Open Access Status of Nano ELSI Research: Determining Availability of a Core Collection of Research for a Disciplinary Repository

Abstract

IntroductIon The development and maintenance of a disciplinary repository is a high cost, long-term project; therefore, it is important to investigate the feasibility of the proposed resource. This paper explores whether an emerging discipline can support the development of a disciplinary repository by evaluating the availability of scholarship and scholarly communication trends within the nanotechnology and emerging technology ethical, legal, and societal issues research (Nano ELSI) domain. Methods In this study, journal articles produced through Spring 2013 by two large National Science Foundation Centers for Nanotechnology and Society at the University of California Santa Barbara and Arizona State University are evaluated for both potential and actual availability through open access publishing and author self-archiving. results While only 14% of articles in this collection have been published openly in open access or hybrid open access journals, over two thirds (85%) have been published in journals that support author self-archiving of some version of the manuscript in institutional or disciplinary repositories. The actual full-text open availability of 48% of total articles in the set demonstrates that there is a strong inclination among this community to share research products. conclusIon The availability of a core collection of materials and an understanding of scholarly communication conventions within the domain support the development of a centralized resource.