Abstract: This paper uses an evidence-based approach to assess the difficulties faced by developing country scientists in accessing the scientific literature. I compare backward citations patterns of Swiss and Indian scientists in a database of 43'150 scientific papers published by scientists from either country in 2007. Controlling for fields and quality with citing journal fixed effects, I find that Indian scientists (1) have shorter references lists (2) are more likely to cite articles from open access journals and (3) are less likely to cite articles from expensive journals. The magnitude of the effects is small which can be explained by informal file sharing practices among scientists.
From the body of the paper:
The different types of evidence used in this paper strongly suggest that there is a problem of access to the scientific literature in India. Many researchers self-report having limited access to the literature. Objective data from library subscriptions shows that even in an elite institution such as the Indian Institute of Science, researchers lack institutional access to one third of the top 100 biology journals.
However, the most convincing evidence comes from citation data, which is both objective and exhaustive....
Assessing whether differences in citing behavior reflects a severe problem is difficult....
In any case, an important factor limiting the severity of the access problem is the prevalence of informal file sharing practices among scientists. 84 % of Indian biologists who answered my survey had either contacted an author or a friend with better access to request a copy in the last three months. The majority of requests to authors are successful. Thus, in practice, the importance of openness as a norm of science lessens the effect of restrictions imposed by publishers on access to the literature.
An important point is that access to the literature is better viewed as a continuum rather than a yes/no variable....
Finally, the extent to which the results of this study can be generalized to other developing countries is unclear. However, the methodology used in this paper could easily be used as a blueprint for studies with other developing countries.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/20/2009 11:18:00 AM.
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.
