Open-Access

To read more about the good, the bad, and the ugly of open access publishing, please take the time to look closely at the article to the left written by Madhukar Pai, MD, PHD 

In looking into open access journals, I found myself stumbling upon piece after piece of pro and con style articles.  I opted to compare two OA journals, Comparative Professional Pedagogy and the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, using Cabell's.  

A brief note on gold and green publication models

From Sten Christensen blog: The Difference Between Green and Gold Open Access

“Gold open access: refers to work that is immediately available free of charge at the site of publication to any member of the public. Post-Finch it is commonly taken to mean that such access is supported by author-side article processing charges (APCs) …” (Vincent & Wickham, 2013, p. 121). In general terms the “Article Processing/Publishing Charge” means an author, upon the acceptance of a piece of work, is required to pay a fee for publication. “Pure Gold” open access journals are not subscription based and only charge an APC as a means of recouping costs (Business, Innovation and Skills Committee Open Access. Fifth Report of Session 2013-14, 2013, p. 3)

​“Green open access: refers to work that is made publicly available in a repository, institutional or subject-based, after an embargo period. Variants of Green open access depend on whether what is made available after the embargo period is the author’s final submitted text (or ‘pre-print’) or the article in its post-refereed form (or ‘post-print’).” (Vincent & Wickham, 2013, p. 121)

Comparative Pedagogy

This is a journal with a relatively high acceptance rate published out of the Ukraine.  It purports to be a peer reviewed international journal covering a variety of topics meant to encourage conversation between different fields of study.  I have to say that the language discussing the nature of the journal comes across as vague and non-specific.  I've read it several times and would still be hard pressed to tell you exactly what this journal is aiming to accomplish.  I ascertain that is predominantly concerned with research from Ukraine, Russia, and Central Europe, with a polite nod to submissions from other countries.  They claim to have a "fast, fair, and constructive peer review" process along with "editorial help."  

While I cannot say for sure, I would venture a guess that this particular journal lies fairly squarely in the for-profit category of the open-access world, rather than in trying to ensure that legitimate research is highly available to interested parties.  

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

IJTLHE is dedicated to encouraging the "study, development, application, and evaluation" of teaching in higher education.  Blind peer reviews involved at least two reviewers that provide the author with substantive feedback.  It prides itself on making all content available "without charge to the user or his/her institution."  However, authors must relinquish copyright to the journal.  

The lower acceptance rate of this journal, along with the more stringent peer review process, lends it credibility.  As does the knowledge that it is a joint publication worked on by the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research.  The latter being Virginia Tech's own CIDER program.  If I were to propose something for open access within my field, this would be my journal of choice.