The influence of journal publisher characteristics on open access policy trends

Authors : Elizabeth Gadd, Jenny Fry, Claire Creaser

Examines SHERPA/RoMEO publisher open access (OA) policy information for 100 publishers over a 13 year period (2004–2016) to consider whether their size, type or country (UK or US) affected the development of their OA policy over time.

A publisher’s RoMEO colour code, whether they offered a Gold OA option, and the mean number of restrictions as to when, how and where papers may be self-archived, were all mapped. Kruskal–Wallis tests were run to assess whether the differences between their 2004 and 2016 positions were statistically significant.

Finds that the growth of Green and Gold OA policy approaches has not been evenly distributed amongst publishers with some significant differences amongst publishers of different size, types and country (UK and US).

Large commercial publishers are more likely to be allocated a RoMEO colour code, but at the same time place a high volume of restrictions as to where and how authors might self-archive. Small publishers are less likely to have a RoMEO green colour code, but the volume of restrictions they place on self-archiving are minimal.

University presses appear not to be engaging with either OA agenda to any considerable degree. UK and US publishers’ OA policies appear to be influenced by the national OA policy environment which, considering the global nature of the scholarly journals market, was more pronounced than might have been anticipated.

URL : The influence of journal publisher characteristics on open access policy trends

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2716-8

Publisher Support for Self Archiving Laudatory or Predatory…

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Publisher Support for Self-Archiving: Laudatory or Predatory? :

“Most publishers with self-archiving policies in the SHERPA RoMEO database allow authors to deposit their articles in a repository or post them to a website – supporting the green route to open access. Nevertheless, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) enthusiastically endorsed legislation proposed and defeated twice in the United States to prohibit federal agencies from mandating repository deposits of articles reporting on research they funded. The AAP also endorsed the Finch Report issued in the United Kingdom. The Report denigrated repository deposits and elevated open access publishing – the gold route to open access – as the preferred path to expand public access. Given that the green route is more affordable than the gold route (Houghton et al 2009), that the green route exceeds the gold route in growth rate and proportion of articles available open access (Gargouri et al 2012), and that mandates increase repository deposits (Van Noorden 2013, Poynder May 2012), these are puzzling tactics for publishers professing to support self-archiving.
Despite conspicuous progress in providing open access to scholarly articles, there is a steady, unsettling undercurrent stirred by traditional publishers that could undermine the green route to open access. This article examines data and discourse to better understand publisher perspectives on self-archiving and, based on this understanding, urges action from open access advocates.”

URL : http://works.bepress.com/denise_troll_covey/79/