Why hybrid journals do not lead to full and immediate Open ...

Hybrid has not facilitated a transition to Open Access (OA) News Goback WhyhybridjournalsdonotleadtofullandimmediateOpenAccess 29/04/2021 Inthisbriefnote,weformulate6argumentsthatarticulatewhycOAlitionSOrganisationswillnotfinanciallysupportthehybridmodelofpublishing.WedefineahybridOpenAccessjournalasasubscriptionjournalinwhichsomeoftheoriginalresearchpapersareOpenAccesswhileothersareonlyaccessibleviapaymentorsubscription.Ajournalthatpublishesbothoriginalresearchpapersandotherprofessionallycuratedcontent(i.e.amagazine/newspart)isnotconsideredahybridjournalunderthisdefinition. Argument1: HybridhasnotfacilitatedatransitiontoOpenAccess(OA) HybridjournalswereinitiallyconceivedtoallowpublisherstoofferanOAoptionwithoutgivinguptheirsubscriptionbusinessmodel(Prosser2003).OnecriticalassumptionintheinitialconceptwasthatsubscriptionandOAincomewouldrecoverthecostofarticlespublishedinthesubscriptionandOAmode,respectively.PublisherscouldthenadapttoachangingpublishinglandscapebygraduallyreplacingsubscriptionincomewithincomefromOAfeesasneeded. 20yearson,thehybridmodelhasclearlyfailedtodeliveronthispromise.ThepercentageofOAarticlesinhybridjournalsisnotincreasingfastenoughtoensurefulltransitioninareasonabletimeframe:a2019studybyDeltaThinkshowsthattheshareofhybridOApeakedaround2016,wellbeforePlanSpolicykickedin.Data[1]collectedbyLaaksosuggeststhatjust69subscriptionjournalspublishedbyElsevierand23subscriptionjournalspublishedbyWileyhadtransitionedfromtollaccesstoopenaccessin2016. Asthesetwopublishersalonepublishover4000journals,afulltransitiontoOAviathehybridmodelwouldtakeaverylongtime. Hybridpublishingsustainsthestatusquo:itfailstomakeadeliberateefforttotransitiontofullOpenAccess,whileenjoyinganadditionalstreamofrevenue.PublishersdonotensurethatOAincomereplacessubscriptionincomeforopenaccessarticles.Publishersnowmarkethybridjournalstoauthorsasprovidingdesirable“authorchoice”.ThisshowsthatthereisnointentiontomovethehybridpublishingmodeltofullOA.ArecentpreprintbyPiwowaretal.(2019)predictsthepercentageestimatesthatby2025:44%ofalljournalarticleswillbeavailableasOAand70%ofarticleviewswillbetoOAarticles.Whilethisdoesrepresentgrowth,itshowsthatitcouldtakeadecadeormoretoreachfullOA. PublisherswillarguethattheycannotsteertheuptakeofOA,whichisdrivenbytheauthors’willingnesstoselecttheOAoptionand/orfunders’policiestomandateOAandpayforit. Butthisignoresthefactthatuniversities’andfunders’budgetsarelimitedandthattheopenaccessfeesinhybridjournalscomeontopoftheexpensesforsubscriptions.Thus,whatlimitstheuptakeofOAinhybridsisnotresearchers’orfunders’lackofwillingnesstoselectOA,buttheadditionalfinancialburdenthatthisimposesonthem. Indeed,mosthybridpublisherschargeopenaccessfeesinadditiontosubscriptionfees,anddonotensurethatopenaccessincomereplacessubscriptionincomeforopenaccessarticles. Asaresult,hybridjournalsdependdisproportionallyonsubscriptionincomewhichsubsidizestheopenaccessoption.HybridjournalsarethusnodifferentfromsubscriptionjournalsintheirobstructiontoafulltransitiontoOAbecausesuchatransitionwouldunderminethecurrentsubscriptionbusinessmodelofacademicpublishing. Therefore,hybridisatacticthatsustainsthe(subscription)statusquo,allowingpublisherstoenjoyanadditionalstreamofrevenuewithoutforcingthemtomakeasustainedefforttowardstheimplementationofafullyOAbusinessmodel.   