Scholar-led Publishing – Open Access to Research

As part of this year’s Open Access Week 2024, the focus is on the theme of “Scholar-Led Publishing.” This form of publishing aims to put scientific communication more in the hands of researchers while also opening up access to knowledge for everyone.

Traditionally, scientific knowledge is often hidden behind paywalls. Scholar-led publishing emphasizes open access, meaning free access to scientific literature and research results. It also refers to a publishing model where researchers retain control over the entire publication process – from writing the manuscript to peer review and publication. This involves using academic open access platforms and repositories that are independent of commercial publishers. As a result, this model promotes the free exchange of knowledge and fosters a more transparent and collaborative science environment.

One key advantage is the democratization of knowledge. Open research platforms enable scientists to share their findings without the barriers of commercial publishing fees. Another important aspect is quality assurance. In these publishing models, peer review is often replaced by open review, where the entire review process is public and transparent.

In 2023, Professor Anja Wildemann and Dr. Katharina Kellermann founded the journal “Research on Language” to offer an additional publication outlet for German didactics. The permanent editors include Anja Müller, Lena Bien-Miller, and Sarah L. Fornol.

We interviewed the two founders for you. You can watch the video here (in German).

Reading tip (in German):

Wrzesinski, M. (2023). Wissenschaftsgeleitetes Publizieren. Sechs Handreichungen mit Praxistipps und Perspektiven. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8169418