Professional Development: Demystifying Open Access
Sage Publications editors Jessica Offenberger and Sara Parker, and editor-in-chief of Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, Dave Sbarra, joined APS for a webinar about demystifying open access publishing.
Open access research is published for free and is available online immediately. The ownership is retained by the publication’s authors. Open access publishing has advantages over traditional publishing. It is globally accessible, and it can also foster greater collaboration and visibility, as the authors are in control of their publication.
“Ultimately it’s about making your research more discoverable, accessible, and impactful,” Parker explained.
Offenberger focused her presentation on making an impact with open access publications and offered guidance on how to promote published research, so it gets noticed by people in positions to use the research for change. She suggested creating an elevator pitch, a short minute-long speech about the research, that includes the most significant points or findings. “Consider what is that integral part of your research and how it is best shared?” she suggested.
Offenberger distinguished between two types of promotion: active and passive. Passive could be something like sharing links on LinkedIn or other social media websites or updating publication history. More active promotions would be promoting research and sharing articles on social media or creating content on YouTube or Instagram or attending conferences.
Parker concluded by emphasizing the benefits of open access. “One of the really great parts of open access is that it is so distributable, it is so available to people,” she said. “Instead of just having readers who are subscribed to a very specific journal or set of journals, anyone can see it. They can reuse it, they can replicate your study, they can expand your study, they can move on to the next part of it. There are so many options.”
Speakers
Dave Sbarra
University of Arizona
Jessica Offenberger
Sage PublishingJessica Offenberger is a Publishing Editor on the Sage STM Journals Editorial team. She manages a range of science and medicine journals, working with editors and societies to develop new strategies and problem solve. During her time at Sage, she has worked closely with the Author team to create and develop resources to help early career researchers better understand the publishing process and publish their research.
Sara Parker
Sage PublishingSara Parker is a Managing Editor on the Sage Open Access Journals Editorial team. She manages a mega open access journal in the social sciences, behavioral sciences, and humanities. During her time at Sage, she has helped expand the open access team, particularly in the social sciences, and worked closely with our diversity, equity, and inclusion team to create policies and resources, such as an inclusive language guide and informed consent guidelines.