Argument2:Theresearchcommunitypaystwice(doubledipping) HybridOApublicationfeesarechargedinadditiontosubscriptionfees,whichresultsinpublishersbeingpaidtwiceforthesamecontent. Althoughsubscriptionpublishersarguethatthetworevenuesourcesarekeptseparate,andthatnodouble-dippingoccurs,Pinfieldetal.(2016)showsotherwise. UsingdatafromtheUK,PinfieldstatesthatAPCpaymentsarenowanimportantpartoftherelationshipbetweenuniversitiesandpublishers,andare“addingtothetotalcostofpublicationmarkedly”.Thehybridmodelprovidesnotransparentchecksondouble-dippingotherthantheloftyassurancesofthepublishers.Ifpublishersreallywantedtodemonstratethatnodoubledippingoccurs,theywouldneedtobefullytransparentontheirpricingandrevenuestreamsandbereadytoopentheirbooksforanindependentaudit. OftenpublisherswillnotmakearticlesfullyopenaccessuntilAPCpaymenthasbeenreceived.Thishascreatedsituationswhereanarticleispaywalledforseveralmonthsuntilpaymentisfinalized.Inthemeantime,thosearticlesareonlyavailabletosubscribersorthosewhopayindividually.Thispracticeblurstheclaimedseparationbetweenthetworevenuestreams,andprovidesanopportunityforpublisherstomakemoneyoffarticlesintendedtobeOA.Italsorepresentsanunnecessarydelayinaccess.   Argument3:HybridjournalsaremoreexpensivethanfullyOAjournals TheaverageAPCleviedbyhybridjournalsisonaveragehigherthanthatchargedinfullyopenaccessjournals.Inaddition,expenditureonAPCsforhybridjournalshasrisenfasterthanexpenditureonsubscriptionfees.LibrariesandotherorganisationsarepayingOAfeesinadditiontowhattheywerealreadypayingforsubscriptionsandtotalcostshaverisen,withhybridthemaincontributingfactor[UUKFig4.3].Continuedfinancialsupportforhybridjournalswouldreinforcethisunsustainablemodel. DatafromJiscshowsthatin2014-15theaverageAPCforahybridjournalwas£1,882,asopposedto£1,354forafullOAjournal(some39%moreexpensive).MorerecentdatafromOpenAPCshowthattheaverageAPCinhybridjournalsis£2,770comparedto£1,768forfullOAjournals.AgroupoflibrariansrecentlymadeastudyofAPCspaidbytheBillandMelindaGatesFoundationandfoundthatAPCspaidtohybridjournalsweresignificantlyhigherthanAPCspaidtoOA-onlyjournals.A2014studyonhybridAPCdatareachessimilarconclusions.Publisherswillarguethatthisisbecauseoftheperceivedprestigeofthosejournals,buttheacademicandfundingcommunityshouldbepayingforactualservicesrendered,nottheperceivedprestigethatismoretypicallyassociatedwithluxuryproducts. Inthiscontext,the“opportunitycostargument”arisesforcOAlitionSorganisations.Researchfundingandperformingorganisationsonlyhavelimitedfundsavailable.Theymustthereforemakecarefulchoicesonhowtobestspendtheirmoney.Spendingmoneyonopenaccesspublicationmeansthatlessfundsareavailableforresearchproper.cOAlitionSorganisationshavejointlyconcludedthattheyshouldnotspendtheirscarcefundstosupportafailedandneedlesslyexpensivepublicationmodel. cOAlitionSorganisationshavejointlyconcludedthattheyshouldnotspendtheirscarcefundstosupporthybridjournals,afailedandneedlesslyexpensivepublicationmodel.ClickToTweet   Argument4:Hybridjournalsprovideapoorqualityofservice Since2014,WellcomehaspublishedanannualreportdetailingitsOAspendandhighlightinganyissuesandconcerns. Everysinglereportoverthelast5yearshasexpressedconcernsaboutthequalityofserviceprovidedbyhybridpublishersintermsofmakingarticlesfreelyavailablefromtheEuropePMCrepositorywithaCCBYlicence. Lookingatthemostrecentdatafrom2018-19,Wellcomereportedthatsome184articles–foratotalAPCcostof£417k–hadeithernotbeendepositedinEuropePMCorhadbeenassignedalicenceotherthanCCBY. 