1. Berhanu Abera(PhD) Semen Hotel, Addis Ababa March 20, 2014
Myths and Facts of Open Access Publishing : Implications for Ethiopian Journals Online
Berhanu Abera(PhD)
Semen Hotel, Addis Ababa
March 20, 2014

2. Content Open Access versus Closed Access Publishing
The Open Access Movement
Myths and Facts about Open Access
Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access
Implications for Ethiopian Journals Online

3. Focus/ Purpose
To provide foundational information on academic publishing
To clarify common misconceptions associated with OA publishing
To provide the information from both sides (myths and facts)so you can form your own opinions and participate in the conversation about Open Access publishing.

4. Academic Publishing: OA vs CA
Writing and publishing scientific articles is an important activity of academic.
It is a vital and integral part of academic life.
It is the primary vehicle for the advancement of scientific knowledge.
can serve as form of promotion in the academic world.
Open Access/Closed Access (Subscription Access).

5. Academic Publishing: OA vs CA
In the age of print-on-paper, academic publications were sold on subscription to libraries/individuals.
This was the only model available that enabled publishers to disseminate AP.
In the era of the World Wide Web, it is possible for research findings to be disseminated free of charge to anyone who wishes to read them.

6. The Open Access movement
Times to unlock academic publishing

7. The Open Access movement
The origin of the Open Access movement can be traced to a number of crucial international statements or declarations issued since 2002:
Budapest Open Access Initiative (February 2002)
Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (June 2003)
Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (October 2003)
Routes to Open Access Publishing: green& golden

8. The Open Access movement

9. Myths and Facts about Open Access
Even though OA has been hailed as an improvement to scholarly publication, there are several misconceptions about open access journals that need to be addressed.
Open Access Myths and Facts

10. Myth #1 Myth: Open access journals are not peer-reviewed.
Fact: The vast majority of open access journals operate a peer review process that is identical to that used by traditional journals.
The term “open access” only refers to the availability of published material

11. Myth #2
Myth: Open access journals are of poorer quality than traditional subscription-based journals . Fact: Many open access journals have established themselves as leaders in their fields, receiving high impact factors (IFs)

12. Myth #3 Myth: Open access articles are not copyrighted
Fact: Many open access journals make use of Creative Commons licenses, which allow for reuse of material provided that the original author is cited at all times.
Such licenses ensure the maximum visibility for the author’s work, with proper attribution.

13. Myth #4 Myth: Open access is just a passing fad
Some researchers may consider open access journals to be “trendy” but likely to fail in the face of traditional publishing.
Fact: More and more open access journals are launched each month
open access publications are showing extraordinary recent growth

14. Myth #5 Myth: Open access only helps readers, not authors
Certainly, open access is beneficial to readers because it provides a cost-free means of viewing published articles.
Fact: Open access benefits authors as well
Open access articles receive more citations than articles for which subscriptions are required, which benefits every researcher.

15. Myth #6 Myth: Open access mandates infringe academic freedom
Fact: This is true for gold open access but not for green.
Though golden open access severely limit authors freedom to submit their work to the journals of their choice, green open access mandates can respect author freedom to publish where they please.

16. Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access
Open access (OA) offers wider circulation than publication in a subscription journal (SJ).
OA journals have faster publication times than SJs.
OA offers higher visibility than publication in SJ.
OA journals have a larger readership of researchers than SJs.
OA drives innovation in research.
OA journals are cited more heavily than SJs.

17. Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access
Publication fees(While the end user doesn’t have to pay to read an open access article, someone has to pay for the costs of publication)
Lack of quality control (While not a problem for reputable publishers, some argue that open access models incentivize journals to publish more articles)
Sustainability (Some argue that traditional paid access models ensure publishers are adequately compensated for the substantial role they play)

18. Implications
Understanding the myths and facts of OA can guide the transformation of Ethiopian Journals to open access publishing.
Though advantages and disadvantages of OA journals are the subjects of much discussion amongst scholars and publishers, reactions of existing publishers to open-access journal publishing have ranged from moving with enthusiasm to a new open-access business model. This implies that Ethiopian journal publishers have to move such a trend.

19. Thank you for listening!
Discussions