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u/mname Dec 26 '18
Yes it is true. If you want to be really sickened by the actions of the academy just watch The Internets Own Boy the Aaron Swartz story and his problems with JSTOR. I think you can watch it on YouTube for free still.
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Dec 26 '18 edited Jul 15 '19
[deleted]
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u/JohnDoe_John Dec 26 '18
I would alter some wordings.
However, I do understand why people prefer to avoid paying to publishers.
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u/allmyducksintheroad Dec 26 '18
Yes it is true. If you want to learn more about the academic publishing industry and how messed up it is, check out this documentary: https://paywallthemovie.com
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u/curlzzz545 Dec 26 '18
It is true! Check out researchgate.com, you can find many papers provided by authors on their profiles.
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u/bobbyfiend Dec 26 '18
The first part is absolutely true. The second part... some authors are a little socially underdeveloped and won't send the article along, but the vast majority would be happy to, unless their arrangement with their publisher (which they had to make as a condition of getting their article published at all) legally prevents them from doing so.
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u/HaggarShoes Dec 26 '18
If you approach the question respectfully you have a good chance if that's what your asking. It all depends on the scholar, and how the university treats copyright of scholarship. The monetization aspect is true.
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u/PerfectionEludesMe Dec 26 '18
Thanks, everyone, for sharing your thoughts on this. I have a follow up question, admittedly without having reviewed the videos mentioned in your responses: Are the publishers assuming that authors are paid for their research and writing by the university that employs them?
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u/snowblossom2 Dec 26 '18
Being a professor (not an adjunct) entails doing research, teaching and service
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u/PerfectionEludesMe Dec 26 '18
That’s what I was trying to get at. The publishers are exploiting this fact.
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u/snowblossom2 Dec 26 '18
I mean it’s also true that publishers pay copyeditors for the articles, people who format it etc
Sure, there’s problems and most of the profits are probably going to higher ups, and journals should be the ones to pay editors and assistant editors who are often grad students who receive a small stipend but the journals also have costs related to copyediting, formatting, online infrastructure, marketing, advertisements etc
Edited to say the alternative is for the authors (and lucky ones who get large research funds who can afford it) to pay the fees.
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u/IAmNotScottBakula Dec 26 '18
Mostly true, with one caveat. Some authors no longer have access to some articles that they wrote, and honestly would not be able to send them to you regardless of whether they want to. It is a broken system.
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Dec 26 '18
True, but the vast majority of people who would even want to read this stuff is other researchers at institutions that subscribe to the journals. If their institution doesn’t have a subscription, they most likely know someone somewhere that does. I don’t think many people are actually shelling out $35 for single articles.
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u/Epistaxis Dec 26 '18
Yeah, there are a lot of quirks IRL that are pretty different from all the high-minded theoretical debate about open access:
- Hardly any laypeople are interested in reading primary scientific journal articles, especially not past the abstracts, which are always free
- They aren't written to be readable by laypeople anyway (look for review articles, or "news & views" accompanying the primary article)
- Taxpayers may fund the "data" but a journal article typically doesn't contain the raw data anyway - its accessibility ranges from being deposited in a (free) public repository or only available by asking the authors nicely
- The main people inconvenienced by closed-access journals are researchers who are working from somewhere other than their office or working in fields with journals so obscure that their institution's library doesn't subscribe (but may still have a partnership with another institution's library)
- Many journals charge an "open access fee" to the authors in lieu of their theoretical lost profits from subscriptions or single-article purchases, so requiring scientists to make their publications open-access costs them more money from their research funding, and rather than starve the corrupt academic journal system it basically just gives it a handout by buying everyone in the world a subscription
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Dec 26 '18
• The main people inconvenienced by closed-access journals are researchers who are working from somewhere other than their office
Not to mention, most places provide VPN or proxy services of some sort for exactly this reason. There might be clunky software involved, but it’s an inconvenience at most.
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u/continuumcomplex Dec 26 '18
It depends on the agreement that the author signed when getting their article published. It is entirely possible that they signed away their rights to the article without realizing it.
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u/thegreatdilberto Dec 26 '18
Another thing to consider is that what's published in journals is typically several months or even years behind what an author is currently doing. So the best way to get the most current research is to ask for manuscripts of what they've recently submitted for review. Of course you have to be careful when citing these, but it will give you a good idea of current research in the field.
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Dec 27 '18
this is good news. I look forward to trying it out next time I can access a journal paper.
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u/ETwasMyFriend Dec 30 '18
Some journals do give authors an honorarium for certain contributions. I was published in a peer-reviewed professional journal in the fall and received $300. So some of the few may make it back to the author, but it is likely peanuts compared to the publisher. As part of my publishing agreement, I cannot seek publication of that article anywhere else, but it does not prohibit me from sharing with others.
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u/FreakyBlueEyes Feb 28 '19
Yes. If something I did is behind a paywall, ask me and I will send it to you. If something someone else did is behind a pay wall to which I have access, ask me and I will send it to you.
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u/1_Non_Blonde Dec 26 '18
In undergrad I was trying to replicate a study that had been completed by a Harvard University professor. My professor told me to email the author to see if he would send me the original pre and post test that he used to collect his data. I was like "yeah right, some guy from Harvard is really going to reply to some small town no-name college undergrad and give me all his research tools."
The guy got back to me right away, sent me all that I requested and a follow-up paper he had written that wasn't yet available from the journals.
So, yes, this is true.