When the policy exists to share postprints freely on personal sites, why do researchers often refrain from doing so, and what incentives or constraints drive that hesitation?
There has been extensive discussion about the funding model for research publications. Large publishing houses do not fund research themselves; instead, they charge substantial subscription fees or open-access publishing fees. Keeping articles behind paywalls can impede open science and broad access to knowledge.
Nevertheless, many publishers grant authors the right to share postprints of their papers immediately on their non-commercial personal blogs or websites. Despite this permission, most researchers do not take advantage of it. Today, creating a personal website or blog is straightforward and inexpensive, making it easy to share files publicly. So, what is preventing researchers from doing so?
Figure from Wikipedia captioned, "Pillars of the Open Science according to UNESCO's 2021 Open Science recommendation "
There are several reasons: Lack of awareness or uncertainty about compliance: Many researchers are simply unaware of this publisher’s policy. Even when policies permit sharing, researchers may be unsure about what is allowed and how to do it.
Publication fatigue: The process of preparing, revising, and finalizing a manuscript is often lengthy and exhausting. By the time an article is accepted, authors may lack the motivation or energy to take further steps. Perceived low value and Institutional repository alternatives: While setting up a personal blog or website is technically easy nowadays, it still requires time and effort. Many feel that the potential impact or visibility gained from posting on a personal site does not justify the effort and at the same time, many universities already provide institutional repositories, that leads researchers to assume that is sufficient.
Lack of incentives: There are no incentives from research funders, to my knowledge, to post printsprints.
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B Cox
Many researchers don't have the technical knowhow to do it, no matter how simple it is. Generally the researchers are tied up with their next project.
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rawad affan
A number of factors discourage researchers from sharing postprints on their own websites, even when policies permit it. Since these permissions are frequently hidden in intricate legalese, many people are just ignorant of their rights under publisher agreements. Others might not have the time, drive, or technical know-how to keep up a personal website, especially if academic evaluation systems don't specifically reward such efforts. Additionally, there may be a lack of clarity regarding which manuscript version is eligible for a postprint, which could raise concerns about inadvertent copyright violations. Furthermore, self-archiving is not given much weight by cultural norms in some fields, which lessens the perceived advantages. Even permissive policies may not have much of an effect on researcher behaviour if there is no obvious institutional support, acknowledgement, or incentive.
Omid
Lack of awareness or uncertainty about compliance: Many researchers are simply unaware of this publisher’s policy. Even when policies permit sharing, researchers may be unsure about what is allowed and how to do it.
Perceived low value and Institutional repository alternatives: While setting up a personal blog or website is technically easy nowadays, it still requires time and effort. Many feel that the potential impact or visibility gained from posting on a personal site does not justify the effort and at the same time, many universities already provide institutional repositories, that leads researchers to assume that is sufficient.