163(89%)ofthe“problemarticles”werepublishedinhybridjournals. InanOpenAirereportfrom2018,NajlaRettbergarguesthesamepoint:“Butduetoalackofdiscoverability,hybridOAmightnotofferauthorsthebestvalueafterall.Discoveryandlinkresolutionservicestraditionallyworkonthejournallevel,whichmeansthathybridOAarticlesmightnotbeindexedbysearchenginesorpickedupbylibraryelectronicresourcemanagementanddiscoverysystems,butremainhiddenbehindapaywall.Inaddition,therehavebeenrepeatedcaseswherehybridOAarticleshavebeenincorrectlylicensed,soldasclosedaccesscontent,andtheirreusehasbeenrestricted.SeePaywallWatchforrecentexamples”.AsalsoarguedbyRossMouncehere,hybridOAisunreliable.   Argument5:Hybridjournalscrowdoutnew,fullOApublishingmodels AsdataonhybridpublishingbecomesavailableweseethatmostofthemoneypaidforhybridOApublicationsgoestotheBig5publishers.Thatmoneyisthereforelockedupinadead-endforOA,andleaveslessfundsavailabletosupportpublishingmodelsthatdoprovidefullandimmediateOA.Hybridpublishingalsoholdstraditionalpublishersbackfromadoptingalternativemodels. Thus,thehybridmodelisnowactingasamajorobstacleagainstinnovationinthescholarpublishingindustry.ItrepresentsoneofthemainbarrierstoentryforcompetitorswhocouldprovidemoreinnovativeandfullOAsolutions.WhywouldapublisherwanttotaketheriskierrouteofofferingfullOAoutlets,whenthehybridoptionisamuchsaferandmoreprofitablemodel? WhywouldanewpublisherbeincentivizedtoenterthemarketwithinnovativeOApublishingmodelsifincumbentcompetitorscancontinuetorunhybridjournalsatlowrisk? Withtheinventionofthehybridmodel,legacypublishershavefoundanastutewaytoshuffleofftheentirebusinessriskoftransitioningtoOAtothescholarlycommunity. PayingforOAfeesinhybridjournalswillthereforemakepublisherscomplacent.Theywillholdontothelucrativehybridmodel,andpostponetheimplementationofnewOAbusinessmodelsthatthescholarlycommunitydesperatelyneeds. Thehybridmodelisnowactingasamajorobstacleagainstinnovationinthescholarpublishingindustry.Itrepresentsoneofthemainbarrierstoentryforcompetitorswhocouldprovidemoreinnovativeandfull#OpenAccess…ClickToTweet   Argument6:Readeraccess:ahybridjournalisa“randomOA”journal Toareader,ahybridjournalappearsasacollectionofresearchpapersinwhichonlyarandomsubsetofpapersisavailableOA.ThereaderisunabletopredictwhichpapersareavailableOAandwhicharenot.Thus,hybridjournalsarereallyrandomOAjournals:theycontainahaphazardmixofOAandpaywalledpapers.ItisimpossibleforthereadertopredictwhichpaperswillbeOA.Thismeansthatanyreaderwhowantstomakeproperuseofahybridjournalisobligedtohaveasubscriptiontoit,sotheycanhaveaccesstoallpapersinthejournal. Anditisdifficultforlibrariestosurfacethiscontentastheirsystemsmanagecontentatthetitle,nottheindividualarticle,level. Thesedifferentlevelsofaccesstoahybridjournaloftenimpedeproperscholarlydiscourse.