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Perceptions of open access publishing: interviews with journal authors
Sara Schroter1, Leanne Tite, Richard Smith
1BMJ Editorial Office, BMA House, London WC1 9JR. sschroter@bmj.com
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.)
|January 29, 2005
Summary
Authors support open access publishing but prioritize journal quality over open access. Many would submit to high-quality journals even with author charges, especially if institutions provide support.
Area of Science:
- Scholarly communication
- Bibliometrics
- Scientific publishing
Background:
- Open access publishing models are gaining traction.
- Author-pays models are a component of open access.
- Understanding author perspectives is crucial for publishing models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate author attitudes toward open access (OA) and author charges.
- To assess author perceptions of journals that charge authors.
- To determine author willingness to submit to OA journals with author fees.
Main Methods:
- Conducted semistructured telephone interviews.
- Interviewed 28 international authors who submitted to the BMJ in 2003.
Main Results:
- Authors show increased awareness of OA and author-pays models.
- Most authors support OA but few have published in OA journals.
- Perceived journal quality is a higher priority than OA for submission decisions.
- Concerns exist regarding author charges for developing countries and unfunded researchers.
- Authors would likely submit to high-quality journals regardless of author fees.
Conclusions:
- Perceived journal quality significantly influences author submission decisions more than open access.
- New OA journals must actively demonstrate their quality to attract submissions.
- Author support for OA is high, but practical barriers and quality concerns remain.