An exploration of faculty experiences with open access journal publishing at two Canadian comprehensive Universities Elizabeth Yates. -- 2016.
10.21083/partnership.v11i2.3703
This exploratory study was intended to shed light on Canadian academics� participation in, knowledge of and attitudes towards Open Access (OA) journal publishing. The primary aim of the study was to inform the authors� schools� educational and outreach efforts to faculty regarding OA publishing. The survey was conducted at two Canadian comprehensive universities: Brock University (St. Catharines, Ontario) and Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Ontario) in 2014. Methods: A web-based survey was distributed to faculty at each university. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Limitations: Despite the excellent response rates, the results are not generalizable beyond these two institutions. Results: The Brock response rate was 38%; the Laurier response rate was 23% from full-time faculty and five percent from part-time faculty. Brock and Laurier faculty members share common characteristics in both their publishing practices and attitudes towards OA. Science/health science researchers were the most positive about OA journal publishing; arts and humanities and social sciences respondents were more mixed in their Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, vol. 11, no. 2 (2016) 2 perceptions; business participants were the least positive. Their concerns focused on OA journal quality and associated costs. Conclusion: While most survey respondents agreed that publicly available research is generally a good thing, this study has clearly identified obstacles that prevent faculty�s positive attitudes towards OA from translating into open publishing practices.