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- International research consortium cOAlition S has asked journals to make information on open access copyright agreements and fees more visible to potential authors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<\/p>\nOn 1 March 2022, cOAlition S<\/a> wrote to publishers<\/a> as part of the Plan S<\/a> initiative to drive open access<\/a> publishing. Acknowledging recent progress made by publishers to increase open access to scientific publications, cOAlition S urged publishers to take further steps by making details of their open access policies and contracts more obvious for authors. The letter signed by Professor Johan Rooryck<\/a>, Executive Director of cOAlition S, calls on journals to make the following information plainly available for authors at the point of submission:<\/p>\n
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- the copyright licence that authors would need to sign before their manuscript\u2019s publication<\/li>\n
- all costs associated with publishing the manuscript<\/li>\n
- whether the journal will re-direct the manuscript to another journal based on reasons other than editorial rejection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While details on these policies can often be found on a journal\u2019s own web site or via the publisher\u2019s web site, cOAlition S states that it would be helpful for authors if this information were displayed:<\/p>\n
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- prominently on the journal\u2019s web site<\/li>\n
- as a part of the \u2018Information for Authors\u2019 section<\/li>\n
- at the start of the journal\u2019s submission process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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The availability of clear terms and conditions at the beginning of the submission process would enable an informed decision on whether authors want to proceed with their submission.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Such information could also help avoid late-stage manuscript withdrawals due to access restrictions of published manuscripts not meeting pre-existing grant conditions.<\/p>\n
Noting that the requested transparency regarding copyright, licencing and fees information is in line with the Committee on Publication Ethics Principles of Transparency guidelines<\/a> and that such initiatives have the broad support of the research community, cOAlition S has asked for publishers\u2019 responses<\/a> to the letter in the hope that these will help inform its grantees on which journals meet their publishing requirements.<\/p>\n
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