Open access journal publishing: the views of some of the world's senior authors

Purpose – The main aims of the survey were to determine: the volume of open access (OA) publishing; what the attitudes of authors to publishing in OA journals were; and what authors felt were the implications of OA publishing. Design/methodology/approach – The questionnaire survey was administered on behalf of Ciber by NOP and the sample derived from mailing lists supplied by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI ® ). Nearly, 4,000 authors responded. Findings – The detailed results of a major survey of the views and experiences of nearly 4,000 senior authors in regard to OA publishing. A number of statistical analyses were employed to drill down into the data to obtain an understanding of the figures. Views were divided sharply along subject and geographical lines, demonstrating the need to survey large and robust samples of authors. Research limitations/implications – A snapshot study which while providing robust data requires a follow‐up study to monitor opinion shifts in this fast‐changing area. Practical implications – Highlights the knowledge gap that exists between authors and publishers. Originality/value – One of the biggest, if not the biggest, author survey conducted into scholarly publishing and OA publishing.