Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2024
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication
Volume
12
Issue
1
First Page
eP16894
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.16894
Date of Submission
June 2024
Abstract
Introduction: Faculty face numerous pressures as they decide whether to publish articles open access (OA). This pilot study investigated the extent to which School of Education faculty members’ engagement with OA was influenced by promotion and tenure (P&T) and how this influence related to other intrinsic, extrinsic, and contextual factors. Methods: This exploratory, sequential, mixed-method study adapted Social Exchange Theory to understand faculty engagement with OA article publication. The study used a quantitative survey followed by qualitative interviews and focus groups.
Results: Participants reported that P&T had substantive influence over faculty practices regarding OA. Con- nected factors included beliefs about OA journal quality, colleagues’ perceptions regarding OA, and OA ar- ticles’ wider impacts.
Discussion: P&T was an important driver in article publishing decisions. However, when discussing OA in P&T, faculty also discussed a range of related issues such as OA journal quality. Furthermore, OA adopters tended to be those who have even stronger beliefs about the impact of OA than about OA’s role in P&T.
Conclusion: Advocates for increased OA should look at P&T policies as a place for making changes in OA
publishing in their Schools of Education. Advocates can also look at connected concepts such as raising aware- ness of the quality of OA journals to bolster engagement with OA.
Recommended Citation
Kirschner, J., Miller, H., Kamat, P., Alcaine, J., Chaparro, S. & Exner, N. (2024). To Open or Not to Open: An Exploration of Faculty Decisions to Publish Open-Access Articles. Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication, 12(1), eP16894. https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.16894
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Is Part Of
VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications