Collecting, Analysing and Learning From Open Access Policies for Academic Books

Abstract

The PALOMERA (Policy Alignment of Open Access Monographs in the European Research Area; Grant agreement ID: 1010942701) project, funded by Horizon Europe, addresses the complexities of Open Access policies relevant to academic books across the European Research Area. Over its two-year duration (2023–2025) PALOMERA aims to enhance accessibility to pertinent documentation through a specialized Knowledge Base. This poster synthesizes the project's data collection phase, highlighting the workflow and methodology applied by the international team of researchers.

The poster aims to showcase the PALOMERA project's systematic approach to researching and documenting Open Access policies for academic books within the European Research Area. By illustrating the structured methodologies and robust project management practices employed, the poster highlights the project's success in aggregating extensive bibliometric data and preparing it for comprehensive analysis. It underscores the significance of meticulous data collection and management, offering a blueprint for future landscape analyses and collaborative efforts in the European scholarly community. Thanks to the openly available extensive project documentation, the method and the approach can be replicated in other contexts.

Throughout the first year, PALOMERA focused on aggregating a diverse range of data, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative material. The process began with resource identification across 39 countries and 29 languages, subsequently translated and curated using Zotero and MaxQDA. This comprehensive approach involved gathering: legal documents, grey literature, research articles, reports, statistical data, and outputs from related projects. In addition to that, during summer 2023 the survey deployed via LimeSurvey garnered 454 responses from different stakeholders, providing additional quantitative data essential for mapping OA policy adoption and implementation trends. A significant component of the data collection effort also included conducting 42 interviews (both individual and group ones), providing extensive insights into policy landscapes and stakeholder perspectives. These interviews were transcribed, and contributing to a Knowledge Base of over 600 documents (OA policies).

The project's success in data aggregation owes much to its structured methodology and robust project management practices. By employing design thinking methodologies, PALOMERA insured activities were aligned with project objectives, facilitating clear progress tracking and efficient workflow management. This approach not only facilitated the collection of extensive bibliometric data but also prepared the dataset for future comprehensive analysis.