Author: Katie Wilson

The state of OA: a large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of Open Access articles [PeerJ]

Authors: ​​, ​​, , , , , , ,

Notes: Study from Unpaywall founders to identify OA status in three samples of articles. While estimating 28% (to 2015) of the scholarly literature is OA and growing, they also identify the complexities of the OA scholarly publishing landscape, finding a large proportion in the category of Bronze, articles free/open to read but lacking reuse or license data.

Abstract

Despite growing interest in Open Access (OA) to scholarly literature, there is an unmet need for large-scale, up-to-date, and reproducible studies assessing the prevalence and characteristics of OA. We address this need using oaDOI, an open online service that determines OA status for 67 million articles. We use three samples, each of 100,000 articles, to investigate OA in three populations: (1) all journal articles assigned a Crossref DOI, (2) recent journal articles indexed in Web of Science, and (3) articles viewed by users of Unpaywall, an open-source browser extension that lets users find OA articles using oaDOI. We estimate that at least 28% of the scholarly literature is OA (19M in total) and that this proportion is growing, driven particularly by growth in Gold and Hybrid. The most recent year analyzed (2015) also has the highest percentage of OA (45%). Because of this growth, and the fact that readers disproportionately access newer articles, we find that Unpaywall users encounter OA quite frequently: 47% of articles they view are OA. Notably, the most common mechanism for OA is not Gold, Green, or Hybrid OA, but rather an under-discussed category we dub Bronze: articles made free-to-read on the publisher website, without an explicit Open license. We also examine the citation impact of OA articles, corroborating the so-called open-access citation advantage: accounting for age and discipline, OA articles receive 18% more citations than average, an effect driven primarily by Green and Hybrid OA. We encourage further research using the free oaDOI service, as a way to inform OA policy and practice.

https://peerj.com/articles/4375/

Source: The state of OA: a large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of Open Access articles [PeerJ]

Growth of hybrid open access, 2009–2016

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Author: Bo-Christer Bjork

Notes: This 2017 article estimates the growth in hybrid OA journals and articles published within from 2009 to 2016. from 20 publishers Most interesting is the difficulty experienced in obtaining data because the hybridity of a journal is not always indicated. The author used previous studies and more recent data from 15 publishers who agreed to share, plus 5 big publishers. However data are not itemised for each publisher.

Abstract

Hybrid Open Access is an intermediate form of OA, where authors pay scholarly publishers to make articles freely accessible within journals, in which reading the content otherwise requires a subscription or pay-per-view. Major scholarly publishers have in recent years started providing the hybrid option for the vast majority of their journals. Since the uptake usually has been low per journal and scattered over thousands of journals, it has been very difficult to obtain an overview of how common hybrid articles are. This study, using the results of earlier studies as well as a variety of methods, measures the evolution of hybrid OA over time. The number of journals offering the hybrid option has increased from around 2,000 in 2009 to almost 10,000 in 2016. The number of individual articles has in the same period grown from an estimated 8,000 in 2009 to 45,000 in 2016. The growth in article numbers has clearly increased since 2014, after some major research funders in Europe started to introduce new centralized payment schemes for the article processing charges (APCs).

https://peerj.com/articles/3878/

Evaluation of Openness in the Activities of Research Organisations and Research Funding Organisations in 2016

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Author: finland Ministry of Education and Culture, Open Science and Research Initiative

Notes: Interesting scoring of Finnish research organisations regarding progress towards openness using data retrieved from public websites. A follow up survey gave organisations the opportunity to correct and supplement data. Also compared with other European research organisations. Because of the rapidly changing landscape the assessment was not repeated in 2017.

Abstract: This evaluation of the openness of Finnish research performing and funding organisations was completed as part of the Open Science and Research Initiative (ATT) by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The target of this evaluation is to assess the openness of operational cultures in research organisations and research funding organisations. The key objectives, against which the assessments are made, are defined in the Open Science and Research Roadmap. More information about the evaluation can be found at openscience.fi/openculture

http://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/127273

The Landscape of Research Data Repositories in 2015: A re3data Analysis

TiTle: The Landscape of Research Data Repositories in 2015: A re3data Analysis

Authors: Maxi Kindling et al

https://doi.org/10.1045/march2017-kindling

Summary: Analysis of data repositories in re3data shows a range of access, software, APIs, PIDs used as well as content, owners and countries. Limited standard compliance was noted.

re3data now provides much of this info on its metrics page https://www.re3data.org/metrics

D-Lib Magazine March/April 2017
Volume 23, Number 3/4

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive descriptive and statistical analysis of metadata information on 1,381 research data repositories worldwide and across all research disciplines. The analyzed metadata is derived from the re3data database, enabling search and browse functionalities for the global registry of research data repositories. The analysis focuses mainly on institutions that operate research data repositories, types and subjects of research data repositories (RDR), access conditions as well as services provided by the research data repositories. RDR differ in terms of the service levels they offer, languages they support or standards they comply with. These statements are commonly acknowledged by saying the RDR landscape is heterogeneous. As expected, we found a heterogeneous RDR landscape that is mostly influenced by the repositories’ disciplinary background for which they offer services.

Keywords: Research Data Repositories, RDR, Statistical Analysis, Metadata, re3data, Open Science, Open Access, Research Data, Persistent Identifier, Digital Object Identifier, Licenses

Source: The Landscape of Research Data Repositories in 2015: A re3data Analysis

open-research-data-report.pdf

TItle: Open Research Data: Report to the Australian National Data Service (ANDS)

Authors:John Houghton. Nicolas Gruen

Summary:
An interesting  2014 report assessing the value of data in Australia’s public research. Estimates for Australia extrapolated and scaled from UK studies. Staffing makes up more than 50% and up to 90% of the cost.

Main points:

Research data are an asset we have been building for decades, through billions of dollars of bublic investment in research annually. The information and communication technology (ICT) revolution presents an unprecedented opportunity to ‘leverage’ that asset. Given this, there is
increasing awareness around the world that there are benefits to be gained from curating and openly sharing research data (Kvalheim and Kvamme 2014).
Conservatively, we estimate that the value of data in Australia’s public research to be at least $1.9 billion and possibly up to $6 billion a year at current levels of expenditure and activity. Research data curation and sharing might be worth at least $1.8 billion and possibly up to $5.5 billion a year of which perhaps $1.4 billion to $4.9 billion annually is yet to be realized. Hence, any policy around public funded research data should aim to realise as much of this unrealised value as practicable.

Click to access open-research-data-report.pdf

Source: open-research-data-report.pdf

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

 

Summary:

The IPEDS integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (US) provides data from more than 7,500 US institutions that receive federal student aid, including:
Student enrolment data: race/ethnicity; gender; enrollment status; student retention, graduation; Information on collections, expenditures, and services for libraries; revenues, expenses, 

Enables comparison of institutions, trend graphs, individual institutional data and more.

 

https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data

 

 

 

Source: The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

Community Engagement – Building Bridges between University and Community by Academic Libraries in the 21st Century : Libri

Author: Jack hang Tat Leong

Notes:

Analyses 18 North American and European university mission statements for evidence of community engagement and outreach and reviews how their libraries engage the community with outreach activities: connecting universities, people, resources and knowledge.

Abstract

This article examines different outreach strategies in academic libraries in Canada, the United States and China. It analyzes the possibilities and concerns of community outreach and argues that community outreach by libraries is the best approach to respond to the increasing significance of community engagement in academic environment. Drawing on the outreach program at the University of Toronto Libraries, this paper demonstrates that academic libraries can effectively connect resources and enable interactions between scholars and the public. These connections and interactions ultimately lead to the preservation and generation of knowledge and understanding. Available outreach examples are investigated and classified into four major categories: 1) community access, 2) information literacy, 3) cooperation, exchange and partnership, and 4) exhibitions and scholarly events. In each category the trends and values are illustrated by representative cases discussed in literature and the activities organized by the author in his capacity as the Director of the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library, and the Chair of the International and Community Outreach Committee at the University of Toronto Libraries. The discussion and analysis of the diverse outreach activities in this article provide guidance and suggestions for academic librarians who are interested in outreach and community engagement of any scale and nature. Cases are draw from a wide spectrum and are particularly strong in the setting of large academic libraries, special collections and programming for multicultural populations.

