OPEN ACCESS:
STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
An In o ma ics Eu ope epo
S e ano Bis a elli
Manuel Ca o
Robe o Di Cosmo
Al onso Pie an onio
Open Access:
S a us and Recommenda ions
An In o ma ics Eu ope Repo
P epa ed by:
• Manuel Ca o, Uni e sidad Poli écnica de Mad id and IMDEA So wa e Ins i u e.
• S e ano Bis a elli, Uni e si y o Pe ugia.
• Robe o Di Cosmo, So wa e He i age, INRIA, and Uni e si é Pa is Ci é.
• Al onso Pie an onio, Uni e si à degli S udi dell'Aquila.
Open Access: S a us and Recommenda ions
May 2023
Published by:
In o ma ics Eu ope
Binzmühles asse 14/54
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adminis a ion@in o ma ics-eu ope.o g
© In o ma ics Eu ope, 2023, BY-SA.
Con en s
Execu i e summa y ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Digi iza ion and Open Access: A Con enien Ma iage ................................................................................. 2
Conc e e P oposals owa ds Open Access .................................................................................................... 3
Risks and Challenges ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Some Cons uc i e Ac ions ............................................................................................................................ 4
Re e ences ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
1
Execu i e summa y
This documen summa izes he e olu ion o scien i ic publica ion models owa ds p o iding open access
o esea ch esul s and makes ecommenda ions om an academic s andpoin on u u e ac ion pa hs.
The goals o open access include achie ing wide knowledge dissemina ion and accessibili y, os e ing
addi ional oppo uni ies o in e disciplina y esea ch, and ensu ing anspa ency. Howe e , exis ing
p oposals, oo ed in he adi ional publishing model, ha e no eached hese objec i es. Among he
easons we can ci e: cu en schemes include he exclusi e ans e o copy igh o publishe s; publishing
cos s ha e been shi ed om eade s o au ho s o he esea ch, which oge he wi h ca ee e alua ion
based on pu ely nume ical indica o s c ea es an explosi e mix ha endange s academic in eg i y and
os e he eme gence o p eda o y jou nal p ac ices; and, in some cases, he ee access o a icles is
delayed. In addi ion, he in es men equi ed o digi al ansi ion has caused ma ke concen a ion in a
ew, la ge playe s, a o ing a monopolis ic s uc u e accompanied by la gely undisclosed p icing policies.
We e iew some o he al e na i es ha ha e been p oposed by he academic communi y o e ocus on
he o iginal goals o Open Access and speed up hei achie emen . We conclude wi h a se o
ecommenda ions, namely: e alua e ag eemen s, a oid exclusi e copy igh ans e , a o publishing by
scien i ic socie ies, encou age he use o pla o ms ha ensu e anspa en p ocedu es, pe o m quali y-
based esea ch e alua ion, and be ac i e in o ums ocused on Open Science and Open Access.
2
Digi iza ion and Open Access: A Con enien Ma iage
The ad en o he in e ne and digi iza ion has p o oundly ans o med schola ly publishing in se e al
dimensions ha a e wo h summa izing b ie ly o unde s and he cu en si ua ion. The shi o digi al
publishing in he 1990s e olu ionized he li e cycle o publishing p oduc s in a way pe haps only
compa able o he in oduc ion o mo able ype p in ing in he 15 h cen u y. In pa icula , he
p opo ional cos s o p in ing and dis ibu ion ha e disappea ed in i s mos pa and became ixed cos s
hanks o digi al o ma s and (cheap) In e ne dis ibu ion. This pa adigm shi was expec ed o b ing
se e al bene i s in he line o democ a iza ion o esea ch in science and echnology ha would esul in
a no iceable and p o ound impac in he socie y a se e al le els:
• G ea e pe asi eness o knowledge dissemina ion on a global scale.
• Accessibili y o esea ch p oduc s o hose who do no ha e access o subsc ip ion-based
dis ibu ion sys ems.
• In e disciplina y esea ch and knowledge ans e .
• Inc eased adop ion o esea ch esul s in school cu icula and eaching.
• G ea e anspa ency o he axpaye .
No wi hs anding, he p omise o wide , as e , and cheape dissemina ion o knowledge b ough abou
by his ans o ma ion has no been ully ma e ialized o se e al easons. The adi ional publishing
model, based on he sale o subsc ip ions ha co e ed p oduc ion and dis ibu ion cos s, was no aligned
wi h he ee and immedia e access o a icles ha is possible, o example, h ough pla o ms such as
A Xi .o g, and i was expec ed o unde go a adical ans o ma ion, like many o he ac i i ies impac ed
by he digi al ans o ma ion [1]. Un o una ely, he publishing model did no e ol e owa ds educing
he o e all cos . Ins ead, he widesp ead p ac ice o imposing clauses ans e ing he exclusi e
assignmen o copy igh on a icles and he owne ship o he name o jou nals and con e ences by
publishe s has allowed he la e o main ain hei economic model by p e en ing o delaying he ee
dis ibu ion o a icles on he In e ne , agains he in e es o all o he ac o s: he au ho s, he
esea che s, he esea ch unding bodies, and he socie y as a whole [2].
