More and more open access: Four out of five scientific articles can now be read for free

Universities receive money from the government to conduct research, but often the results of that research end up behind an expensive journal firewall. The government and universities find this undesirable and aim to ensure that the publications of Dutch scholars are freely available to all.

Therefore more and more articles appear in open access. Netherlands universities reported on Tuesday that it was 73 per cent and last year it rose to 82 per cent.

The numbers give an impression of the trend, but the correlation He carries A blow to the arm: Not all basic measurements are equally reliable. This has to do with sources, definition differences, and moments of measurement.

In 2013, then-Secretary of State Sander Decker announced that the cover should be completed within ten years. This deadline will not be met, but the upward trend is clear.

Articles can be accessed for free in various ways. Some magazines have completely open access, so there is no firewall at all. This is the “golden” version. Or, the authors may put the article in an online archive for their university. This variable is called “green”.

in message Universities write to the minister that they want to expand their horizons. Not only journal articles should be available, but also, for example, books and conference contributions. They will pay more attention to it in the future.

They are asking the Cabinet to make legal amendments to further promote open access. They want more possibilities to publish all the “outputs” of universities and colleges freely without a ban period.

With open access, in principle, universities do not pay for subscription to a journal, but for publication in it. The system also contains Negatives. The more applications the editor accepts, the more profit the magazine will earn. Furthermore, researchers run the risk of not being able to publish anywhere if the budget is exhausted; That’s why, recently in Leiden warned.

But the shift seems inevitable. Research Funder NWO urging For years, open access is now a requirement for support. Since last year, the NWO has randomly checked whether researchers are sticking to it. If not, it may affect their support.

Spring showed that some universities publish more in open access than others Leiden classification 2022. This happens a lot in Groningen, while Twente lags a bit. Three-quarters of Erasmus University’s publications are open access.

Open access is part of the pursuit of open flagNot only publications, but also, for example, should facilitate access to data and research design, according to proponents.