Universitas Psychologica ISSN: 1657-9267 [email protected] Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

López López, Wilson Why ? Universitas Psychologica, vol. 14, núm. 3, julio-septiembre, 2015, pp. 1-2 Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Bogotá, Colombia

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As mentioned in the previous editorial (López- varying quality. This prevents negotiation of the López, 2015), Suber’s (2015) book is a significant journals that are strategically necessary for an ins - contribution that we can use to clarify the limits titution, and cancelling subscriptions to low quality and the scope of Open Access (OA), and it is also or low circulation journals is often punished with helpful in explaining confusions and inaccuracies a premium. Even worse, publishers often subscribe that are widespread in our communities, which are confidentiality clauses with regards to prices and bu - not quite ready to face the accelerated changes that siness conditions, which fosters a lack of transparen - are being generated by the new dynamics of scien - cy in the purchase of the aforementioned packages. tific output and (Gallegos, Berra, 3) Price restrictions create access limitations, Benito, & López-López, 2014). because the reproduction of contents is forbidden Suber (2015) states that OA emerges in the con - at every level – from basic training all the way to text of motivating circumstances. These are: research proper. Besides, nowadays not even libra - 1) The overwhelming increase in the fees ries own what they have paid for in the past. They of scientific journals, which has made access to can only “rent” the information, and migration of knowledge more difficult. This has created more in - previous content is prevented, even if it has been equality and has deepened perverse paradoxes, such purchased in the past. as the fact that poor countries produce knowledge 4) An additional problem is that researchers that they cannot later access due to the inability to transfer their publication rights to the publishing pay those exorbitant fees. This issue is critical for houses and these keep property rights over the societies or libraries that have limited budgets to contents. These contents must then be purchased pay for access to databases, or countries looking to by researchers, their institutions, libraries and even purchase relevant collections for their knowledge supporting entities, at a high cost. Most funding for infrastructures, in association. The gaps created research is provided by government/state institu - by high costs have an effect on the whole research tions with public monies, and sometimes not even community, and more so on those with worse private universities are able to afford the dispropor - economic restrictions. The resulting asymmetries tionate fees charged by some of these publishers. make it harder to build collaboration networks. It 5) These middlemen companies also create ar - is worth noting that the increase in those fees is of - tificial scarcity by restricting access due to costs. As ten (much) higher than inflation indicators and the such, OA models can reduce those fees or at least corresponding increases in institutional budgets. they can try to keep them under inflation or real 2) The main publishing houses often sell jour - reasonable costs, including profit. But clearly, as nal packages (Big deals), consisting of journals of said before, it should be possible to access research

U niversitas P sychologica V. 14 No. 3 jUl i o - o c t U B r e 2015 1 funded with public resources in the same way other tories”. Gold OA, therefore, is Open Access with public goods are accessed. For this reason, it is not no regard for the business model, and Green OA reasonable to say that OA operates by “interfering is a self-archiving practice of placing one’s work with the free market”. into an OA repository. These terms enable us to 6) OA journals are competing for top quality differentiate the types of OA and their associated authors and papers, and they are interested in consequences – more such terms may be introduced getting this quality to reflect on different usages in the future to clarify different models. – they do not intend to compete or interfere with In summary, Suber’s (2015) book will be a man - the paid journal market. Therefore, OA seeks that datory resource for those who are still committed peer-review processes can guarantee the quality of to OA, because we understand the political and its content. Many paid journals can actually increa - economical implications of inclusion and demo - se their profit margins by increasing rejection rates. cratization of access to knowledge, especially in 7) A lack of knowledge of OA and even com - countries such as ours, where investment in munication and circulation processes on the part and is scarce. of researchers, librarians and other actors in the production and circulation chains is often used by Wilson lópez lópez some of these companies to increase costs and even editor to engage in unethical practices. 8) All estimations of scientific output growth References seem to show that the publishing business will con - tinue to grow, with the corresponding impossibility Gallegos, M., Berra, M., Benito, E., & López-López, of accessing contents under the current business W. (2014). Las nuevas dinámicas del conoci - model. It is therefore convenient and necessary that miento científico y su impacto en la Psicología OA continues to develop and grow. Latinoamericana. Psicoperspectivas, 13 (3), 106– 9) Since 2004, according to Suber (2015), Thom - 117. doi:10.5027/PSICOPERSPECTIVAS- son Scientific identified a continued growth of OA VOL13-ISSUE3-FULLTEXT-377 journals in terms of impact, which is relevant since López-López, W. (2015). Editorial. What Open they are still young and must compete with journals Access is not. Universitas Psychologica, 14 (2). with longer lifespans. Suber, P. (2015). Acceso Abierto. Universidad Finally, we need to differentiate OA and peer- Autónoma del Estado de México. Retrie - reviewed document repositories. Nowadays, repo - ved from http://ri.uaemex.mx/hand - sitories cover all sorts of content, and some which le/123456789/21710 do not require peer review are called “dark reposi -