Open Access publishing around the globe: A two-tier study on the perspectives of international medical informatics researchers on a barrier-free communication of science

• Esther Greussing ^[1] ; Stefanie Kuballa ^[2] ; Monika Taddicken ^[3] ; Mareike Schulze ^[2] ; Corinna Mielke ^[2] ; ReinholdHaux ^[2]
  1. [1] Institute for Communication Science and Peter L. Reichertz Institute for Medical Informatics Technische Universität (TU) Braunschweig and Hannover Medical School, Braunschweig, Germany
  2. [2] Peter L. Reichertz Institute for Medical Informatics, Technische Universität (TU) Braunschweig and Hannover Medical School, Braunschweig, Germany
  3. [3] Institute for Communication Science and Peter L. Reichertz Institute for Medical Informatics Technische Universität (TU) Braunschweig, Germany

  Mostrar afiliaciones +
• Localización: Observatorio (OBS*), ISSN-e 1646-5954, Vol. 16, No 1, 2022, págs. 60-89
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • Itisconsideredimportantorevennecessaryforacontinuousexchangeofscientificinformationthatallrelevantstakeholderscanaccesstheinner-scientificcommunication.Thetraditionalpublicationmodel,however,doesnotprovideaninclusiveflowofcommunicationbutratherfavoursresearchersaffiliatedwithresource-stronginstitutions,oftentimeslocatedintheGlobalNorth.Hence,thereareincreasedeffortstoestablishanalternative,openaccess(OA)publicationmodel.Sincesuchamodelcanonlybesuccessfulifscientiststhemselvessupportanduseit,thispaperpresentsatwo-tierstudyexaminingthefactorsthatmightshapescientists’decision(not)tochooseanOAoptionfordisseminatingtheirownwork.Basedon(semi-)standardizedsurveysofscientificorganizationsandindividualresearchersinthefieldofbiomedicalandhealthinformatics,itprovidesanoverviewofindividualandinstitutionalframeconditionsthatinfluencethedisseminationandreceptionofscientificknowledge.Inordertoaccountforregionaldifferences,itdrawsonaglobalsample,comprisingrespondentsfromAfrica,AsiaandthePacific,Europe,LatinAmerica,MiddleEastandNorthAmerica.Overall,thefindingsprovideaheterogeneouspictureofhowOAisperceivedandpracticed.RespondentsappreciatetheconvenientwaytoaccessOAarticlesasreadersandtheopportunitytoreachbroader(non-academic)audiencesasauthors.However,duetohighpublicationfeesandconcernsregardingqualityandreputation,apositiveattitudetowardsOAdoesnotnecessarilytranslateintowillingnesstochoosethispublicationmodel.Especiallyresearchersfromlow-incomecountriesbenefitfromabarrier-freecommunicationmainlyintheirroleasreadersandmuchlessintheirroleasauthorsofscientificinformation.Thisisalsoevidentattheinstitutionallevel,asOApoliciesorfinancialsupportthroughfundingbodiesaremostprevalentinEuropeandNorthAmerica.Thesefindingscallformoreattentiontoinner-scientificcommunicationaspartof(science)communication research.