Impact of Open Access on Article Downloads and Citations
Author Information
Author(s): Davis Philip M, Lewenstein Bruce V, Simon Daniel H, Booth James G, Connolly Mathew J L
Primary Institution: Cornell University
Hypothesis
Does free access to scientific literature increase article downloads and citations?
Conclusion
Open access publishing may reach more readers than subscription access publishing, but it does not lead to an increase in citations in the first year after publication.
Supporting Evidence
- Open access articles had 89% more full text downloads than subscription articles.
- Open access articles had 42% more PDF downloads than subscription articles.
- Open access articles had 23% more unique visitors than subscription articles.
- Open access articles were cited 59% of the time compared to 63% for subscription articles.
Takeaway
Making scientific articles free to read helps more people find and read them, but it doesn't mean they'll be cited more often.
Methodology
A randomised controlled trial was conducted with articles assigned to either open access or subscription access, measuring downloads and citations.
Potential Biases
Self-selection bias may have influenced which articles were made open access.
Limitations
The study only measured citations within the first year and may have missed citation activity occurring later.
Participant Demographics
The study involved articles from 11 journals published by the American Physiological Society.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Confidence Interval
95% confidence interval 76% to 103%
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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