Abstract
Abstract
The dissertation aims at investigating the changing scholarly communication in general
and more specifically the implications of open access on scholarly communication. The
overall research question is: What are the effects of open access on scholarly
communication? The dissertation consists of five empirical studies of various aspects of
the implications of open access on scholarly communication.
The five studies, published as journal articles, are bibliometric studies conducted on
three different levels. The first level consists of two studies of a general, more
explorative character. The first general study analyses the coverage of open access base
resources and the second the use of open access journals in the sciences. The next level
of analysis consists of two specific studies that look into two widespread assumptions of
the implications of open access. The first is the assumption that the developing
countries are great beneficiaries of open access and the second is the belief that open
access causes more citations. The third level consists of a concluding, perspectival
study. The levels in the thesis to some extent also follow the chronological order of the
studies.
Furthermore, the dissertation includes a chapter that presents and discusses the research
findings in a theoretical framework. Initially the chapter presents and discusses
terminology needed for analysing open access and scholarly communication. Following
the necessary definitions and clarifications the theoretical and empirical work of
particular interest is presented. The theoretical framework can be divided into two:
mappings of scholarly communication and theories of citing. The research findings are
summarised in relation to both the overall research question and the theoretical
framework. The implications of the research and suggestions for future research are
discussed.
The dissertation aims at investigating the changing scholarly communication in general
and more specifically the implications of open access on scholarly communication. The
overall research question is: What are the effects of open access on scholarly
communication? The dissertation consists of five empirical studies of various aspects of
the implications of open access on scholarly communication.
The five studies, published as journal articles, are bibliometric studies conducted on
three different levels. The first level consists of two studies of a general, more
explorative character. The first general study analyses the coverage of open access base
resources and the second the use of open access journals in the sciences. The next level
of analysis consists of two specific studies that look into two widespread assumptions of
the implications of open access. The first is the assumption that the developing
countries are great beneficiaries of open access and the second is the belief that open
access causes more citations. The third level consists of a concluding, perspectival
study. The levels in the thesis to some extent also follow the chronological order of the
studies.
Furthermore, the dissertation includes a chapter that presents and discusses the research
findings in a theoretical framework. Initially the chapter presents and discusses
terminology needed for analysing open access and scholarly communication. Following
the necessary definitions and clarifications the theoretical and empirical work of
particular interest is presented. The theoretical framework can be divided into two:
mappings of scholarly communication and theories of citing. The research findings are
summarised in relation to both the overall research question and the theoretical
framework. The implications of the research and suggestions for future research are
discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|
| Place of Publication | Danmarks BIblioteksskole |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 272 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9788774153122 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |