WikiJournal Preprints/Why are Latin American countries in the limbo of open-access scientific publications?
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Abstract
The implementation of the Open Access (OA) model in scientific journals has brought about a range of benefits in terms of information accessibility. However, the high costs associated with Article Processing Charges (APCs) have posed a significant challenge for many scientists worldwide, leaving them in a “limbo” where their ability to publish in reputable journals is contingent upon their financial capacity. In this brief note, we intend to highlight the challenges faced by Latin American scientists that have arisen as a direct consequence of the implementation of the OA model, specifically: (i) difficulties in disseminating our scientific work due to the impossibility of covering the high and often prohibitive APCs imposed by scientific journals, and (ii) the strong emergence and consolidation in our region of publishers with predatory practices. We also offer recommendations for both academic institutions and publishers to establish fairer models and close the space of publishers with predatory practices. We urge the scientific community to advocate for equity in OA models and defend the right of Latin American scientists to read science freely but also to be read.
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Introduction
At the end of the last century, a large number of publishers managing scientific journals began to apply the Open Access (OA) model, making their articles freely accessible to the public. This system, born with good intentions, has indisputable merits regarding information availability. It seeks to return to society the knowledge and benefits generated through research that society itself subsidizes with public and private funds. Despite the merits of this model in terms of attainability to the scientific literature, the original essence of OA has suffered significant distortions. Some of these twists have negatively impacted the global scientific community. However, low and middle-income countries, such as those in Latin America, are among the most negatively affected.
Historically, distortions in the OA model have originated from the implementation of Article Processing Charges (APCs), which currently average around 2000-3000 USD per article in most journals indexed in mainstream databases. In some cases, charges may be even higher, depending on the journal's metrics and prestige. Notably, financial information on how the APC is calculated in different OA journals and editorial organizations is not readily available to the scientific community, even in the case of not-for-profit publishers, which raises concerns. The number of scientific journals that work under the APC model increases yearly; consequently, the number of scientific publications in these journals (and the corresponding resources invested) per country also increases. In Latin America, the number of articles published under the OA model has increased between 11% and 30% in 10 years (Figure 1A), except for Brazil, which since 2012 had already published close to 53% of its scientific literature under the OA model, a number that has increased by 1% in the last ten years (Figure 1A). If we consider the twelve most productive countries in the scientific literature in Latin America, only in the year 2022, there were around 115000 articles published under the OA model, with an estimated 44% of them published by Brazil (Figure 1B). This scientific output published under the OA model translates into hundreds of millions of dollars, often coming from public funds in Latin American countries.
This model shift in the way science is communicated, where OA reigns alongside associated APCs, has brought two major consequences to the Latin American scientific community (and other regions of the world): (i) difficulties in publishing our scientific works in OA due to the failure to cover the high and often prohibitive APCs imposed by scientific journals, and (ii) sizable opportunities for the emergence of predatory publishers using APC payment models as a business opportunity. These actions include aggressive practices of some editorials resembling those of sensu stricto predatory journals. These are direct consequences of implementing APC in the OA model, exacerbated by the unfortunate culture of "publish or perish" and/or "become visible or vanish". Below, we delve deeper into these two challenges, focusing on the situation in Latin America. Additionally, we propose strategies that the scientific community (publishers, scientific societies, universities, and researchers) could implement to mitigate their negative impact.
The challenges faced by Latin American scientists in covering APCs
In the case of low- and middle-income countries where research support is limited, as in most Latin American countries, APC costs represent a barrier to communicating scientific results. Moreover, the so-called "article publishing charge waivers" only consider some of the most jeopardized low-income countries. In collaborative studies, APCs may be covered by grants from the co-authors from high-income countries. However, this varies depending on several factors, such as the level of participation of the high-income country authors, the proportion of Latin American authors, and who the first and corresponding authors are. Generally, corresponding authors are responsible for handling the payment as stated by default in most journals, and self-respect often precludes the embarrassment of asking third parties for payment of publication costs. In these cases, the small grants of Latin American researchers are commonly insufficient to support publication fees, and the institutional support to cover OA publication is highly restricted or unavailable. As stated, the financial aid offered by systems such as 'Research4Life', aimed at providing publication support to researchers of countries below a certain GDP threshold, does not apply for most Latin American countries since most of them are above such threshold, leaving most Latin American researchers in a "limbo": Too rich to apply for article publication fee waivers, but poor enough to pay them out of their own budgets.
