#UOSM2008 Topic 5 Summary

(Tagxedo.com, 2012)

This topic provided an opportunity for me to explore the topic of open access information, where I drew on experience from online journals and from an educational perspective, this was the area which was most explored by my peers also. However there were some other topics on online access discussed including access of online newspapers by Alysia. It was nice to read different peoples take on the topic, and how they decided on what to focus on.

I want to reflect on my last few comments (in my last blog post) about how open access is a possible challenge as people claim work as their own.  It is important to notice that even if content is paid for online that it may still result in plagiarism, and merely setting up pay walls will not put an end to this. On the other hand, if people have open access to it, it will reduce the number of people who are accessing the materials illegally, and thus may encourage people to give the content producers recognition.

After reading many of my peers posts, there was a unanimous decision that content would benefit society and users if it was free online. However, taking this into consideration, whether it be the public or individuals, there will most likely be a party which has to pay for the materials to be available. For instance, universities pay subscription fees for online journal platforms, so their students can access it when doing their own research. It is also important to highlight that a large amount of research especially in Science is funded for by the public, as it ‘is an investment in the nation’s future, ensuring that the UK has a productive economy, healthy society and contributes to a sustainable world.’ (Gov.uk, n.d). This is perhaps the most important point to keep access to online materials free, as it contributes to further research and the economy.

 

 

References

Gov.uk (n.d) Investing in Research, development and innovation, [Online], Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/investing-in-research-development-and-innovation/supporting-pages/science-and-research-funding [Accessed 11th May 2014]

Filed under: Topic 5 Tagged: Open Access, Reflection, UOSM2008