Research Article: “Measuring Open Access Policy Compliance: Results of a Survey”

The following article was published today by the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication.
Title
Measuring Open Access Policy Compliance: Results of a Survey
Authors
Shannon Kipphut-Smith
Rice University
Michael Boock
Oregon State University
Kimberly Chapman
University of Arizona
Michaela Willi Hooper
Linn-Benton Community College
Source
Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication
6(1)
DOI: 10.7710/2162-3309.2247
Abstract

Introduction
In the last decade, a significant number of institutions have adopted open access (OA) policies. Many of those working with OA policies are tasked with measuring policy compliance. This article reports on a survey of Coalition of Open Access Policy Institutions (COAPI) members designed to better understand the methods currently used for measuring and communicating OA policy success.
Methods
This electronic survey was distributed to the COAPI member listserv, inviting both institutions who have passed an implemented policies and those who are still developing policies to participate.
Results
The results to a number of questions related to topics such as policy workflows, quantitative and qualitative measurement activities and related tools, and challenges showed a wide range of responses, which are shared here.
Discussion
It is clear that a number of COAPI members struggle with identifying what should be measured and what tools and methods are appropriate. The survey illustrates how each institution measures compliance differently, making it difficult to benchmark against peer institutions.
Conclusion
As a result of this survey, we recommend that institutions working with OA policies be as transparent as possible about their data sources and methods when calculating deposit rates and other quantitative measures. It is hoped that this transparency will result in the development of a set of qualitative and quantitative best practices for assessing OA policies that standardizes assessment terminology and articulates why institutions may want to measure policies.

Direct to Full Text Article
38 pages; PDF

Filed under: Data Files, News, Open Access, Reports