Unlocking the Benefits of Open-Access (OA) in Tourism Research: A Comprehensive Guide to OA Depositories

Open Access (OA) refers to electronic resources that are accessible on the internet without being subject to licensing and copyright restrictions. Open Access resources may comprise articles, journals, books, conference proceedings, theses, videos, music, and other types of content. The adoption of Open Access has gained considerable momentum in scholarly research and communication, owing to the substantial increase in prices of academic resources in recent years, while academic library budgets have remained relatively stagnant, unable to keep up with these new expenses.

Benefits of OA in Tourism Research

Increased Visibility: OA increases the visibility of research by making it accessible to anyone with an internet connection, regardless of their institutional affiliation or geographic location. This can lead to greater readership and citation rates, increasing the academic impact of research findings.
Cost Savings: OA can save costs for researchers, libraries, and institutions by eliminating subscription fees and reducing the need for interlibrary loan services.
Collaboration: OA can facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing by allowing researchers to access and build upon each other's work more easily.
Social Impact: OA can have social benefits by making research available to practitioners, policymakers, and the public, increasing the potential for the translation of research findings into practical solutions for real-world problems.
Global Reach: OA enables researchers to disseminate their findings to a global audience, facilitating cross-cultural and cross-national dialogue and knowledge exchange.
Preservation: OA repositories can help ensure the long-term preservation of research materials, ensuring their accessibility for future generations.

Overall, OA can increase the impact, visibility, and accessibility of tourism research, enabling greater collaboration, knowledge sharing, and social impact.

Applications of OA in Tourism Research

Access to academic articles, journals, and books: Open Access provides free and unrestricted access to academic articles, journals, and books related to tourism research. This enables researchers and practitioners to access the latest research findings and stay updated with the latest developments in the field.
Access to data and research results: Open Access can also provide access to research data and results, which can be used by other researchers and practitioners in their own studies. This can lead to new insights and discoveries that may not have been possible otherwise.
Potential for collaboration and interdisciplinary research: Open Access promotes collaboration and interdisciplinary research as it allows researchers from different disciplines and institutions to access and build upon each other's work. This can lead to the development of new research ideas, methodologies, and approaches that can help advance the field of tourism research.

Challenges & Limitations of OA in Tourism Research

Quality and Credibility of Information: With the rise of open-access platforms, there is a risk of low-quality or unverified information being published. It is important to ensure that the information accessed through open-access platforms is reliable and credible.
Funding and Sustainability: Open access platforms are often funded by institutions or grants, and the funding can be unpredictable. This can lead to the platform being shut down or changing their policies, which can have an impact on researchers and practitioners who rely on the platform.
Copyright and Licensing: Open access platforms often have different copyright and licensing agreements compared to traditional publishing. It is important to understand the licensing agreements in order to properly use and distribute the information obtained through open-access platforms.
Limited Access to Certain Resources: Despite the many benefits of open access, not all resources may be available through open-access platforms. Some journals and publishers may still restrict access to their content, which can limit the scope of research that can be conducted through open-access platforms.
Technological Barriers: Some researchers may not have the technological skills or resources necessary to fully utilize open-access platforms. This can limit their ability to access and utilize open-access resources in their research.

Alternative Options for OA in Tourism Research

In addition to traditional open-access models, there are alternative options for accessing research in tourism that can benefit both researchers and the public.

Institutional repositories provide a platform for universities and research institutions to share their own research output with the public. This provides greater access to research for the public, as well as increased visibility and recognition for the institution's research.
Hybrid models, on the other hand, offer an alternative to the traditional subscription-based model, providing a way for publishers to make individual articles open access while still charging for access to the entire journal.
Finally, pre-print servers provide a way for researchers to share their research findings prior to peer review and publication, allowing for more immediate access to research results.

