As part of our work to do this, we commissioned a survey of chemical science researchers to understand the differences in their experiences of and opinions towards publishing their research, with a particular emphasis on open access publishing. Specifically we wanted to:
- discover the attitudes of chemical science researchers across different territories and at different career stages towards open access; and
- compare similarities and contrast differences in attitudes, and the emotion and reasoning behind those attitudes, between territories and career stages.
We present this research as representing the views of chemical science researchers, without interpretation or deep analysis. As both an international publisher and a leading learned society and professional body for chemical scientists, we take into account the views of the community when formulating our own positions and action plans, which we will publish separately at a later date. The research provides a base for us to conduct further detailed analysis and follow-up study.
We hope these findings will add to the conversation, along with other published research, and highlight some differences and similarities for chemical science researchers. Many will likely apply to other disciplines as well. This is one of our range of activities to inform and amplify researchers鈥� voice in this debate; others include an animation explaining Plan S and a panel discussion with researchers which you can find on this page.
Observations and insights
The full report contains 10 observations that may influence how researchers engage with those driving open access developments 鈥� and vice versa. Here's a sample of some of the insights from the report:
Resources for researchers
You may know that a group of research funders are proposing a set of 10 principles that they hope will make all publicly-funded research openly available 鈥� their plan is called Plan S. Find out more about open access here or watch the videos below for more information surrounding Plan S.