Evaluating the Role of Open Access Journals in Promoting Research Equity: A Comparison of Publications from High/Upper-Middle and Low/Lower-Middle Income Countries in Otolaryngology – ScienceOpen

Open access (OA) publishing has transformed the dissemination of scientific knowledge by removing paywalls and increasing access to research outputs globally. This proposal has the potential to induce research equity, particularly benefiting researchers from low- and middle-income countries who often suffer from financial and infrastructural disadvantages. The real question is whether OA has a real impact on reducing the disparity of access to knowledge production and participation in it. Otolaryngology serves as a useful framework to investigate these dynamics by its worldwide clinical significance and heterogeneous input (1-5).

This study investigates whether OA publishing is associated with greater global representation and equity in research output, authorship characteristics, and citation impact by comparing articles authored from high- and low-income countries published in the top otolaryngology journals.

Open access (OA) publishing has transformed the dissemination of scientific knowledge by removing paywalls and increasing access to research outputs globally. This proposal has the potential to induce research equity, particularly benefiting researchers from low- and middle-income countries who often suffer from financial and infrastructural disadvantages. The real question is whether OA has a real impact on reducing the disparity of access to knowledge production and participation in it. Otolaryngology serves as a useful framework to investigate these dynamics by its worldwide clinical significance and heterogeneous input (1-5). This study investigates whether OA publishing is associated with greater global representation and equity in research output, authorship characteristics, and citation impact by comparing articles authored from high- and low-income countries published in the top otolaryngology journals