Factors Fueling a Paradigm Shift in Scholarly Publishing

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Scholarly publishing is undergoing a paradigm shift, primarily fueled by the digitization of scholarly communication, and further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As information technology innovation continues to disrupt every aspect of the publishing sector, the scholarly community and its stakeholders are increasingly finding ways to adapt and leverage the benefits of digitization.

This digital transformation within the research and academic paradigm has great potential and promises newer opportunities, a wider reach, and greater collaboration. But besides rapid and pervasive digitization, let’s look at some of the other key factors that are driving this rapid shift.

#1 Economization of academic publishing: As per a report by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), there was a continuous increase in subscription fees in the mid-2000s. This led to reduced subscriptions, as libraries began to cut costs because they could not budget for the increasing subscription prices. With digitization, this dynamic pricing has been reined in. The price of publishing has now shifted to the author and is commonly known as the article processing charges (APCs), which is usually a standard one-time static fee. This is hugely economical compared to the traditional fees, and as open access (OA) picks up steam, many institutions are now funding the APCs to aid academics and students in publishing their articles easily.

#2 Increase in the number of citations: A study published in Springer stated that OA journals receive 18 percent more citations than traditionally published articles. This is one of the major factors fueling the growth of digital publishing within the scholarly paradigm. Citations play a key role in bolstering an idea and reflect the impact of the research paper and its quality. More citations translate into greater influence.

#3 Mediatization of science: OA has broken the media barrier, making it easier for researchers to maximize visibility, gain popularity, and realize the power of mainstream media. Mediatization of scientific publications has made it easily accessible for the public and increased the chances of funding, paving the way for improved communication, greater use, and public trust.

The Emerging OA Publishing Is Set to Power the Future of Scholarly Publishing

Over the last few decades, OA has revolutionized the scholarly publishing landscape. Several reasons stand in favor of OA: from more downloads, increased citations, and a wider reach to the economization of academic publishing. Greater access, the removal of conventional barriers to reading, and the ability to better collaborate and reuse articles do help to advance knowledge sharing and realize the advantages of research communication to its fullest potential.

Amnet, in partnership with the Coko Foundation, offers a next-generation OA publishing solution that promises to optimize publishing, extend reach, and facilitate better knowledge sharing. The slew of digital publishing solutions can be bundled and customized per client-specific requirements to deliver maximum returns.

Sources:
1. https://www.enago.com/academy/economics-of-open-access-publishing/.
2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11192-019-03301-x.
3. https://www.wiley.com/network/professionals/healthcare-publishing-trends/396901-a4-wp-publishing-in-the-digital-era.
4. https://www.cell.com/patterns/pdf/S2666-3899(20)30261-0.pdf.
5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320444879_The_Future_of_Scholarly_Publishing_Open_Access_and_the_Economics_of_Digitisation.