Examining the diffusion and adoption of Open Access publishing among academics at the University of Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

This study examined the diffusion and adoption of open access (OA) publishing among 250 academic staff members at the University of Limpopo (UL), South Africa. The study was guided by Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovation (DoI) theory to measure their (the academics’) level of awareness on the availability of OA platforms, to determine their adoption and usage levels of OA publishing for scholarly communication, to establish their attitudes towards the use of the OA publishing platforms, and to identify their perspectives with regard to challenges and benefits presented by OA publishing. A questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument. The findings revealed that most academics were, “to some extent,” aware of OA publishing, through their subject librarians and the internet. Although most were “strongly in favour” of OA publishing, their level of adopting it was lower than expected. The institutional repository (IR) was found to be the OA platform they have used most frequently to upload journal articles. Article processing charges (APCs), connectivity related issues, articles not being peer reviewed, predatory publishers, and lack of knowledge and OA access policies remain some of the challenges encountered in adopting OA publishing. It is recommended that the library staff should intensify its OA publishing marketing strategies and educate academics about its implications through workshops and seminars. Rewards for academics who publish in OA platforms should also be considered by the institution, and the academics who are reaping the benefits of OA publishing should also showcase their rewards to the other academics.