Topic 5: Access Denied – The Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access

It was ironic to begin researching this topic, only to find that most of the relevant articles I needed were not accessible for free. Such articles were only available if I searched through the university VPN, as Southampton University has paid for access to academic journals.

As demonstrated in this video, Nick Shockey and Jonathan Eisen explain some of the issues surrounding open and closed access.

After listening to such explanations, I feel strongly that universities have a responsibility to provide access to academic journals. But what about the individual or independent scientists?

According to Campbell (2015), there is no consensus amongst governments and authors as to how open a journal article should be. What is ‘open’? Does it mean free for everyone, or only certain people? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of the journal being made free?

As Shockey and Eisen explain in the video, journal companies have raised access prices hundreds of times above inflation. In an ideal world, authors would be able to distribute their content for free without the middle-man, however it is not as simple as this.

Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of an author providing their content for free, through open access:

Advantages:

• Open access allows everyone the ethical right and equal access to the latest expert knowledge, not just students and scientists working for a university or organisation.
• Saves millions of pounds for universities and organisations.
• Saves the tax payer (and university fee payer!) money, so that universities and government bodies don’t have to pay to read the outcome of research they have funded.
• If ‘completely’ open, scientists, educators and students would have the right to refer to, review and build on previous research.

Disadvantages:

• Where does the author make their money? (Highlighted by Hall 2014)
• How will they get their article distributed to the correct audience?
• Who gets the open access? Would only certain governments around the world pay up? This could lead to wasted minds and a monopoly of a handful of counties making the majority of leading, break-through discoveries.

As you can see, it’s a complex issue. In my opinion, and one supported by Wiley et al (2012), true scientific progress comes from open access, as pre-digital age generations did not have the technology for potential access, to such a wealth of knowledge online. Why waste it and not utilise it all?

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References:

Campbell, J. (2015). Access to scientific data in the 21st century: Rationale and illustrative usage rights review. Data Science Journal, 13, 203-230.

Hall, M. (2014, February 18). Why open access should be a key issue for university leaders. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fhigher-education-network%2Fblog%2F2014%2Ffeb%2F18%2Fopen-access-key-issue-university-leaders%3FCMP%3Dtwt_gu

Wiley, D., Green, C., & Soares, L. (2012). Dramatically bringing down the cost of education with OER: How open education resources unlock the door to free learning. Center for American Progress. Retrieved April 26, 2015.