…A significant benefit of open access publication is that it makes it possible for interested members of the public to dig deeper and find out more about the details behind the news story by looking at the original research article. For this to be possible, it is vital for the research to be available online when the news story appears. For this reason BioMed Central always ensures that research articles are published on the BioMed Central website on the same day that the press embargo lifts.
This week, for example, one of the most highly-accessed health stories on the BBC News web site described the surprising potential role for the Nile tilapia, a popular edible fish, in the fight against malaria. This research was published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, and with just a couple of mouse clicks, the interested reader is able to jump from the BBC website story to the journal home page, and then on to the original research article.
To make the most of BioMed Central’s immediate open access policy, we encourage science and health journalists to include, wherever possible. a link from the online version of their story to either the original article, or at least to the relevant journal’s home page.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 8/11/2007 10:30:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
