The APC-barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishing
AbstractCurrent implementations of Open Access (OA) publishing frequently involve article processing charges (APCs). Increasing evidence has emerged that APCs impede researchers with fewer resources in publishing their research as OA. We analyzed 1.5 million scientific articles from...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The MIT Press
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Quantitative Science Studies |
| Online Access: | https://direct.mit.edu/qss/article/4/1/22/114729/The-APC-barrier-and-its-effect-on-stratification |
| _version_ | 1797837537263222784 |
|---|---|
| author | Thomas Klebel Tony Ross-Hellauer |
| author_facet | Thomas Klebel Tony Ross-Hellauer |
| author_sort | Thomas Klebel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
AbstractCurrent implementations of Open Access (OA) publishing frequently involve article processing charges (APCs). Increasing evidence has emerged that APCs impede researchers with fewer resources in publishing their research as OA. We analyzed 1.5 million scientific articles from journals listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals to assess average APCs and their determinants for a comprehensive set of journal publications across scientific disciplines, world regions, and through time. Levels of APCs were strongly stratified by scientific fields and the institutions’ countries, corroborating previous findings on publishing cultures and the impact of mandates of research funders. After controlling for country and scientific field with a multilevel mixture model, however, we found small to moderate effects of levels of institutional resourcing on the level of APCs. The effects were largest in countries with low GDP, suggesting decreasing marginal effects of institutional resources when general levels of funding are high. Our findings provide further evidence on how APCs stratify OA publishing and highlight the need for alternative publishing models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:27:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e09b220bc4544e44936088d71f01a24e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2641-3337 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:27:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | The MIT Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quantitative Science Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-e09b220bc4544e44936088d71f01a24e2023-04-28T16:53:09ZengThe MIT PressQuantitative Science Studies2641-33372023-01-0141224310.1162/qss_a_00245The APC-barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishingThomas Klebel0http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7331-4751Tony Ross-Hellauer1http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4470-7027Open and Reproducible Research Group, Know-Center GmbH, Graz, AustriaOpen and Reproducible Research Group, Know-Center GmbH, Graz, Austria AbstractCurrent implementations of Open Access (OA) publishing frequently involve article processing charges (APCs). Increasing evidence has emerged that APCs impede researchers with fewer resources in publishing their research as OA. We analyzed 1.5 million scientific articles from journals listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals to assess average APCs and their determinants for a comprehensive set of journal publications across scientific disciplines, world regions, and through time. Levels of APCs were strongly stratified by scientific fields and the institutions’ countries, corroborating previous findings on publishing cultures and the impact of mandates of research funders. After controlling for country and scientific field with a multilevel mixture model, however, we found small to moderate effects of levels of institutional resourcing on the level of APCs. The effects were largest in countries with low GDP, suggesting decreasing marginal effects of institutional resources when general levels of funding are high. Our findings provide further evidence on how APCs stratify OA publishing and highlight the need for alternative publishing models.https://direct.mit.edu/qss/article/4/1/22/114729/The-APC-barrier-and-its-effect-on-stratification |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Klebel Tony Ross-Hellauer The APC-barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishing Quantitative Science Studies |
| title | The APC-barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishing |
| title_full | The APC-barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishing |
| title_fullStr | The APC-barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishing |
| title_full_unstemmed | The APC-barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishing |
| title_short | The APC-barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishing |
| title_sort | apc barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishing |
| url | https://direct.mit.edu/qss/article/4/1/22/114729/The-APC-barrier-and-its-effect-on-stratification |
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