TherearedocumentedcaseswhereanarticleinOAreceivedapaywalledreply,whiletheresultingauthorresponsewasagainpublishedOA.Clearly,forthereaders,ahybridjournalisnotOAinanyusefulway;theyremainsubscriptionjournalsforallintentsandpurposes.Thehybridmodelonlybenefitspublishers:theyenjoyboththesubscriptionincomeandtheextralayerofAPCincomepaidbyauthors,institutionsorfunderswhocareaboutOA.Thelatestiterationofhybrid,likeElsevier’s‘mirror’journals(nowalsosometimesdenotedas“companion”journals)–whichcarrythesametitle,editorialboardasthesubscriptionjournal–arejusthybridbyanotherroute. Publisherswillarguethattheindividualpaper,ratherthanthejournal,istherelevantunit. Yet,theycontinuetosellsubscriptionstojournalsorbundlesofjournalsratherthanindividualarticles.Thehybridmodelallowspublisherstosellthesameproducttwice:thejournalasarelevantunittoreaders,andtheindividualpaperasarelevantunittoauthors.   Conclusion TheargumentsdevelopedhereprovidetherationaleforwhycOAlitionSOrganisationshavedecidednottofinanciallysupporthybridjournalsunlessthesejournalsadoptatransformativearrangementthatwillleadthemtowardsfullandimmediateOA.FundingbycOAlitionSmembersforthesetransformativearrangementsisfiniteandwillceaseattheendofDecember2024.Inthemeantime,thesearrangementsmustensurethatOApublicationfeesareproperlyoffsetagainstsubscriptionfees,soastoavoidanydouble-dipping.Publisherswillonly“bitethebullet”andstartexploringnewOApublishingmodelswhentheyrealizethatthehybridmodelisnolongeraviableoption.   References Lens.org:Hybridscollection,curatedbyAshleyFarley Matthias,L.(2018,June26).Theworstofbothworlds:HybridOpenAccess.RetrievedAugust12,2020,fromhttps://www.openaire.eu/blogs/the-worst-of-both-worlds-hybrid-open-access Penn,L.(2018).AlternativewaysofobtainingscholarlyarticlesandtheimpactontraditionalpublishingmodelsfromaUK/Europeanperspective.Serialsreview,44(1),40-50. ResearchProcess.SerialsReview,42(4),306-310 Pinfield,S.,Salter,J.,&Bath,P.A.(2016).The“totalcostofpublication”inahybridopen‐accessenvironment:Institutionalapproachestofundingjournalarticle‐processingchargesincombinationwithsubscriptions.JournaloftheAssociationforInformationScienceandTechnology,67(7),1751-1766. Piwowar,H.,Priem,J.,&Orr,R.(2019).TheFutureofOA:Alarge-scaleanalysisprojectingOpenAccesspublicationandreadership.BioRxiv,795310. Prosser,D.C.(2003).Fromheretothere:aproposedmechanismfortransformingjournalsfromclosedtoopenaccess.Learnedpublishing,16(3),163-166. Rettberg,Najla.2018.Theworstofbothworlds:HybridOpenAccess. Weber,D.(2009).HybridOAjournals:Aprogressionoradestination? News&Views:HaveWeReachedPeakHybrid? [1]FulldatasetavailableonrequestfromMikaelLaakso,HankenSchoolofEconomics,Helsinki,Finland. Inanutshell HybridhasnotfacilitatedatransitiontoOpenAccess(OA) Theresearchcommunitypaystwice(doubledipping) HybridjournalsaremoreexpensivethanfullyOAjournals Hybridjournalsprovideapoorqualityofservice Hybridjournalscrowdoutnew,fullOApublishingmodels Readeraccess:ahybridjournalisa“randomOA”journal SharethisonFacebookTwitterLinkedin EuropeanScienceFoundation 1,quaiLezay–Marnésia 67080Strasbourg–France FollowusonTwitter Copyright©2022EuropeanScienceFoundationPrivacyNotice|DisclaimerandCopyright|CookieNotice WebdesignbyALYS