For many working in scholarly communication, OA has been a defining feature of the last two decades. Broadly speaking, OA is about removing subscription barriers from the outcomes of research and allowing those research outputs (typically articles and monographs) to be reused and adapted more easily. To find out more about OA, read Dr Fiona Counsell’s excellent ‘OA 101’, recently published as a HEPI blog.
Evidence shows us that making research outcomes OA makes them more impactful: in terms of increased citations and enhanced engagement, downloads and views, social media mentions and media uptake. We also have some indicators of their broader impact via tools that track policy and patent mentions. Beyond these measurable proxies, however, we still do not have a robust picture on how making research outputs openly available facilitates real impact and influence.
