Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Research

Open access publishing, article downloads, and citations: randomised controlled trial

BMJ 2008; 337 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a568 (Published 31 July 2008) Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a568

Rapid Response:

Open access journals: publication costs deter junior academics

One aspect of the debate on open access jounrals that has been relatively neglected is the cost to publish in these. Retaining copyright of the manuscript often carries a significant upfront fee that is unaffordable to clinicans interested in doing small scale research but without significant funding in the form a grant. Thus, whilst the discussion regarding the effects on readership and citation rates is valid and interesting, the choice to publish in either traditional subscription-based or open access journals may not always be available to everyone.

Competing interests:
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

14 August 2008
Gabriele Pollara
Senior house officer
Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, London, UK