Enunciation on Open Access: The practitioners’ perspective « JEPS Bulletin

"A continually  growing body of student organizations, as well as scientists, have been advocating for an Open Access to scientific publications. The European Federation of Psychology Students Associations (EFPSA) has been part of this effort for a long time and this blog hosts an extensive cover of the numerous aspects of the Open Access initiative. Checking the Open Access tag, here at the bulletin, will give you a comprehensive list of the already covered topics by the JEPS editors and their associates. To begin, in working for advocating and raising awareness, the collaboration of many organizations and institutions has already produced results and we have seen governmental and intergovernmental bodies already taking steps to favour open publication policies. For instance, the United Kingdom’s Research Councils’ policy on Open Access and EU Commission’s inclusion of Open Access as a general principle in the Horizon 2020 projects are high level decisions that will ensure extended access to scientific knowledge and awareness of the issues amongst researchers. Psychology students, after the end of their studies, have numerous options for continuing their careers: continuing in academia, working as practitioners of psychology, or choosing other fields. The first group can get access to scientific publications from their universities’ subscriptions. The last group’s access to scientific work might not be essential, depending on their new work field. Howbeit, the second group is left with the infeasible task of applying evidence-based interventions, without direct access to the evidence. Delineating the circumstances of the practitioner is dismally quite simple. If one practices psychology at a university, you get an access  which is institutionally bought and granted. Alternatively, If one practices in a large hospital, a prison, or a larger company, you might gain access through the establishment’s subscription to either the journals or the national research networks. You might, depending on your institution and the resources the national research network provides. Nonetheless, if you are a psychologist working in a private practice then you are bereft of support and dealing with a prized subscription fees or costly fee charged on the basis of each article viewed ... It is essential for associations, like EFPSA and the equivalent student associations from other fields who might deal with similar issues, to add the practitioners’ perspectives in the Open Access discussion. It’s essential not to give the impression that Open Access is just possibly about maximizing our ability to educate but is also addressing a real public health issue ..."