1.2. Statement of Research Problem

Links to: Ideas; My Dissertation; Abstract; Table of contents; Lists; References; Bibliography; Appendices; Interviews; Coding; Memos; Notes; Categories; Chapter One; Chapter Two; Chapter Three; Chapter Four; Chapter Five; Chapter Six

A paradoxical problem of OA publishing is that, in spite of the concept having been accepted and widely supported by academics, the actual level of self-archiving practice is lower than that expected and this is also the case at RGU, where 84% compliance has been achieved (Robert Gordon University 2018).

The problem is that a low rate of works deposited in the OA repository, will affect future funding and the university’s reputation negatively. The priority becomes identifying the factors contributing to this predicament by understanding the elements affecting faculty participation to publishing through the open channel provided, in view of devising ways to increase faculty engagement and adoption of OA practices.

Since the conception of the Open Access movement, a large literature has been written about is, from books, to articles, columns, blogs and tweets. Numerous policies and manifestos have shaped OA developments and are driving the movement forward, either by external demand, mandates and reward systems, or by appealing to followers’ intrinsic motivations to share the fruit of their intellectual effort freely and worldwide, for the benefit of all those seeking advancement through knowledge and learning.

From the initial 16, the BOAI list of signatures now consists of 6,097 individuals and 1,081 organisations! Yet, a high opinion of OA among researchers “does not correspond to their use of the institutional repository”. (Serrano-Vicente, Melero, and Abadal 2016 p. 602). Suggesting an evolutionary step from advocacy to praxis,  “a more holistic approach to open access challenges is needed, with the principles of open access (no longer capitalized as a specific item, but genericized as a matter of practice) integrated within the broader context of an academic library’s public services” (Joseph 2017 p.89). The inspiration follows, to explore the applicability of this perspective at RGU, by scanning researchers’ perspectives, inclinations and constraints in their OA practices.

Of the two main routes to open access (‘green’ through self-archiving and ‘gold’ through OA journal publishing), the focus of this study is only ‘green’ OA, for being the subject of European, UK and institutional policies, applicable even where ‘gold’ OA is achieved.

1.2.1. Research Problem

NB: RGU BG OA; factors investigated

1.2.2. Research Questions