The Green Advantage: An Analysis of Open Access Publications at a Mid-sized University

Abstract

 

Introduction: The escalating cost of journals, loss of access to research results, and mandates by funding agencies favor Open Access (OA). The suggestion that OA publications are cited more than those behind paywalls should appeal to faculty where citations are critical for promotion and tenure. Further, the option to publish Green OA without cost would be advantageous to faculty who lack financial support for OA publications.

Methods: We used data from Scopus to analyze field weighted citation counts (FWCI) for OA publications over 20 years in terms of OA type, document type, subject area, and subject normalized impact factor.

Results: Our OA publications have increased over time, especially in health and medicine. Green OA is the most common type, alone or added to Gold or Bronze, and Hybrid Gold is the least common. Journal rank is positively correlated with citations, but adding Green OA consistently has the highest FWCI scores, and adding Green OA improves citations in all subject areas and for all OA types.

Discussion: The low citation scores for Gold OA are likely complicated by perceptions of low quality, whereas the low rate of Hybrid Gold OA articles may reflect the barrier of article processing charges (APCs). Trans-formative agreements may help reduce APCs, but shifting the cost from authors to their institutional libraries presents similar inequities in affordability.

Conclusion: The Green OA advantage offers scope for libraries to promote OA, especially their institutional repositories, and to advocate for OA to be integrated into promotion and tenure guidelines.