Open access and the future of the monograph in International Studies
For many scholars in International Studies, the research monograph remains the gold standard of academic contribution. As such, the prospect of open access requirements for books and other long-form publications is likely to be one of the most significant changes facing UK academic publishing in the coming years. In this blog, BISA Chair Juanita Elias reflects on what growing demands for greater public accessibility to academic research mean for long-form publications and for International Studies scholars.
Open access is increasingly presented as an unequivocal good, rooted in the idea that research funded by the public should be accessible to the public. Indeed, many of us share the frustration of seeing our work hidden behind paywalls. Open access requirements relating to research data and peer reviewed journal publications have become increasingly embedded within UK research policy, and proposals to extend these requirements to long-form publications such as books, and edited collections represent a potentially significant shift. Recent work undertaken by the British Academy on open access for long-form publications provides an important opportunity to consider what these changes might mean for SHAPE disciplines and for the future of scholarly publishing in International Studies.
It is important to note that these discussions are primarily concerned with the policy landscape beyond the current Research Excellence Framework (REF) cycle. Following consultation with the sector, the UK higher education funding bodies decided not to introduce an open access requirement for long form outputs like books for REF 2029. Instead, they have indicated that an open access requirement for such outputs will be introduced for the subsequent assessment exercise.
For International Studies scholars, these discussions matters because we are very much a ‘book heavy’ discipline in which many of the field’s most significant contributions are developed through monographs underpinned by years of research and theoretical reflection. So, we need to think more about how open access requirements can be designed in ways that expand access to knowledge while preserving the forms of scholarship upon which disciplines such as International Studies depend.
The British Academy’s intervention
The British Academy has recently explored the implications of open access requirements for long-form publications, paying particular attention to the needs of SHAPE disciplines. Some key contributions of this work include its recognition that publishing norms differ across disciplines, and also that policies developed around journal publishing models cannot simply be transferred to books without careful consideration of how monograph publishing operates and the role books play in academic careers and intellectual development. You can read about the British Academy’s work on their website.
This work has highlighted different models of open access publishing, including Green, Gold and emerging Diamond approaches, each with distinct implications for authors, publishers and institutions. Green Open Access involves depositing a version of the manuscript (usually the accepted version) in a university repository, often after an embargo period. Gold Open Access makes the final published article freely available via the publisher, typically funded through an article processing charge (APC), or in the case of books a book processing charge (BPC). Diamond Open Access provides immediate free access for readers without processing charges, with costs covered by institutions, scholarly societies or consortia.
In June, I took part in a focus group discussion organised by the British Academy’s partner in this work Information Power and bringing together representatives from learned societies, research professionals and academic librarians to discuss the issue of long form open access in more depth. On the back of this discussion, I wanted to share some reflections on potential implications for our discipline.
1. Academic careers and the continuing importance of books
For International Studies scholars, publishing a monograph remains an important professional milestone – and one that we celebrate at BISA via our two annual book prizes (the L.M.H. Ling prize and the Susan Strange prize). Any changes to publishing requirements therefore have implications not only for how our work is disseminated, but also for academic recruitment and promotion where having a book with a ‘good’ publisher is often seen as a necessity. The challenge is ensuring that open access policies support rather than inadvertently undermine the production of ambitious long-form scholarship, and that it is not just a select group of scholars at well-funded institutions or sitting on significant grant income that feel able to publish in top ranked publishers because they can afford the Gold route.
2. The limitations of Green Open Access for books
Green Open Access is often presented as a relatively low-cost route to wider accessibility. UK-based scholars are by now very familiar with this approach to open access whereby your pre-publication accepted journal articles can be held in your University’s institutional repository. However, applying Green Open Access models to books raises practical concerns. When it comes to books, publishers typically provide substantial editorial support, copy-editing and possibly even legal review that help ensure the quality and integrity of scholarly work. Questions remain about how these functions are maintained when versions of manuscripts are deposited in repositories.
For International Studies scholars, this issue may be particularly important for research involving extensive fieldwork, interviews or politically sensitive material, where – in the context of growing concerns about academic freedom - careful editorial, and, in some cases legal oversight to navigate UK defamation laws, can be essential.
3. Images, visual materials and third-party copyright
An increasing number of books in International Studies make use of visual materials, such as photographs, maps, or artwork. Open access requirements can make permissions more complicated and more expensive. There is a risk that scholars may be discouraged from incorporating visual materials or that open access versions have an incomplete feel because certain content cannot legally be reproduced something that could have specific implications for International Studies scholars working with visual methods.
Why this matters for BISA
As the discipline navigates a changing publishing environment, BISA will continue to provide a space via our research directors forum and other activities for collective discussion about issues such as this. This includes the need to remain attentive to how issues of equity and inclusion need to be addressed within the evolving publishing and open access landscape, and how BISA can contribute to wider debates about open scholarship.
As open access requirements evolve, it is important that the distinctive needs and practices of International Studies scholars are represented in policy discussions rather than assumed to fit models developed elsewhere. The challenge is not whether open access is desirable, but how it can be implemented in ways that support the diverse forms of scholarship upon which our discipline depends. Ensuring that books remain a valued form of academic output should be a central part of that conversation.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
