ElPub 2007, Vienna University of Technology, Austria June 13-15, 2007

Feasibility of Open Access for journals supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research

Council of Canada (SSHRC)

ElPub 2007,

Vienna University of Technology, Austria

June 13-15, 2007

Leslie Chan, U of Toronto Scarborough

Fran Groen, McGill University

Jean-Claude Gudeon, U de Montréal

Background

Why the study? Methods Key observations Recommendations

What is SSHRC?

an arm's-length federal agency that promotes and supports university-based research and training in the social sciences and humanities

founded in 1977, invests more than $300 million annually in research

Aid to Scholarly Publishing Program: Monographs and Journals

Why the study?

SSHRC Council adopted OA in principle in October 2004

Initial consultation in 2005 Need for broader consultation Policy development Implementation

Support for OA

Researchers 84 58 26

University Presses 2 1 1

Journal Editors 26 14 12

Librarians 12 12 0

Scholarly Associations

5 4 1

Total 129 89 40

Yes No

Initial Consultation by SSHRC 2005

Current study

161 Journals that received funding from SSHRC 2004-7

Questionnaire to journal editors or key contacts

Citation analysis of SSHRC-funded journals using ISI Journal Citation Report

Interview of selected publishers and librarians

Key findings The 161 journals received a total of $6,582,255

from 2004-07 Range of grant over three years: $2,906 to

$73,370 29 journals (18% of titles) received the maximum

grant for a total of $2,127,730 Grants cover on average 45-50% of a journal’s

operating cost All journals have a minimum of 250 paid

subscribers, thought the total are difficult to estimate in most cases

Questionnaire results

Web based survey conducted in May and June 2006

42% response rate (67 out of 161 journals) 56 Anglophone and 11 Francophone

Questionnaire results 80% of journals are online Some as early as 1993, but most came on since

2002 Only 40% of the journals have the most recent

issue online Variety of formats, from scans to true text Metadata standard lacking Few have long term preservation plan

Questionnaire results 84% of English journals reply on

aggregators for online delivery (Proquest being most popular)

All 9 Francophone journals report the use of Érudit

55% of English journals receive no financial compensation from aggregators

None of the Francophone journals receive financial compensation


There were considerable confusion regarding ownership of digital rights to the journals

Some thought aggregators own the rights, some thought authors do, while others thought the publishers


Are you in favour of open access in principle (leaving economic issues aside for the moment)? English: 78% of 54 respondents said yes French: 60% or 10 respondents said yes Many objected to the way the question was

phrased!


Immediate OA or 6 months moving wall? English: 74% of 49 respondents favoured

moving wall French: 91% of 11 respondents favoured

moving wall


Should SSHRC mandate OA for journals receiving aid? English: 84% of 57 respondents opposed

mandating OA French: 82% of 11 respondents opposed

mandting OA


Should SSHRC provide financial support for subscription-based journals to become OA? English: 71% of 52 respondents said yes French: 64% of 11 respondents said yes


Should SSHRC provide support for OA journals and consider eligibility criteria appropriate for these titles? English: 82% of 49 respondents said yes French: 64% of 11 respondents said yes

Peer review is regarded by most respondents as being the key criterion


Qualitative responses Many expressed concerns and distrust with SSHRC’s

policy Major concern with financial viability How could lost revenue through subscription be

recouped Some favour an extended moving wall (up to 2 years)

to minimize potential lost Some are concern what money spent on supporting OA

journals will diminish support for traditional titles

Citation analysis Of the 161 titles (90 titles in the social sciences),

only 21 titles (23 %) had an impact factor assigned by ISI in 1997 or 2005

2 titles with an impact factor in 1997 had lost it by 2005.

3 titles had an impact factor in 2005 but not in 1997. This means that only 19 titles had an impact factor in 2005 (or 21% of the social science titles supported by SSHRC).

No SSHRC-supported humanities journal appears in the 21 titles.

Citation analysis

The majority of SSHRC-supported journals simply do not appear in ISI.

Those that appear, with very few exceptions, hold a very modest rank. Their impact factor compared to the leading publication in their own field is often minuscule.

Only two titles are ranked in the top ten of their respective fields.

Impact factors of the few titles that have them suggest that AUTHORS publishing in SSHRC-supported journal will not be readily cited.

Observations

The low citation and usage of SSHRC funded journals call into question the return on investment on SSHRC funding

Will OA increase the usage and impact of articles published in SSHRC funded journals?

If so, what additional cost could make this happen?

Recommendations -- “Green” road Regarding journals: SSHRC should mandate that

all SSHRC supported jouranls be made “green” Regarding authors: SSHRC funded authors

should self-archiving their publications in institutional repositories

Regarding Institutional Repositories: SSHRC should collaborate with all relevant organizations and institutions to ensure interoperability and standards of IR

Recommendations -- “Gold” road

SSHRC should conduct experiments with journals willing to transition to OA

SSHRC should begin a pilot OA journal program and monitor its progress over a three year period

SSHRC should establish eligibility criteria for OA journals so they can receive subsidy

SSHRC should encourage the development of alternative metrices for the evaluation of journals - move from need based to usage based

Conclusions

Indeed Not One Size Fits All And OA is not All or None But the Future is in our hands

To SSHRC: Supporting SS & H journals is worthwhile, but money could be better spent on improving access and research impact - so OA is the best route

Afterword SSHRC announced, in May 2007, a new one-year

experimental program supporting OA journalhttp://www.sshrc.ca/web/apply/program_descriptions/open_access_journals_e.asp

Maximum funding for a journal: $25,000 Usage based metric $850 per article Up to $5000 for distribution, electronic platform

etc. Quality criteria - peer review and international

editorial board

ElPub 2007, Vienna University of Technology, Austria June 13-15, 2007

Documents