Re: UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) review

From: Jan Velterop <jan_at_biomedcentral.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 13:56:13 +0000

Stevan,

I guess you agree with me (although that is perhaps not that obvious from
parts of your response). My concern remains that there is a widely held
*perception* among authors that impact factors matter enormously. That
perception hampers progress towards open access. Just as the widespread
*perception* that self-archiving is basically self-publishing, or
otherwise dangerously close to breaking copyright law, is hampering
progress with institutional repositories. You and I know that these
perceptions are not reality, but we need to address doubtful researchers
with persuasive and convincing arguments that truly take away those
faulty perceptions.

I am calling upon anybody reading this list who understands and believes
in the benefits of open access to help doing just that (although I'm
sure the majority already do so). It is not a desperate, but still an
uphill struggle, and the more advocates of open access speak up, the
easier it's bound to get.

Jan Velterop
Received on Tue Nov 26 2002 - 13:56:13 GMT