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In the Internet age, methods of sharing and using academic research are rapidly, fundamentally, and irreversibly changing, bringing about great potential as a result, including faster and wider sharing of journal articles, research data, simulations, syntheses, analyses, and other findings which fuel knowledge and practice advancements.
In scientific fields, journals have long been the binding glue of a multifaceted system of scholarly communication.
Open-access journals not only recognize and preserve the important role of peer review in scholarly communication but help break down or lower access barriers between the basic functions of journals, including:
- Registration of intellectual property
- Certification of quality/validity of research
- Awareness of new research by potential users
- Archiving of scholarly record for future use
- Rewarding of scholars
Cost
Since Gutenberg, academic publishing has been tied to paper-based distribution of knowledge, an expensive method for the dissemination of scholarly work that evolved into a lucrative commercial operation. Authors were obliged to trade copyrights of their works to ensure publication to further their efforts for obtaining tenure. Accordingly, market forces distorted the core academic purpose of disseminating ideas and encouraging discussion. Institutional rates for journal subscriptions have increased exponentially in the last 20 years without an equivalent increase in the number of papers published. However, the cost of publishing an open access journal is quite low for numerous reasons, including specific knowledge sharing initiatives, such as librarians’ sponsorship of movements like the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) (www.arl.org/sparc/publications/index.html).
Access
Beyond cost, commercial journals often subvert the basic concept that is essential to academic communication: free access. With open-access journals, articles produced by scholars either individually or as members of professional associations are freely accessible worldwide, including regions of the world where access to commercially published work is limited or nonexistent. Many associations have already made this choice and now publish approximately 1400 journals that are available online free of charge to people worldwide (see the Directory of Open Access Journals, www.doaj.org/).
Additionally, articles in open access journals are more widely read and cited than articles in commercially produced journals, thereby making knowledge creation and distribution increasingly more equitable and inclusive (see www.createchange.org; www.arl.org/sparc/openaccess/; http://www.arl.org/sparc/bm~doc/Cooperatives_v1.pdf) to both students and scholars alike.
Other advantages of open access journals lie in open source software, which is used to efficiently manage the submission, review, and publication processes. As a result, substantive quality and article readability are not compromised. Publication turnaround time is reduced, and authors have the option of embedding links and including visual images in their manuscripts without increasing publication costs. This creates pedagogical benefits unavailable in hard copy journals (see Creative Commons, http://creativecommons.org/).
Author Rights
The founders of JSAS believe that authors of scholarly articles should own all rights to their works. Authors whose articles appear in JSAS will own the rights to their works and can freely publish and present it as they see fit.
Regarding scholarly articles, the authors are the copyright holders unless and until they transfer a copyright to someone else in a signed agreement. Authors who have transferred copyrights without retaining these rights must ask permission to use their own works unless the use is one of the statutory exemptions in copyright law. Decisions concerning use of the work, such as distribution, access, pricing, updates, and any use restrictions belong to the copyright holder. Authors who have transferred their copyright without retaining any rights may not be able to place the work on course websites, copy it for students or colleagues, deposit the work in a public online archive, or reuse portions in a subsequent work.
Transferring copyright doesn’t have to be all or nothing. The law allows authors to transfer copyright while holding back rights for themselves and others. JSAS will not seek to copyright the manuscripts of authors for its own exclusive purposes, given its mission as an open-access journal published by a not-for-profit entity.
Phenomenology | Scholarly Sport Practitioner | Social Responsibility | Open Access
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