The ini ial in es men s equi ed o he digi al ansi ion ha e d i en a ma ke concen a ion in he hands
o a ew la ge playe s who ha e g adually abso bed smalle publishing houses [3]. As a esul , he
ad an ages inhe en o economies o scale ha e been u ned in o p i a e p o i s ins ead o being enjoyed
by he schola ly communi y. A numbe o unin ended e ec s ha e eme ged om he new echnological
possibili ies: he c ea ion o monopolis ic p icing policies, which siphon billions o eu os each yea om
public unds dedica ed o esea ch [4]; a p oli e a ion o i les enabled by digi al publishing; a g owing
p essu e o publish induced by he inc easing impo ance gi en o nume ical indica o s in he e alua ion
o esea che s (impac ac o , h-index, e c.), a he expense o c i ically analyzing he ele ance o he
esea ch esul s; an undue c edi gi en o ca alogs o i les and ci a ions managed by p i a e in e es s
(Scopus, Web o Science, e c.); he appea ance o p eda o y jou nals, a ac ed by he p o i
oppo uni ies o e ed by publishing a icles a he au ho 's expense [3] and p opelled by he need o
au ho s o ha e pape s published; and he imposi ion by publishe s o packages binding oge he se e al
p oduc s (e.g., subsc ip ions o jou nals ha canno be bough sepa a ely), agains which lib a ians
canno a gue any mo e ha hey occupy he p ecious and limi ed space in a physical lib a y, and which
signi ican ly inc ease he cos s o he use s.
These c i ical elemen s ha e p omp ed g owing eques s om he scien i ic communi y o e o m he
scien i ic publica ion ecosys em in se e al aspec s. Fi s , he e is a s ong demand o make esea ch
p oduc ion ee om ising cos s and o mal ba ie s, as ou lined in he Budapes Open Access Ini ia i e
[5] in 2002 and in he Be lin Decla a ion [6] in 2003. Second, as an answe o he use (and abuse) o
ankings o publica ion enues o e alua e esea che s, he e is a mo e ecen demand o e u n o a
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quali a i e a he han quan i a i e e alua ion o esea ch ou pu s, as ini ially highligh ed by he San
F ancisco Decla a ion on Resea ch Assessmen (DORA) [7], and now s ongly pushed o wa d by he
Coali ion o Ad ancing Resea ch Assessmen (COARA) [18].
Conc e e P oposals owa ds Open Access
The esponse by scien i ic publishing companies o hese demands has been ins umen ed h ough
se e al schemes o implemen Open Access, each wi h i s own cos model [8]:
● Golden ou e, which in ol es ull open access jou nals, whe e a icles a e published on pla o ms
managed by he publishe s hemsel es, and hyb id open access, o subsc ip ion jou nals, whe e open
publica ion is possible. In bo h cases he golden ou e equi es au ho s o hei ins i u ions o bea he
cos s o publica ion, known as A icle P ocessing Cha ges (APCs). A wide ange o a angemen s a e
possible, including pe -pape APC o con ac s ha p o ide a ixed p ice du ing a p ede ined e m, aking
in o accoun he amoun o p oduc ion, as in ACM OPEN [12].
● G een ou e, whe e publica ions (in mos , i no all cases, in p e-edi o ial o o -emba go e sions) a e
made accessible h ough ins i u ional eposi o ies (e.g., A Xi , HAL, o IRIS).
● Diamond o Pla inum ou e, whe e publica ions a e made accessible h ough Open Access o
o e lay jou nals
1
o pla o ms bo ne by ins i u ional o ganiza ions o unde s and scien i ic
socie ies, wi hou he au ho s incu ing publica ion cos s (e.g., LIPICS, h ps://psy.jmi x.o g and
h ps://www.episciences.o g).
Rega dless o he model chosen, Open Access aims o b ing a leas some o he bene i s ha we e
expec ed o su ace wi h he ansi ion o digi al publishing. In he cu en s a e o a ai s, hese bene i s
a e no ye appa en and mo e changes a e a guably necessa y.
In o de o accele a e he adop ion o Open Access, in 2018 a conso ium consis ing o ins i u ional
unde s and na ional esea ch agencies launched Plan S [9]. This ini ia i e, suppo ed by he Eu opean
Commission and he Wo ld Heal h O ganiza ion, ep esen s a eal plan o a ack ( he "S" s ands o
"shock"), a icula ed on 10 p inciples acco ding o which esea che s ecei ing unding om public
ins i u ions commi o publish hei a icles in open eposi o ies o Open Access jou nals s a ing in 2021.
