Free Access to Science Research Doesn't Benefit Everyone - The Atlantic
abernard102@gmail.com 2014-12-22
Summary:
"Open is better than closed. That rule applies for a lot of things: presents, beer, restaurants. And, many argue, science.
The open-science movement has a lot of interlocking parts. Open-access publishing advocates want papers to be available to anybody, open-data supporters want data to be downloadable, and those arguing for open source want the software scientists use to be shared with everyone. The idea is simple: The more people who have access to papers, data, and software, the better it is for the world.
And the drumbeat of openness is getting louder. Last month, CERN opened up its vast datasets to the public and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that any research it funded would have to be published only in journals that offer open access. 'We believe that published research resulting from our funding should be promptly and broadly disseminated,' they wrote in their policy statement.
There is a lot of promise in open access. But there are a lot of problems too ..."