How Will Open Access Affect The Humanities And Social Sciences?

How open access will affect the humanities and social sciences sector (HSS) has been a topic of hot debate, one that has been called even more into focus since the new RCUK OA policy became effective on 1 April this year. What has become clearer is that a simple “one size fits all” approach cannot be taken for all research disciplines.  As many humanities and social science academics have argued, each discipline has its own distinctive way of creating contributions that inform debate and policy, and should therefore be treated separately and not as one (see here for further comment and explanation on these challenges and issues by SAGE’ Global Publishing Director, Ziyad Marar).

In a newly published collection commissioned by the British Academy, these challenges and the opportunities for the HSS sector regarding OA publishing practices are examined. [...]