A pi o al elemen o Plan S a e he ans o ma i e ag eemen s: con ac ual ins umen s ha a e o en
he esul o cen alized ba gaining, some imes done by na ional / egional bodies o agencies, he e ms
o which a e hen signed by indi idual academic o esea ch ins i u ions. Such ag eemen s a e p esen ed
as ins umen al in ans o ming he unde lying business model o he schola ly publishing indus y o
mo e om a subsc ip ion-based model o one in which publishe s a e emune a ed ai ly o he se ices
o e ed o Open Access publica ion. Acco ding o Plan S, hyb id jou nals will be suppo ed only du ing a
ansi ion pe iod inishing a he end o 2023, p o ided ha he publishe s in ol ed ha e signed a
ans o ma i e ag eemen .
Un o una ely, o da e, mos o hese ag eemen s ep esen non-homogeneous p oposals cha ac e ized
by a s ong agmen a ion om which i is no possible o disce n any a emp o e-es ablish a mo e
equi able and balanced emune a ion o publishe s h ough some o m o cos mu ualiza ion [10].
Howe e , he essence o he ba gaining has been ocusing on he p ice o APCs, a he han on how o
achie e democ a iza ion o he publishing o esea ch esul s. Cases s and ou in which he con ac s
s i e o p ese e a p ede ined mul i-yea inc ease in o e all e enues o publishe s [11], o he poin
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An o e lay jou nal is a ype o open access academic jou nal ha does no p oduce i s own con en , bu selec s om ex s
ha a e al eady eely a ailable online (sou ce o de ini ion: Wikipedia).
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ha one may wonde whe he he pu pose o hese ag eemen s is eally o pu schola ly publishing back
a he se ice o esea ch, o , ins ead, o p o ec he exis ing economic model, now endange ed by he
inc easingly widesp ead a ailabili y o unau ho ized eposi o ies ( o example ia SciHub), which educe
he in e es o subsc ip ions.
Risks and Challenges
Beyond hese gene al conside a ions, blindly ollowing he golden ou e dic a ed by publishe s by simply
shi ing he cos s o publica ion om eade s o au ho s isks c ea ing conc e e p oblems o which he
schola ly communi y may be unp epa ed. The challenges ha al eady appea ed, clea ly caused by he
inancial bias gene a ed by he comme cializa ion o he ac o publica ion, a e, speci ically:
1. The c ea ion o a s ong economic incen i e o publishe s o publish mo e a icles and comp ess he
ime o he e iew p ocess o inc ease h oughpu , limi ing o o egoing he quali y o esea ch
ce i ica ion, e ec i ely app oaching he p eda o y jou nal model.
2. Billing au ho s, hei depa men s, o hei ins i u ions o APCs, which may discou age o p e en he
publica ion o quali y esea ch esul s when he necessa y unds a e lacking. I also c ea es an incen i e
o au ho s wi h limi ed economic esou ces (pa icula ly young esea che s o poo ly unded doc o al
s uden s) o seek co-au ho s in less economically-challenged ins i u ions on s ic ly u ili a ian, non-
scien i ic g ounds (i.e., due o he a ailabili y o esea ch unds o o hei a ilia ion wi h ins i u ions ha
ha e he abili y o sign ans o ma i e ag eemen s).
3. One o he undamen al mo i a ions o Open Access is o supp ess ba ie s o access knowledge,
which ha e in he pas penalized hose esea che s who did no ha e access o had delayed access o
scien i ic publica ions.
2
The mo e o he APC model ins ead o ue cos mu ualiza ion poses a new isk:
no all na ions o ins i u es will be able o bea he ising cos s, c ea ing eal subclasses o esea che s
who, despi e ha ing legal access o he body o scien i ic publica ions, will in p ac ice ha e li le chance
o publishing hei esul s.
4. The ocus on he economic aspec o Open Access, al hough unde s andable gi en he amoun s
in ol ed, can make one o ge ha he mission o esea ch, be o e he publica ion o he a icles ha
dissemina e i , is he p oduc ion o quali y knowledge. An inspec ion o he me hods o ce i y esea ch
esul s p oposed by he ecen ly s a ed Open Resea ch Eu ope [4] ini ia i e, an Open Access jou nal
ha complies wi h Plan S and can be used wi hou cos by all pa icipan s in Eu opean p ojec s,
ega dless o hei esea ch domain, aises some legi ima e conce ns: "[...] a icles a e published apidly
as soon as hey a e accep ed, a e passing a se ies o p epublica ion checks [...] Pee e iew by in i ed
expe s, sugges ed by he au ho s, akes place openly a e publica ion." This lea es a ime window
du ing which i is no clea whe he some esea ch has o no deemed aluable by he au ho 's pee s.
