[BOAI] Preprint available

[David Solomon]

We conducted a survey of authors who recently published in OA journals
that charge publication fees. A  preprint of the resulting manuscript
and supporting tables is available at:

http://www.openaccesspublishing.org/apc/


Publication Fees in Open Access Publishing: Sources of Funding and
Factors Influencing Choice of Journal

David J Solomon
College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI USA
Email dsolomon at msu.edu

Bo‐Christer Björk
Management and Organization, Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland
Email bo‐christer.bjork at hanken.fi

Abstract - Open access (OA) journals make their full text content
available for free on the Web and use other means than subscriptions
or access charges for funding the publication process. Publication
fees or article processing charges (APC)s have become the predominant
means for funding professional OA publishing. We
surveyed 1,038 authors from seven discipline categories who recently
published articles in 74 OA journals that charge APCs. Authors were
asked about the source of funding for the APC, factors influencing
their choice of a journal and past history publishing in OA and
subscription journals. Additional information
about the journal and the authors’ country were obtained from the
journal websites. A total of 429 (41%) authors completed the survey.
There were large differences in the source of funding among
disciplines. Journals with impact factors charged higher APCs as did
journals from disciplines where grant funding
is plentiful. Topical fit, quality, and speed of publication where the
most important factors in the authors’ choice of a journal. Open
accessibility was less important but a significant factor for many
authors in their choice of a journal to publish. These findings are
consistent with other research on OA publishing and
suggest, that if OA journals meet normal quality standards, authors
and their employers and funders are willing to pay reasonable APCs,
the acceptable levels of which are dependent on the field of science
and the quality of the journal in question.