Open Access Journal
I’m all for open access to science but I do wonder – why do we have to pay 4,000 dollars for it to happen? I chose to look at Environmental Science and Technology, an American Chemical Society journal. The about the journal section is brief and states it’s goals almost exclusively as a research journal with little/no attention to a broader audience or to generating discussion outside of the field. The journal, as an American Chemical Society subset, gives a 3 options for open access. 4,000 dollars for immediate open access or 2,000 for open access in 12 months. They is very little discussion about it and it feels like a topic there because it needs to be and not because the journal really wants it there.
I chose an industry standard journal as opposed to one known for its radically accepting open access policies because I see these as the real challenge. Getting the big ‘standard’ journals to acknowledge and see the advantages to open access to me is the real fight. Even if the articles in this journal are dense and often challenging for one in the field to read, everyone should get to try.