influence the production, dissemination, and reception of scientific knowledge.…”