“Open access is important for science because it helps us get closer to the fundamental pursuit of science — empowering its users.”
Say hello to Monica Granados — Co-Lead at PREreview
This post is part of our Open A Conversation Q&A series for Open Access Week.
What does open access mean to you?
Seated in front of a computer connected to the internet, you seemingly have access to the world’s collective knowledge — the weather in New Delhi, who won the 2014 Oscar for Best Picture, how to tie a bowline knot. Yet, most scholarly information is not freely accessible.
Researchers communicate their work through scholarly journals that resemble magazines with individual articles detailing the impetus for the work, their methods and results. In that same seat, in front of your computer, when you try to access a scholarly journal, you are likely to encounter a paywall. A literal and metaphorical barrier to accessing the knowledge inside.
Open access is the elimination of the paywall barrier. When scholarly journals are open access you can read all the individual articles without registering or paying a fee for access. Open access allows you to find scholarly information just about as easily as you can find the weight of the world’s largest pumpkin. It’s 2,624 pounds by the way.
What do you think the future of open access will look like?
Open access journals remove the paywall barrier, but access to scholarly information is still encumbered. For one you still require a piece of, at times, prohibitively expensive technology to read open access journals and access to the scholarly content does not mean it is accessible to the reader. I think the future of open access involves breaking down barriers that remain in the absence of a paywall.
How do we improve access in areas where technology is an obstacle? How can we translate scholarly information into plain language so it is as easy to understand as the information on the world’s largest pumpkin?
I envision a future where articles are accompanied by plain language summaries and the information in these articles is not limited to just scholarly journals. I’d like to see the knowledge that is produced by researchers to be communicated through different mediums, perhaps aided by scholarly publishers, to facilitate access to this knowledge.
Why is open access publishing important for science?
Open access publishing is important for the entire spectrum of science users from scientists to decision makers and even yourself. The absence of a paywall means scientists can access the latest scholarly journals and not worry if their affiliated institution has purchased access to it.
Perhaps even you are a decision maker looking for guidance on what habitat to protect, open access facilities decision making based on the latest evidence. Or if you, yourself are interested in knowing more about the course of treatment your doctor prescribed, open access means you can find more information about the prescription you are about to fill.
Open access is important for science because it helps us get closer to the fundamental pursuit of science — empowering its users.
How has open access helped your research reach users?
By making my publications open access, either through publisher provided open access or through a repository, has allowed me to make my research more accessible to anyone who is interested in it. Be it scientists, decision makers, or my family.
Responses to questions are the views of the author (Monica Granados).
Learn about Monica’s work in open science:
