Making research accessible to inform better policy decisions | Think Tank Initiative

peter.suber's bookmarks 2019-01-10

Summary:

"We can’t expect policymakers to just know what policies are best for a given context – to make better decisions, they need evidence. This is why local data and research are so important, as they can inform policies to be more effective, and to better respond to on-the-ground realities. Yet academic research does not speak for itself. In fact, it is estimated that, on average, academic papers may be read by as few as 10 people....

When I began this study I was surprised to find that, while the term “accessibility” is used frequently, it is not clearly defined and appears to have different meanings for different people. For example, does it refer to the availability of research? Its usability? Something else? In the end, I decided to work with a concept of accessibility drawn from an information sciences study that highlights three dimensions: physical, intellectual, and social (read more about this concept in this open access article)....

Seeing research as a public good – a contribution towards our communal stock of knowledge – highlights the importance of research accessibility for all. I would argue that there is a moral imperative for all researchers to try and make their work as accessible as possible.  Increasing accessibility can help research to inform other studies, or may lead to findings being applied in different contexts and at different scales. ..."

Link:

http://www.thinktankinitiative.org/blog/making-research-accessible-inform-better-policy-decisions

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » peter.suber's bookmarks

Tags:

oa.new oa.policies oa.lay oa.intelligibility oa.ethics

Date tagged:

01/10/2019, 12:20

Date published:

01/10/2019, 07:20