These alternative options for open access provide a valuable way for researchers and institutions to share their research with a wider audience, ultimately leading to greater collaboration and progress in the field of tourism research.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Open Access provides a wealth of benefits for researchers and the public in the field of tourism research. The benefits of Open Access include greater access to research, cost-effectiveness, and increased collaboration. Applications of Open Access in tourism research include access to academic articles, journals, and books, access to data and research results, and potential for collaboration and interdisciplinary research. Alternative options for Open Access in tourism research include institutional repositories, hybrid models, and pre-print servers. These alternative options provide researchers and institutions with greater flexibility and accessibility in sharing their research with a wider audience. Open Access has become an important part of scholarly communication and research in tourism. Researchers and institutions should continue to explore and adopt Open Access publishing models to increase the accessibility and visibility of their research. The tourism industry and the public can benefit greatly from Open Access in terms of increased access to knowledge and information.

Personal Experience:

As a researcher, I have used various open-source platforms for my academic work, including Dimensions and Google Scholar. I have found both platforms to be incredibly helpful for finding relevant academic papers, as they offer extensive search capabilities and provide access to a wide range of scholarly material. I have found that Dimensions is useful for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as it allows me to easily search and filter through large numbers of articles. Meanwhile, Google Scholar is helpful for more general searches, and I appreciate the ability to set up alerts to stay up-to-date on new publications in my field. Overall, I believe that open-source platforms like these are essential tools for modern researchers, providing a cost-effective and flexible way to access and organize scholarly information.

Popular Open-source platforms to access Academic Material:

Open-Source Platform	Type of Material	Description	URL
Google Scholar	Academic Articles	Search engine for academic articles, books, and other material across a range of subjects.	https://scholar.google.com/
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)	Academic Journals	Database of open-access academic journals in a variety of fields.	https://doaj.org/
Open Library	Books	Online library with over 1.7 million free eBooks.	https://openlibrary.org/
arXiv	Academic Articles	Repository of scholarly articles in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science, and more.	https://arxiv.org/
JSTOR	Academic Articles, Books	Digital library with access to academic articles, books, and primary sources across a range of disciplines.	https://www.jstor.org/
Project MUSE	Academic Articles, Books	Database of peer-reviewed academic articles and books in the humanities and social sciences.	https://muse.jhu.edu/
PLOS ONE	Academic Articles	Open-access journal publishing research across a range of scientific disciplines.	https://journals.plos.org/plosone/
OpenStax	Textbooks	Provider of free, peer-reviewed, open-source textbooks for a variety of subjects.	https://openstax.org/
Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)	Academic Books	Database of open-access academic books in a variety of fields.	https://www.doabooks.org/

Open-source platforms which are alternatives to SCOPUS:

Google Scholar - https://scholar.google.com/
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) - https://doaj.org/
Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection –https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/solutions/web-of-science-core-collection/
Microsoft Academic - https://academic.microsoft.com/home
BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine) - https://www.base-search.net/
Semantic Scholar - https://www.semanticscholar.org/
CORE (COnnecting REpositories) - https://core.ac.uk/
OpenAIRE - https://www.openaire.eu/
Dimensions - https://www.dimensions.ai/
CiteseerX - http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/index

Top Open-source platforms / indexed journals typically related to Tourism Research:

Journal	Publisher	URL
Annals of Tourism Research	Elsevier	https://www.journals.elsevier.com/annals-of-tourism-research
Journal of Travel Research	SAGE Publications	https://journals.sagepub.com/home/jtr
Tourism Management	Elsevier	https://www.journals.elsevier.com/tourism-management
Journal of Sustainable Tourism	Taylor & Francis	https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rsus20/current
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research	SAGE Publications	https://journals.sagepub.com/home/htr
Current Issues in Tourism	Taylor & Francis	https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcit20/current
Journal of Destination Marketing & Management	Elsevier	https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-destination-marketing-and-management
Tourism Analysis	Cognizant Communication Corporation	https://www.cognizantcommunication.com/journal-titles/tourism-analysis
Journal of Vacation Marketing	SAGE Publications	https://journals.sagepub.com/home/jvm
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management	Elsevier	https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-hospitality-and-tourism-management