Accessibility of published research to practicing veterinarians

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study established the percentage of veterinary research articles that are freely available online, availability differences inside and outside of core veterinary medicine publications, sources and trends in article availability over time, and author archiving policies of veterinary journals. This research is particularly important for unaffiliated practitioners who lack broad subscription access and the librarians who assist them.MethodsWeb of Science citation data were collected for articles published from 2000–2014 by authors from twenty-eight accredited US colleges of veterinary medicine. A sample of these articles was searched by title in Google Scholar to determine which were freely available online and their sources. Journals represented in this dataset and a basic list of veterinary serials were cross-referenced with the Sherpa/RoMEO database to determine author archiving policies and the percentage of articles that could potentially be made freely available.ResultsOver half (62%) of the sample articles were freely available online, most of which (57%) were available from publishers’ websites. Articles published more recently were more likely to be freely available. More articles were found to be available in 2017 (62%) than in 2015 (57%). Most (62%) of the included journals had policies allowing authors to archive copies of their articles.ConclusionsMany articles are freely available online, but opportunity exists to archive additional articles while complying with existing copyright agreements. Articles in veterinary medicine–specific journals are less likely to be freely available than those in interdisciplinary journals. Requirements for federally funded research have likely influenced article availability and may continue to do so.

Publication rate and evidence‐based evaluation of abstracts presented at the veterinary endoscopy society annual meeting (2004‐2019)

“…The delay in the publication timeline observed may also be due to the increased volume of submissions originating from a breadth of veterinary conferences and the limited number of journals to which they were submitted. As open‐access journals gain popularity and standing in the veterinary community, journal options and opportunities to publish may increase, and we may start to see a decrease in the median time to publication 27 . There are, however, limited journals that are acceptable for residency certification, and this may also lead authors to submit to specific journals as we found the majority of VES abstract first authors were not yet board certified when they presented their research.…”

Searching for veterinary evidence: A guide for equine professionals

“…The gap between access to the literature between individual and institutional level appears to be narrowing. A recent study suggested as much as 62% of the veterinary literature is available online freely via several avenues (Page, 2018). One is that authors upload their paper for others to read free of charge; this might be their submitted version, their accepted manuscript or the publisher's final version.…”