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Transformative journals are changing the scholarly publishing landscape .
By Ritesh Chugh
Traditionally , journal articles have stayed behind paywalls , making access to those who do not subscribe or pay challenging . Until now , publishers have collected hefty subscription fees from libraries to allow their readers access to the articles . However , there is a push by cOAlition S , an international consortium of research funding bodies , to change this model globally .
In an attempt to make journal articles freely available to the public through open access publication , Plan S , backed by cOAlition S , was launched in 2018 . However , the implementation of Plan S ’ s full open-access model has seen delays and dismal uptake . To hasten the transition to open access publications that will allow unrestricted usage and distribution of scholarly articles , cOAlition S is pushing for transformative journals . Hence , authors will not only write but also have to pay for their work to be published if they want it to be freely accessible .
TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNALS A transformative journal is a subscription-based or hybrid journal that offers both paywalled and open access content but has committed to transitioning to a fully open access journal . In order to be classified as transformative , a journal must increase the open access articles it publishes . A transformative journal will only allow open access publication of primary , original research articles . In a transformative journal , authors can either have their work published as open access by paying a hefty fee , or leave their work hidden behind a paywall .
An analysis by Piwowar , Priem and Orr ( 2019 ) showed that 31 per cent of all journal articles are open access , and 52 per cent of all article views are for open access articles . They also predicted that by 2025 , this would increase to 44 and 70 per cent , respectively . Major publishers such as Cambridge University Press , BMJ , Elsevier and Springer have committed to the transformative journal criteria and converted many of their journals to a pay-to-publish model . cOAlition S has introduced a Journal Checker Tool , which can be used to check if a journal is Plan S compliant .
TRANSFORMATIVE AGREEMENTS Different forms of transformative agreements are increasingly being signed between research institutions and publishers globally .
These agreements allow authors from participating institutions to publish their articles on an open-access basis upon payment of the Article Publishing Charge ( APC ), signalling a move away from a subscription-based model . The terms of the agreement may also exclude the payment of APCs as reading and publishing are packaged into a single institutional fee .
In the traditional pay-to-read subscription model , libraries globally are already paying US $ 4,550 / EUR3,800 per research article , whereas the average open access article processing charge is US $ 3,415 . The shift to transformative journals may be seen as a trade-off between paying for high-cost subscriptions and comparatively cheaper open access services . However , in the long run , paying for open access publications will pay off as reliance on subscriptions dwindles worldwide . Moreover , as universities globally increase their open access content , expensive subscriptions to journals will not be required , as content will become freely available over time .
Australia ’ s CSIRO has signed transformative read and publish deals with many publishers that provide its researchers with access to research articles and open access publishing options . The Council of Australian University Librarians ( CAUL ) has also signed transformative agreements with CSIRO Publishing to enable researchers in its member institutions across Australia and New Zealand to publish articles as open access .
The University of California has negotiated a deal with Elsevier that enables the APC to be multi-payer , ie the university pays the first US $ 1,000 , with the remainder paid by the corresponding authors using other research funds . However , if research funds are not available , the university would still pay the remainder up to a predetermined maximum limit . In a move welcomed by its researchers , CQUniversity Australia has recently opened up a funding scheme that provides up to AU $ 3,000 to cover open access charges for high-quality journal publications .
The push for open access publishing is universal as it enhances the accessibility of research , increases readership , boosts citations , grows impact and encourages translation .
THE ROAD AHEAD In the years ahead , educational institutions will witness a shift from signing expensive pay-to-read subscription contracts with publishers , to providing more money to their researchers for open access publishing under a pay-to-publish model . However , the pay-to-publish model could make it difficult for authors from economically disadvantaged countries and their institutions to publish in open access journals . Additionally , it is also possible that publishers may put quantity over quality in an attempt to increase their revenue from APCs , thus also potentially compromising the review process .
Nevertheless , to sustain their operations , even journals are shifting to a pure pay-to-publish model . Moreover , signing deals for journals that are not widely read but included in the publishers ’ bundle deals does not make economic sense . Reinvesting that money towards open access publications could also lead to higher citations and enhance institutional reputation . Till Plan S and transformative journals become mainstream , authors can consider making their preprints or author-accepted manuscripts openly available in online repositories . ■
Dr Ritesh Chugh is a senior lecturer ( ICT ) from the School of Engineering and Technology at CQUniversity Australia .
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