Mo eo e , he sugges ion o e iewe s by he au ho s also gi es ise o possible con lic s o in e es .
Wha can be done abou i ? The mo emen owa d Open Access seems i e e sible, and he impac o
Plan S is likely o be long-las ing, igge ing a momen ous change in esea ch ac i i y whose conduc
should no be conside ed solely om he pe spec i e o he economic in e es s a s ake.
Some Cons uc i e Ac ions
In ligh o he isks iden i ied, i is essen ial ha ou scien i ic communi y mobilizes o ea i m he
p inciples o ai ness, igo , and impa iali y ha should guide ou scien i ic ac i i y and wo k o make
2
Si es such as SciHub we e c ea ed in esponse o hese dis o ions, e ec i ely educing di e ences in access o knowledge,
albei ou side legal amewo ks.
5
esea ch esul s as widely a ailable as possible and o scale back he excessi e ole ha nume ical
indica o s ha e aken o e he in-dep h analysis o esea ch quali y.
Conc e ely, he ollowing s a egies a e p oposed o he communi y:
1. Raise awa eness among colleagues and ask Depa men s and Uni e si ies o ensu e ha he signing
o ans o ma i e ag eemen s is sys ema ically subjec ed o an e alua ion by a commi ee o expe s o
de e mine he app op ia eness o such ag eemen s and adhe ence o p inciples such as (a) encou aging
he mig a ion o he schola ly publishing ma ke om he subsc ip ion model o he open access model;
(b) a o ing he mu ualiza ion o p oduc ion cos s o e se ing o uni p ices pe a icle [10]; o (c) a
leas p e e ing models ha , like ACM OPEN [12], p o ide o a educ ion in APCs based on inc easing
olumes.
2. Raise awa eness on he issues discussed in his documen among colleagues and young esea che s,
in pa icula abou he impo ance o a oiding exclusi e ans e o copy igh s on hei a icles o
publishe s. The dissemina ion o he " igh s e en ion" s a egy ecen ly published by Coali ion S, which
in ol es making he accep ed manusc ip immedia ely a ailable unde a CC-BY license in ins i u ional
eposi o ies [13], may be o pa icula ele ance.
3. Incen i ize ini ia i es ha encou age he de elopmen o quali y Diamond / Pla inum Open Access
jou nals by socie ies o scien i ic communi ies hos ed in sel -managed pla o ms, based on he
obse a ion ha many such jou nals al eady exis and o e an in insic quali y ha is some imes supe io
o ha o comme cial Gold Open Access ini ia i es.
4. P omo e he use o pla o ms and se ices ha con o m o c i e ia o excellence such as openness
and anspa en managemen [14], and whose cos can be mu ualized. The F ench HAL/CCSD
in as uc u e, and i s Episcience Jou nals, and he Dags uhl con e ence se ies Lipics, which p o ide such
a se ice, a e models ha can be ollowed. The communi y should also de ine equi emen s and
p o ocols ha ensu e be e edi o ial and e iew p ocesses: o example, imposing educed e iew ime
o billing supplemen s o addi ional pages when no eal se ice jus i ies i a e p ac ices ha should be
s igma ized.
5. Adop and openly suppo esea ch e alua ion p ac ices based on quali y and no only on nume ical
indica o s [12], and iden i y, whe e possible, ins i u ional eposi o ies and anspa en ankings sui able
o he discipline as an al e na i e o ca alogs and jou nal ankings owned and main ained by comme cial
s akeholde s.
6. Pa icipa e in in e na ional ac i i ies on he eme ging issues o Open Da a and Open Sou ce in
esea ch; dissemina e bes p ac ices o a chi ing, iden i ica ion, desc ip ion, and ci a ion o so wa e
p oduced by esea che s using open and mu ualized in as uc u es such as So wa e He i age [15];
con ibu e o he ongoing in e na ional e lec ion on he e alua ion o so wa e p oduc ion in ca ee
p og ession and unding alloca ion, a oiding as much as possible o ep oduce he e o s incu ed in
scien i ic publishing [16], such as he misuse o nume ical indica o s (e.g., he numbe o commi s made
on a p ojec ).
The scien i ic communi y is acing many challenges, some o which a e epochal. I is essen ial o acqui e
g ea e awa eness [17] o he impac o choices and policies ha a e being and will be adop ed a all
le els, om indi idual ins i u ions o in e na ional conso ia ia egional and na ional go e nmen s. This
awa eness will make i possible o in luence decision-making p ocesses and o go e n a ma e ha is
ul ima ely he esponsibili y o he scien i ic communi y: he p ocess o ans o ma ion owa ds a uly
openly accessible digi al esea ch ecosys em.
