Access
The work of investigators in the DART project has indicated that many researchers
are conservative when it comes to granting access to research data. This appears to
be associated with increasing competition in attracting research funds and having
articles accepted by high-value publications. The recent move in Australia towards
assessment of institutional research performance based on quality metrics (the
Research Quality Framework – DEST 2007a, being re-evaluated at the time of
writing after the change of government in November 2007) is likely to intensify this.
As a result, many researchers want tightly controlled access prior to publication. It is
theoretically possible to provide the levels of access control demanded by
researchers in a repository that also hosts open-access content, but separation of
the two types of repositories may be a preferred solution. Post publication, there is
some evidence that open access leads to increased accessibility and increased
citation rates. This may, over time, encourage more researcher openness.