How do you engage with your audience and stakeholders through open access platforms and tools?

In academic publishing, "Open Access" is often misunderstood as simply "freely available" content. However, as a publisher, it's crucial to redefine this distinction. True Open Access encompasses rigorous peer-reviewed work published in reputable journals, with authors or institutions covering upfront costs for unrestricted reader access. Not all freely accessible content meets these standards. While "Open Source" materials are free, they may lack the academic rigor of Open Access publications. Understanding this fine line is essential for academics to ensure the validity and authenticity of research. Clarifying this reinforces the integrity of scholarly communication and promotes informed decision-making in disseminating academic knowledge

Open access (OA) publishing has transformed the scholarly landscape by breaking down traditional barriers to information. By making research freely available online without paywalls or subscription fees, OA enhances global access to academic knowledge. This mode of publishing not only fosters collaboration and innovation among researchers but also brings about a more equitable dissemination of information. The accessibility of OA publications transcends academic boundaries, benefiting not only researchers but also students, educators, and the general public. Furthermore, the citation advantage associated with open-access articles contributes to the increased impact of research findings.

From the readers’ side, open access means no paywalls to read published articles. From de academics’ side it means publishing under the same conditions (peer/non- peer reviewed) but with more impact (measured in number of downloads per article).

I had a chance to review the list of open-access journals provided by Elsevier, Science Direct, MDPI, and other platforms. While these journals ensure the dissemination of articles to the appropriate audience, the publishing costs are substantially high. Research communities typically rely on self-funding or minimal funding support. In light of this, open-access journals must carefully consider ethical aspects to justify the balance between the cost and the quality of open-source academic knowledge.

Engaging with audiences and stakeholders via open access platforms involves providing them with free, unrestricted access to information or content. This fosters openness and inclusivity. Utilize platforms like repositories, forums, and open-access publications to exchange research, data, or resources openly. Encourage stakeholders to participate in dialogue, provide input, and collaborate on projects. By removing barriers to information access and promoting cooperation among diverse stakeholders, open access facilitates innovation, community development, and knowledge sharing.

Forschung transportiert wichtige (neue, teilweise lebensrettende) Fakten, aber wird oft zu sehr in der Fachsprache dargestellt, daher ist es essentiell, Wissenschaftskommunikation zu betreiben, die auf einem mittleren Fachlichkeits-Niveau angesiedelt ist. D.h. Fachsprache > Wissenschaftssprache Vermittlungssprache > Wissenschaftskommunikation Alltagssprache > tägliche Sprachroutine

Communication is one of the most important parts of doing research. It is the difference between writing results and making social change. In other words, the distance between your conclusions from your research and the general public. If you want to do research that’s impactful and contributes to social change, you should care about how to transmit your conclusions.

Scholarly communication is essential for disseminating research results, encouraging intellectual development, and expanding different sectors. Peer review, critical debate, and collaboration are encouraged, which improves the calibre and legitimacy of research products. It also has a greater impact and raises awareness, which helps academic career advancement. In the end, intellectual communication is what propels the advancement of knowledge and societal growth.

When I first delved into academic research and publishing, I was a novice who looking to use open access platforms and tools. I made an effort to join online communities and forums dedicated to open access publishing, such as Open Access Week or the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA). Over time I started to participate in discussions, share my experiences, and collaborate with fellow researchers and stakeholders. I have learnt that by leveraging open access platforms and tools effectively, you can not only disseminate your research to a broader audience but also actively engage with stakeholders, promote collaboration, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in your field.

Engaging with your audience and stakeholders through scholarly communication can be significantly enhanced using open access platforms and tools. Here's how to effectively use these resources: Preprint Servers: Upload draft manuscripts to preprint servers to solicit feedback from other researchers before formal peer review. This allows you to refine your work based on preliminary critiques and increases visibility among your peers. Social Media Networks: Share research outputs such as articles, slides, podcasts, or videos on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and academic-focused networks. These platforms enable you to interact with both peers and the public, fostering engagement and broader dissemination of your work.

Open access enhances the visibility and discoverability of 1.) your publication; 2.) your research in general; 3.) as well as you as a researcher yourself. For example, at my company, we have found OA books have been downloaded 10x more than non-OA books, and cited 2.5 more times.

Open Access is one of the best ways to get innovative ideas out there that are time-sensitive, less established, or would be difficult to fit into a specific discipline. As we open ourselves up to AI, and AI generated content (of varying quality) will soon flood our feeds, this is an opportunity to keep contributing relevant, well researched, evidence -based pieces that will advance a certain field forward. It will also help quell the risk of good content becoming even less visible. For many non-academics, if they can't access something behind an 'academic access' gate, but they can now get a 'good enough' summary via a Large Language Model interface, that's the route they will take - for better or worse.

Before submitting your work, consider these crucial questions: 1. Is the journal reputable, with a history of quality publications? 2. Is the publisher known for integrity and ethical practices? 3. Has the peer review process been completed, without requesting payment upfront? 4. Are published articles free from grammatical and stylistic errors? 5. Does the journal boast a diverse and robust international readership? 6. Does it attract submissions from esteemed international authors? Answering these queries ensures informed decision-making. If any answer is negative, seek guidance from a publishing expert before proceeding.

A number of obstacles must be overcome for open access and academic communication to succeed, including infrastructure requirements, author fees, quality control, sustainable funding, discoverability, and copyright concerns. To overcome these, cooperation, creative thinking, and a dedication to transparency and excellence are required.

I lead the Research team at a nonprofit newsroom. We conduct rigorous research on education and adjacent issues. We publish our research in an open access format and [try to] write in clear, concise, and accessible language. Although open access journals exist, I’ve found this work extraordinarily impactful. We provide people with scholarly insights in the same place they read the news.