About the article

Published Online: 2013-09-25

Published in Print: 2013-09-24

Source: Community Engagement – Building Bridges between University and Community by Academic Libraries in the 21st Century : Libri

UK university policy approaches towards the copyright ownership of scholarly works and the future of open access | Aslib Journal of Information Management | Vol 69, No 1

Author: Elizabeth Gadd

Comment:
Undertook survey of 81 UK academic or HEI library copyright policies to analyse extent of  institutional adoption of joint copyright ownership. Used Google search to locate policies on websites, downloaded and analysed manually into four key concepts, by “mission” grouping or category of HEIs and date of policies.. Universities have not yet  addressed ownership rights with academics, leaving them to negotiate with publishers. Universities have instead implemented open access policies and research funders have  set mandates. Identifies a “disconnect” between copyright policies and open access practice.
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to consider how the open access policy environment has developed since the Rights Metadata for Open Archiving Project’s call in 2003 for universities and academics to assert joint copyright ownership of scholarly works and investigate whether UK universities are moving towards a joint copyright ownership. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses 81 UK university copyright policies to understand what proportion make a claim over: IP ownership of all outputs; the copyright in scholarly works; re-using scholarly works in specific ways; and approaches to moral rights. Results are cross-tabulated by policy age and mission group. Findings Universities have not asserted their interest in scholarly works through joint ownership, leaving research funders and publishers to set open access policy. The paper finds an increased proportion of universities assert a generic claim to all IP (87 per cent) relative to earlier studies. In total, 74 per cent of policies relinquished rights in scholarly works in favour of academic staff; 20 per cent of policies share ownership of scholarly works through licensing; 28 per cent of policies assert the right to re-use scholarly works in some way; and 32 per cent of policies seek to protect moral rights. Policies that “share” ownership of scholarly works are more recent. The UK Scholarly Communication Licence (UK-SCL) should have an impact on this area. The reliance on individual academics to enforce a copyright policy or not to opt-out of the UK-SCL could be problematic. The paper concludes that open access may still be best served by joint ownership of scholarly works. Originality/value This the first large-scale analysis of UK university policy positions towards scholarly works. The paper discovers for the first time a move towards “shared” ownership of scholarly works in copyright policies.

Source: UK university policy approaches towards the copyright ownership of scholarly works and the future of open access | Aslib Journal of Information Management | Vol 69, No 1

Does openness and open access policy relate to the success of universities?: EBSCOhost

Author: Olsbo, Pekka

Comment:
A brief article that speculates on a potential correlation or connectjon between open access repositories rankings (RWR) and wider university rankings (RWU) for top 4-5 universities in Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Austria. Compares changes in position in the two ranking systems from 2012 to 2013. Perhaps open access policies are a reason?  Limited data but interesting hypothesis.

Abstract.
This study takes a closer look at the Ranking Web of Universities and Ranking Web of Repositories rankings and tries to examine if there is a connection between these two rankings. Study is done by analyzing the success of University of Jyväskylä and the institutional repository JyX of the University in these rankings. Comparison shows that the JyX archive plays an important role in University’s success especially when analyzing the presence and openness of the University. By analyzing the success of eight European countries in these rankings and cross reading these findings with the development of
relative citation impact shown in a report by the Finnish Academy, some interesting common trends can be seen. The same three countries Finland, Denmark and Norway seem to be on their way up in all comparisons. Open Access activities in these countries can be seen as one explaining factor.
Olsbo, P. (2013). Does openness and open access policy relate to the success of universities? Information Services & Use 33, 87–91.

Source: Does openness and open access policy relate to the success of universities?: EBSCOhost

Does Information Really Want to be Free? Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the Question of Openness | Christen | International Journal of Communication

Does Information Really Want to be Free? Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the Question of Openness

Author: Kimberly A. Christen

Comment:
Explores and discusses indigenous perspectives of openness and how indigenous groups have developed and used digital technology to manage and share information. In particular, the author discusses the Mukurtu Wumpurrarni-kari archive in 2007 , developed with the Warumungu community in Tennant Creek , and expansion to the Mukurtu CMS, adaptable for use by any indigenous community, enabling them to apply their protocols to enalbe the sharing of materials.

Abstract

The “information wants to be free” meme was born some 20 years ago from the free and open source software development community. In the ensuing decades, information freedom has merged with debates over open access, digital rights management, and intellectual property rights. More recently, as digital heritage has become a common resource, scholars, activists, technologists, and local source communities have generated critiques about the extent of information freedom. This article injects both the histories of collecting and the politics of information circulation in relation to indigenous knowledge into this debate by looking closely at the history of the meme and its cultural and legal underpinnings. This approach allows us to unpack the meme’s normalized assumptions and gauge whether it is applicable across a broad range of materials and cultural variances.

 

Source: Does Information Really Want to be Free? Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the Question of Openness | Christen | International Journal of Communication