Work

French publishing attitudes in the open access era: The case of mathematics, biology, and computer science

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: This study investigates the extent to which open access (OA) publishing models affect French researchers’ attitudes. Research questions were: What place does OA have in attitudes of French researchers in mathematics, biology, and computer science? Are French researchers aware of new publishing models? Do they publish in these new outlets? What funds do they use? What kind of feedback and satisfaction can we observe? We used a quantitative approach to identify structural trends. From April to May 2015, the authors gathered empirical data (interviews, training, and meetings) on researchers’ opinions and understanding of OA publishing models to define the variables and build up the questionnaire that was sent out in June 2015. The findings of the survey demonstrated that, when choosing journals to publish their articles, researchers did not rate OA as a criterion but rather impact, prestige, and symbolic recognition. Publishing OA articles is only in its first stages in the publishing practices of researchers. Lack of policy, prescriptions, and lack of rewards explain why OA is not a factor that determines the publishing strategies of French researchers. The researchers who take the risk of OA publishing are biologists, the older and more experienced researchers, and those who are members of editorial teams.

Source: Learned Publishing

DOI: 10.1002/leap.1169

Authors: Chérifa Boukacem‐Zeghmouri, Hans Dillaerts, Thierry Lafouge, Pascal Bador, Aude Sauer‐Avargues

Institutions: Lyon 1 Université, Equipe de recherche de Lyon en Sciences de l'Information et de la Communication, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées

Language: English

Topic: Publishing and Scholarly Communication

Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,080

Funders: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1