DFID research: Wellcome Move Makes Research more Accessible
Wellcome Move Makes Research more Accessible.
The has announced that it is to support free, online publication of scientific research to compete with established academic journals.
Established in 1936, The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to 鈥渁chieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health鈥� and remains one of the UK鈥檚 largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research.
Wellcome Trust Director, Sir Mark Walport, 鈥渞esearch isn鈥檛 finished until it鈥檚 been published, and by publishing the work that we fund in open access formats it means that as many people as possible are able to have access to the literature without any hindrance at all, and that of course will ultimately maximize the value and the impact of the research that we fund.鈥�
By distributing research papers for free through the web, the Wellcome Trust hopes to effectively maximize their reach so they can be read and built upon, which will in turn foster a 鈥渞icher research culture鈥�.
The issue of the cost of academic journals has been rife in the media this week. An , has criticised the way academics are cornered into playing the journal-centric career-building game, reporting that 鈥淪ome very clever people have put up with a very silly system for far too long鈥� the old order needs to change, not just for the good of academics, but for the good of the public who pay them.鈥�
Frustrations about the current journal system have already prompted a boycott of Elsevier, the world鈥檚 biggest publisher in this field. On , a website set up as a focus for the protest, over 9,400 researchers say they will no longer submit or act as peer reviewers for Elsevier.
But while many scientists and researchers are in favour of open access, it may take some time for the idea to become the standard model for scientific publishing. The Wellcome Trust hopes that their stance will prove to be a step in the right direction.