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Dear members of the Research_Practice group
Some developments take place in open-access (OA) academic publishing currently, of which we would like you to be aware.
BACKGROUND
Some developments take place in open-access (OA) academic publishing currently, of which we would like you to be aware.
BACKGROUND
(1) Open access (OA) publishing is becoming increasingly important and recognized as a means of academic publishing. For example, the Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences has recently (Feb 2008) announced an OA publishing policy that will make available articles published by their Faculty in OA mode (http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080215/full/news.2008.605.html).
(2) Despite the clear advantages of OA publishing (speed of publishing, cost and convenience of distribution, low access barriers, reach, and potentially higher citation rates), the academic community appears still reluctant to publish in OA media. Low initial impact factors, doubts about long-term availability, lacking familiarity, and difficulties to reach specific audiences, among others, emerge as important barriers to OA publishing (see a new study by Hess et al. 2007, http://openaccess-study.com/Hess_Wigand_Mann_Walter_2007_Open_Access_Management_Report.pdf)
(3) An active role in promoting OA publishing, particularly OA Journals, is consequently required by those advocating this model, along with a dedication to quality. We must therefore be concerned about some current OA journal initiatives that raise questions concerning their academic standards.
FACTS
(3) "Bentham Science Publishers" (not to be confused with Bantam Books in New York), a commercial publisher with unclear location (a Google search indicates a presence in four countries -- the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and USA, but no main office address is specified and all addresses are leading to P.O. boxes or c/o type of addresses -- has recently announced that under the brand "Bentham Open" they are simultaneously launching "up to 200 peer-reviewed open access journals" (http://bentham.org/open/ ) or even "more than 200 peer-reviewed open access journals" (http://www.bentham.org/ ).
(4) "The Open Research Society" (ORS), according to its own description a non-governmental not-for-profit organization based in Athens, Greece, has also recently announced they are publishing 100 new OA journals, called "open research journals"; see http://www.open-knowledge-society.org/journals.htm ).
DOUBTS
(5) Given our experience of how much managerial and editorial effort it takes to launch and develop a single OA journal and how difficult it is to generate a sufficient flow of quality submissions, we wonder why these publishers seem to prioritize quantity over quality and whether this is a sound development in OA academic publishing. We think there is reason for concern, as low quality risks compromising the reputation of OA academic publishing.
(6) We encourage you to have a closer look at the web sites of these two publishers. Examine journals of potential interest to you regarding their editorial boards; their aims & scope; the number and quality of published articles; the style and the content of the publisher's advertising; promised review times in relation to declared quality aspirations; as well as possible financial requirements for submitting papers and/or becoming an editorial board member. We leave it to everyone of you to see and judge for yourself.
(7) Finally, we would like to draw your attention to the circumstance that some first critical comments and alerts are being voiced by independent observers who raise serious doubts about the these initiatives. According to some commentators, both publishers are sending out massive numbers of unsolicited emails inviting "everyone" to join editorial boards and to author papers in virtually every conceivable field of publishing. Some of these messages appear to raise claims or create impressions ("top quality," "long-standing reputation," "endorsed by Nobel laureates," and so on) that are not always backed by clear evidence (for an example, see http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0709/msg00029.html ). Some commentators also report that considerable fees are charged: in the case of the ORS, an annual membership fees of EUR 45 is required as a condition for becoming an editorial board member (some reports say you are then automatically promoted to "Senior editorial board member" status); whereas in the case of Bentham, submission or publication fees are charged that apparently can go up to USD 600-800. For some of these reports, see:
With the present message, we merely intend to draw your attention to some peculiar circumstances related to these OA publishing initiatives, so that you can judge for yourself and be alert should you receive invitations to join these initiatives. At this point we may not know enough to judge, but we feel we do know enough to ask some questions and express our concern. With a view to securing better founded judgment, please share concrete experiences that you may have had with these initiatives -- whether positive or negative -- with the Research_Practice group.
DP Dash, Editor, JRP
Hector Ponce, Editor, JRP
Ken Friedman, Editorial Advisory Board Member, JRP
Werner Ulrich, Associate Editor, JRP
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