Researchers and Open Access

Dear All,

In a survey conducted by EKT in Greece regarding the needs of SSH researchers, Open Access was recognized by the participants as an essential feature of contemporary science. While Greek researchers recognize the benefits of Open Access, they also point out to the challenges they face when they decide to publish in open access journals. As OA is associated with APC journals, and related costs deemed high, the lack of dedicated institutional funding (in the absence of other funding sources) results in researchers opting for subscription-based journals, thus creating a vicious circle. An issue arising here is that most researchers identify OA with special charges and they are unaware of the existence of OA journals that do not charge APC.

The findings of this survey are in agreement with the ones of the Landscape study on scholarly needs and stakeholders in social sciences and humanities produced in the context of the OPERAS-P Project. Researchers in the Southern and Eastern Europe seem to face similar problems with their colleagues in Greece, although for researchers from Western Europe publishing in open access seems to be an easier task.

  • Is the lack of appropriate funding a key element in your choice of publishing venue?
  • Are you familiar with the different business models like diamond open access?
  • What type of support do you expect from your institution? (Guidance on accessing funding? Guidance on finding appropriate publishing venues? Other?