The objective
of the study is to determine the impact of open access on
scholarly journals' financial and non-financial factors. In
the first stage of the study, the researchers have surveyed
two
populations:
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Full Open Access
Journals. Journals listed in the Directory of Open
Access Journals. All 1,151 journals with
deliverable email addresses received a questionnaire
(some 200 journals in the Directory did not have
deliverable email addresses).
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Delayed Open Access
Journals. Journals hosted by HighWire Press and
participating in the 'DC Principles'.
184 journals received a
questionnaire.
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The survey
consisted of 33 closed-ended and 5 open-ended questions and
addressed the following major
categories:
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Demographic:
Including type of publisher, location of publishing
offices, subject area, type of content
published
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Financial:
Including revenue models, sources of financial support,
percentage of total each revenue type represents,
revenue trends and expectations, current surplus or
deficit
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Non-financial: Including
print format, copyediting policy, number of
internal/external peer reviews, services offered to
Authors, copyright and permissions policies,
pre/post-publishing rights of
authors
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In addition,
open-ended questions asked the respondent's thoughts on the
challenges and opportunities presented by open access, as well
as the movement's impact on their journal and all of scholarly
publishing.
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The survey was
pre-tested in late August and emailed out in mid September. As
of 25 October 2004, 37% of the HighWire Press journals and 22%
of the DOAJ journals had responded. The survey's methodology
was designed to meet the estimated criteria of a 95%
confidence and + or - 5% points sampling error.
Qualitative
research was also carried out, using interviews with a
broad-based sample of some 30 publishers, including a number
who have adopted a 'hybrid' or 'optional' Open Access model.
In addition to
analysing the remaining questionnaire returns, the researchers
will be surveying two other cohorts. The first is the members
of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the second is
the publisher members of ALPSP itself. The study will be
completed in Spring 2005 and the full report will be published
in the early
summer.
For further
information, please contact Nick Evans.
The Facts about
Open Access: Results from the ALPSP/AAAS/HighWire Study Cara
Kaufman, Co-founder of the Kaufman-Wills Group, outlined the
results of the first stage of the study at the London Book
Fair on Monday 14 March.
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