As a result, to ensure equitable opportunities for researchers worldwide, various initiatives and institutes were established. These include:<\/p>\n
- \n
- arXivorg (1991)<\/li>\n
- Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) (late 1990s)<\/li>\n
- PubMed Central (2000)<\/li>\n
- Public Library of Science (PLoS) (2000)<\/li>\n
- Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002)<\/li>\n
- Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge (2004)<\/li>\n
- Declaration on Access to Research Data from Public Funding (2004)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While these movements and institutes accelerated the adoption of open science in developed countries, their success in developing countries had been slower. This was majorly due to challenges like financial constraints, technological limitations, and infrastructural barriers.<\/p>\n
Addressing these challenges requires a deep understanding of the unique issues faced by the stakeholders from these regions. Here is a quick overview of the major constraints faced by underrepresented regions that prevent them from embracing the open access movement.<\/p>\n
Challenges Faced by Underrepresented Regions<\/h2>\n
Africa:<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Lack of Digital Infrastructure:<\/strong> One of the biggest issues faced by this region is the lack of digital infrastructure. A recent report<\/a> published by the World Bank Group showed that only 37% of the Sub-Saharan African population used internet. This is significantly lower than the global average, which stands at 67%. In this digital era, reduced access to internet acts as a major barrier preventing researchers from accessing the global research output.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- Funding Challenges: <\/strong>Another problem that needs attention is the uncertainty about funding. A study<\/a> reported that Africa\u2019s contribution to global research is less than 1%. Furthermore, the researchers also struggle in paying the skyrocketing article processing charges (APCs) mandated by the high-end journals.<\/li>\n
- Accessibility to Open Access Journals:<\/strong> A study<\/a> in 2021 reported that researchers from Sub-Saharan Africa prefer to publish their manuscripts in high-quality journals that are behind paywalls because most of the open access journals accessible to them have lower impact factors. This highlights the need to improve the quality of the available open access journals to drive the researchers\u2019 engagement with the open access platforms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Latin America:<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Language Barriers: <\/strong>A recent study<\/a> findings reported that only 13% of the SCOPUS-indexed Latin American journals use English as the language of publication. This suggests an increasing need to shift from local languages, such as Spanish and Portuguese, to enhance the global visibility of Latin American researchers.<\/li>\n
- Article Processing Charges: <\/strong>Latin America also suffers from the \u201cpay to publish\u201d models, which charge high APCs. A recent survey<\/a> highlighted that APCs for fully open access publications increased by approximately 10% in the year 2023-24.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Asia:<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Uneven Progress: <\/strong>While a majority of Asian countries have open access policies and repositories, some countries lack national level policies supporting open access. This has affected the consistent and sustained progress of open access publishing in this region.<\/li>\n
- Predatory Journals: <\/strong>A recent study<\/a> documented that approximately 30.38% of predatory journals are published in Asia. This is a growing concern, as these journals charge high APCs to researchers while failing to provide the necessary editorial feedback that improves the quality of the manuscripts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Middle-east Countries:<\/h3>\n
- Predatory Journals: <\/strong>A recent study<\/a> documented that approximately 30.38% of predatory journals are published in Asia. This is a growing concern, as these journals charge high APCs to researchers while failing to provide the necessary editorial feedback that improves the quality of the manuscripts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Article Processing Charges: <\/strong>Latin America also suffers from the \u201cpay to publish\u201d models, which charge high APCs. A recent survey<\/a> highlighted that APCs for fully open access publications increased by approximately 10% in the year 2023-24.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Accessibility to Open Access Journals:<\/strong> A study<\/a> in 2021 reported that researchers from Sub-Saharan Africa prefer to publish their manuscripts in high-quality journals that are behind paywalls because most of the open access journals accessible to them have lower impact factors. This highlights the need to improve the quality of the available open access journals to drive the researchers\u2019 engagement with the open access platforms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Funding Challenges: <\/strong>Another problem that needs attention is the uncertainty about funding. A study<\/a> reported that Africa\u2019s contribution to global research is less than 1%. Furthermore, the researchers also struggle in paying the skyrocketing article processing charges (APCs) mandated by the high-end journals.<\/li>\n
- Lack of Digital Infrastructure:<\/strong> One of the biggest issues faced by this region is the lack of digital infrastructure. A recent report<\/a> published by the World Bank Group showed that only 37% of the Sub-Saharan African population used internet. This is significantly lower than the global average, which stands at 67%. In this digital era, reduced access to internet acts as a major barrier preventing researchers from accessing the global research output.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<\/p>\r\n![\"Increasing](\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Increasing-visibility.jpg\")
Increasing Visibility<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\u2022](\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Enhancing-global-research-contributions.jpg\")
<\/p>\r\n![\"\u2022](\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Reducing-financial-barriers.jpg\")
<\/p>\r\n![\"\u2022](\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Supporting-local-innovation-and-development.jpg\")
<\/p>\r\n![\"\u2022](\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Mitigating-the-impact-of-predatory-journals.jpg\")
<\/p>\r\n![\"\u2022](\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Fostering-a-more-inclusive-research-ecosystem.jpg\")
<\/div>\r\n![\"\u2022](\"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Supporting-global-collaborations.jpg\")
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