A Study of Open Access Publishing by NHMRC Grant Recipients
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School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry A Study of Open Access Publishing by NHMRC Grant Recipients Noreen Suzanne Kirkman This thesis is presented for the Degree of Master of Philosophy (Media, Culture and Creative Arts) of Curtin University September 2018 Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in accordance with Chapters 5.1.7 and 5.1.18-5.1.21 of the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (NHMRC, ARC & ACCC, 2015). The research study received human research ethics approval from the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (EC00262), Approval Number MCCA-04-14. Signature: Date: 13 September 2018 i Abstract In 2012, Australia’s premier medical research funder, the National Health and Medical Research Council implemented its policy mandating open access for all Council funded journal articles along with the deposit of metadata in Australian institutional repositories. An extensive literature revealed the diverse range of journal open access models and the low levels of author participation in depositing accepted manuscripts in repositories. Within this context, this study investigated the extent of compliance with the Council’s Open Access Policy during its first two full years. A key finding of this study was that over two-thirds (67.3%) of the articles were open access, most published in journals (56.24%) with a small number of accepted manuscripts located in Australian institutional repositories (7.24%) and PubMed Central (3.82%). The extent of open access articles published in journals was higher than that reported by other studies. Hybrid open access comprised 25.58%, with 20.85% in fully open access journals. Delayed open access journals contributed 8.75%. The level of metadata in institutional repositories was high (74.92%), mostly due to the work of repository staff. Despite grant recipients having access to author accepted manuscripts at the time of acceptance, the deposit of these versions in institutional repositories was low. Issues affecting deposits in repositories included the authors’ lack of understanding of the requisite open access version, complicated repository procedures, and publishers’ embargoes beyond the twelve months mandated by the Council’s Policy. This study is the first comprehensive investigation to measure compliance with Australia’s earliest national-level open access policy. Filling a gap in information about the publishing patterns of the Council’s grant recipients, the research also highlighted the need for supportive guidelines, procedures, and programs for authors. A coherent national approach addressing the main issues of open access would increase awareness and greater compliance with the National Health and Medical Research Council Open Access Policy. ii Table of Contents Declaration ................................................................................................................... i Abstract ....................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ............................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................ ix List of Appendices ...................................................................................................... x List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................ xi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................ 2 Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 3 The Significance of the Study ........................................................................................... 3 Definitions........................................................................................................................... 4 Research Design and Methods .......................................................................................... 6 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 6 Assumptions ....................................................................................................................... 7 Thesis Structure ................................................................................................................. 8 Research Ethics .................................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 2: Background and Literature Review ................................................... 10 Background to Funder Open Access Mandates ............................................................ 10 Background to the NHMRC Open Access Policy ......................................................... 14 Documentation .............................................................................................................. 14 Framework .................................................................................................................... 15 Open Access in Journals and Repositories .................................................................... 18 Open Access in Journals ............................................................................................... 18 Open Access in Repositories ......................................................................................... 24 Terminology .................................................................................................................. 36 iii Studies into Open Access................................................................................................. 39 Extent of Open Access Articles in Journals .................................................................. 42 Extent of Open Access in Repositories ......................................................................... 44 Extent of Total Open Access ......................................................................................... 46 Journal Level Studies .................................................................................................... 47 Studies into Funding Acknowledgement ...................................................................... 50 Studies into Funder Mandates ....................................................................................... 53 Conclusion to Literature Review .................................................................................... 54 Chapter 3: Research Design, Methods and Data Analysis ................................... 56 Research Design ............................................................................................................... 56 The Bibliometric Method ................................................................................................ 57 Literature Informing on Methods .................................................................................. 59 Population......................................................................................................................... 61 Search Strategies ........................................................................................................... 62 Population Results ......................................................................................................... 64 Sample............................................................................................................................... 64 Sampling Methods ........................................................................................................ 64 Sample ........................................................................................................................... 67 Research Instruments ...................................................................................................... 68 Codes for Journal Open Access Models ....................................................................... 69 Checklists of Australian Institutional Repositories ....................................................... 69 Article Study Instrument ............................................................................................... 69 Journal Study Instrument .............................................................................................. 72 Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 72 Time Frames .................................................................................................................. 72 Article Study Data ........................................................................................................