Access to scholarly content:gaps and barriers to access (key

findings)

CIBER for RIN, JISC and PRCUKSG ConferenceHarrogate, 6 April 2011

Survey background

• Aim and objectives

• To quantify access gaps and barriers for different communities

• To provide an evidenced assessment of the significance of those gaps and barriers

• Survey overview

• 2,645 UK completions (12% response rate)

• Findings reported by broad sector:

• Universities and colleges (47%)

• Medical schools and health providers (12%)

• Industry and commerce (31%)

• Research institutes (10%)

The big pictureUniversities and collegesSurvey breakdown

People entering survey 1,000

Journal articles are important for 986

Of these 68 are dissatisfied(6.8% of the original population)

Of these 51 report a recent access problem(5.1% of the original population)

… for 23 of whom was not resolved(2.3% of the original population)

Conference papers are important for 771

Of these 325 are dissatisfied(32.5% of the original population)

Of these 219 report a recent access problem(21.9% of the original population)

… for 171 of whom was not resolved(17.1% of the original population)

Any response to Q1 greater than 4,where 1=`Not at all important’ and 7=`Extremely important’

Responses to Q3 that indicate access is `fairly’ or `very difficult’

Critical incident response to Q13/Q24 indicates that the respondent has difficulty accessing full text recently

Critical incident response to Q19/Q30 indicates that the respondent failed eventually to get hold of the article

The survey big pictureIndustry and commerceSurvey breakdown

People entering survey 1,000

Journal articles are important for 787

Of these 234 are dissatisfied(23.4% of the original population)

Of these 123 report a recent access problem(12.3% of the original population)

… for 92 of whom was not resolved(9.2% of the original population)

Conference papers are important for 600

Of these 328 are dissatisfied(32.8% of the original population)

Of these 197 report a recent access problem(19.7% of the original population)

… for 144 of whom was not resolved(14.4% of the original population)

Any response to Q1 greater than 4,where 1=`Not at all important’ and 7=`Extremely important’

Responses to Q3 that indicate access is `fairly’ or `very difficult’

Critical incident response to Q13/Q24 indicates that the respondent has difficulty accessing full text recently

Critical incident response to Q19/Q30 indicates that the respondent failed eventually to get hold of the article

Conference papers n=2,522Journal articles n=2,473

Current level of accessHow would you describe your current level of access (in print and online)?Percentages within sector

Conference papers n=2,019

NoteOnly respondents who rated journal articles as of some importance are included.

Journal articles n=2,242

Perceptions of changeHow does your current level of access compare with five years ago?Percentages within sector

Importance versus ease of accessUniversities and colleges

Importance versus ease of accessUniversities and colleges

Importance versus ease of accessIndustry and commerce

Importance versus ease of accessIndustry and commerce

Areas in need of improvementYou said you want to improve access to journal articles. Why?Percentages within sector

About this graphic

This is a content analysis by CIBER of the respondents’ free text responses to the question.

Coping mechanisms when journal access is a problemUniversities and collegesPercentages of respondents

How to read this graphic

Respondents were presented with a list of coping mechanisms and could choose as many as applied.

Each ray of the spider diagram shows the percentage of respondents who adopted a particular coping mechanism.

Coping mechanisms when journal access is a problemUniversities and collegesPercentages of respondents

How to read this graphic

Respondents were presented with a list of coping mechanisms and could choose as many as applied.

Each ray of the spider diagram shows the percentage of respondents who adopted a particular coping mechanism.

Coping mechanisms when journal access is a problemIndustry and commerce

Coping mechanisms when journal access is a problemIndustry and commerce

The respondents’ own recommendationsWhat would you do to improve the accessibility of journal articles and conference papers?Percentages within sector

About this graphic

This is a content analysis by CIBER of the respondents’ free text responses to the question.

The respondents’ own recommendationsWhat would you do to improve the accessibility of journal articles and conference papers?Percentages within sector

About this graphic

This is a content analysis by CIBER of the respondents’ free text responses to the question.