Open Access Increases Citation Rate
Author Information
Author(s): Catriona MacCallum, Hemai Parthasarathy
Primary Institution: Public Library of Science
Hypothesis
Do open-access articles have a citation advantage?
Conclusion
Open-access articles are more immediately recognized and cited than non-open-access articles.
Supporting Evidence
- Open-access articles gained a significant citation advantage over non-open-access articles.
- OA articles are twice as likely to be cited 4 to 10 months after publication.
- OA articles are almost three times as likely to be cited between 10 and 16 months.
Takeaway
When research articles are free to read, more people see and cite them. This means open-access articles get more attention than those that cost money to access.
Methodology
The study compared citations of open-access and non-open-access articles published in the same journal, controlling for various confounding factors.
Potential Biases
Potential conflict of interest due to the author's role in an open-access journal.
Limitations
The dataset was limited, and the study may not represent all fields or journals.
Participant Demographics
Authors from various countries, with a noted difference in open-access choice based on funding availability.
Statistical Information
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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