Recognizing that one of the involved parties (authors or readers) must bear the costs of scientific publications, we believe academic institutions must establish ongoing communication with recognized publishers and scientific journals to ensure that article publishing charge waivers are adjusted. In this manner, some benefits now applied to low-income countries may be extended to middle-income countries, which constitute most Latin American nations. These actions can be established bilaterally with publishers or jointly through governments and international institutions. Likewise, these arrangements would release the economic pressure on universities, research institutes and investigators and favor publishing in high-quality journals without falling into the predatory landscape. This action would also benefit publishers and journals in the long term since Latin American scientists would be encouraged to publish in high-quality journals, lowering publishing costs. Cooperation between scientific societies and reputable publishers is essential in this scenario. Recognizing their fundamental role as science communicators, they should work towards establishing fairer APC scales tailored to the economic realities of each region and country. We support the original idea of OA and do not oppose the payment of APCs. However, we call for balanced associated costs and transparency from publishers regarding how these costs are calculated. We also advocate establishing payment scales that follow the realities of different regions and nations. Some scientific societies are currently developing new formulas and cost models to achieve more significant equity.
The expansion of predatory journals' influence in Latin America as a consequence of the OA/APC system
As stated, the OA/APC model adopted by most scientific journals has, at the same time, increased the visibility of scientific endeavors and promoted the proliferation of a myriad of "scientific journals" of dubious quality since the model is a highly lucrative business opportunity. Such journals represent a severe threat to the scientific standards of our countries and a drain of public funds through the payment of publication costs. In addition to predatory journals sensu stricto, other editorials also exert predatory practices such as excessive invitations for publishing/editing special issues, offers to transfer submitted manuscripts to lower impact sister journals and other marketing strategies used to overcome the fierce competence for publications. In our experience, these last practices are accompanied by more relaxed peer-reviewing and broader acceptance of manuscripts, with the concomitant APC. Unfortunately, due to these cursory review processes and relatively low APCs, such publishers have found fertile ground in our region.
Due to this problem's magnitude and negative impact on the global scientific community, Latin American academic institutions and research agencies should be aware of it. These institutions should implement policies ensuring that researchers publish in journals that meet high scientific criteria and standards with non-predatory actions. This practice is mandatory in order to strengthen scientific research in the region. We urge universities and public institutions to adopt policies restricting these predatory actions' negative impact on our region. As part of this call to action, we propose some recommendations to colleague researchers, research institutes, and university and government authorities to reduce such deleterious impact:
(i) Awareness of the problem at different academic levels. This problem concerns all stakeholders in the academic communities of our countries, including decision-makers, researchers, and students. We all must be aware of it, making the problem visible and taking individual and institutional actions. National academies of sciences, ministries of science, universities, and other instances in the scientific system of Latin America should carry out permanent communication programs to raise awareness of this problem. These programs must be incorporated since the initial stages of researcher training, including undergraduate and graduate courses and dissertations.
(ii) Establishment of committees or permanent monitoring units to deal with this problem. The phenomenon of predatory journals and actions is highly dynamic; thus, its monitoring must be permanent. New predatory actions appear every day, often with renewed strategies. Therefore, scientific committees responsible for monitoring and communicating this problem are required at the national or institutional levels. They should be responsible for coordinating the communication programs mentioned in the previous point and following up on the evolution of this issue and its impact.
(iii) Establishment of internal evaluation mechanisms that allow the identification of predatory journals. We are in an era in which the volume of available information exceeds our capacity to analyze it. In this complex scenario, many databases offer valuable parameters that assess the impact and visibility of the journals and their editorial practices, allowing predatory journals and practices to be identified. These parameters have drawbacks and biases, but combining them helps to establish criteria for discriminating valuable scientific journals from predatory ones. Thus, using a combination of parameters from various bibliometric sources makes it feasible to develop instruments to judge scientific publications' quality and academic value. By establishing a tool to classify the journals, decisions can be made about APC payments so that it is clearly defined in which cases it is justified to proceed with the payment.
(iv) Promote publication in journals of scientific societies or those associated with universities and well-proven non-profit interests. Scientific journals were born within organizations interested in generating knowledge and putting this knowledge at the service of society. In the complex ecosystem plagued with hundreds of journals of dubious quality and predatory actions, scientific societies represent a niche of high academic standards. This trust, inspired by scientific societies and the journals they support, guarantees sound review processes, ethical handling of manuscripts, and quality of publications. Well-recognized journals associated with universities could also be promoted, considering that they guarantee high editorial standards, offer good visibility, have a wide presence in indexing databases and ensure easy access for researchers worldwide.
Both the publishers and academic institutions must take measures to contain the negative aspects that have arisen with the implementation of an OA/APC system. The original essence of OA should not be dismissed; it should serve as a tool to ensure free access to information, thereby fostering prosperity, equity, and development in all regions of the world. Within this context, Latin American researchers need free access to the world scientific literature; however, they also need access to publish their work without the restrictions imposed by the high APC of most OA journals. That is, the right to read science freely but also to be read. Let us not lose sight of these essences. Among the actors genuinely interested in scientific development for the betterment of society, we urge the implementation of fairer and more balanced publication systems. These measures should also close the doors to publishers employing predatory practices.
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editCompeting interests
editThe authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.