OPEN ACCESS TO ONLINE MATERIALS FOR ALL – UTOPIAN DREAM OR UNSTOPPABLE FORCE?

As a university student and digital native, the dyad of open access online triggers two reactions: complete frustration when I’m faced with the ‘access denied’ screen or taking my access for granted. It’s the notion of free, instant online materials available to all. The issue of open access can relate to any online material – from an academic journal to those Facebook pictures you secretly stalk – but online journals and media spark the greatest debate. Open access affects every internet user, even if they are unaware of it. Below are some the advantages and disadvantages of open access in order for you to create your own informed opinion.

There is currently an ‘explosion of interest in the academic and publishing communities’ about the promise – and perils – of open access journals (Antelman, 2004).  The absurd amounts that some journals charge for access is undermining the essence of science and suppressing discovery and the spreading of knowledge.

Shockey and Eisen (2012) outline the advantages free access articles could present to researchers. The more reachable an article is, the more the author’s work will be read and consequently, the more their ideas can develop and grow. This recycling of material increases the prevalence and popularity of the creator’s work through citation. Additionally, research also becomes freely available to researchers in low income countries, where the access costs may have been obstacle previously to expensive to beat.

A screenshot from Shockey and Eisen’s (2012) YouTube video

On the other hand, there are some potential drawbacks to freely available academic journals. In order to generate revenues lost from free access, journals may be inclined to publish more articles creating a potential negative effect on quality. Similarly, publishers may begin to hike up publication fees at the expense of the author. Somehow this lost revenue must be covered, but simply shifting the cost liability doesn’t seem fair. It’s also very important to remember that such a proposed free article infrastructure has yet to be tested, so its sustainability is still a very grey area, with no proposed solution to the potential misuse of material (Geib, 2013).

It is predicted that the ‘free for all’ online culture (opitimised by sites like YouTube, Wikipedia and Twitter) that we have come to know and love may end in coming years, with an astounding 90% of online content predicted to be veiled behind paywalls in the next three years. Media managers are starting to comprehend the impact of switching to paid content for websites and apps as digitisation grows.This will incur huge costs to everyday internet users whilst removing the free flow of information and communication. Thus far, few companies have made the leap of faith.

I firmly believe that free access to online materials should be preserved and expanded. I think that education and the easy access and sharing of information is largest benefit that the internet offers, so it would be shameful if this underpinning fundamental were to become more capitalised and unreachable to a large proportion of users.

‘Our goal with open access was getting technology into the hands of undeserved populations around the world to improve education, health care and economic development.’ Dunne 2013

Antelman, K. (2004), Do Open-Access Articles Have a Greater Research Impact?, [pdf] Available: http://crl.acrl.org/content/65/5/372.full.pdf [Accessed 04 May 2014]

Chittenden, M., Rogers, L. and Smith, D., 2003. Focus: ‘Education Finally Ripe For Radical Innovation By Social Entrepreneurs [Forbes] 04 July 2013. Available at: http://ht.ly/jPTX3 [Accessed 04 May 2014].

Geib, A. (2013), Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access, [Online], Available: http://www.edanzediting.com/blog/advantages_and_disadvantages_open_access#.U2afUfldWVO [Accessed 04 May 2014]

Shockey, N. and Eisen, J., (2012),. Open Access Explained!, [Online], Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=L5rVH1KGBCY [Accessed 04 May 2014]