Missing a golden opportunity? An analysis of publication trends by income level in the Directory of Open Access Journals 1987–2020

Abstract

AbstractThe growing prevalence of the gold open access model can exacerbate the monoculture of research and inequality in knowledge production. This study examines publication trends in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) journals by countries' income level from 1987 to 2020. By combining article metadata from journals listed in the DOAJ with World Bank country income data, this analysis examines the trends visible in plots of historical open access publication data. In 2020, the number of articles published in DOAJ journals by authors affiliated with high‐income countries exceeds the sum of the other income categories. Article processing charge waivers seem to have more impact on high‐ and low‐income countries than middle‐income countries. The results show that the gold open access model has not been able to improve the extremely low number of open access articles from low‐income regions. In addition, authors in middle‐income countries publish in gold open access DOAJ journals at lower rates than authors based in other economic regions. The gold open access model is disadvantageous to researchers outside of high‐income countries, highlighting the importance of supporting the diamond open access model as a potential means of improving global equity and epistemic diversity in knowledge production.