How open is criminological research? A study of Open Access practices

• In Event: Open Science in Criminology

Abstract

Criminology studies topics that are relevant to policy makers, practitioners and the public. But material published in criminology journals (often the main output of crime-related research) is typically accessible only to readers who are associated with elite universities or who can afford to pay expensive fees to access articles. Open-access publishing has the potential to create wider, more equitable access to criminological knowledge, but previous research has shown that criminology journals (and authors) have lagged behind journals in other fields in adopting open-access practices. This paper will update previous research to identify how widely open-access publishing has been adopted by criminology journals and authors. It will also identify clusters of good and poor open-access practice in different countries, journals, types of open access, and topics within criminology.

Author

• Matt Ashby, UCL