|
|
A January 2024 study by Crossref, the organization responsible for assigning unique Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to research articles, has brought attention to a concerning issue in the scholarly literature. Out of the 7.4 million research articles it examined, approximately 28% appear to lack proper preservation or have no preservation in online archives. This poses a significant risk to the accessibility and longevity of scholarly literature, especially if the hosting journals are discontinued by publishers and are no longer indexed by databases like Scopus and Web of Science. A subsequent study discussed the disappearance of a chemistry journal, Heterocycles, further illustrating the possibility. 2 May 2024 [2 min read] |
The findings highlight the importance of digital preservation, which ensures the ongoing usability of digital materials in the face of media failure, technological advancements, and organizational changes. It plays a vital role in safeguarding valuable research and preventing its loss in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
While some researchers may choose to preserve and share their research works on personal websites, it is important to note that sharing full-text files without adhering to publisher policies may result in copyright law violations. We have addressed this in another blog post Navigating Copyright Restrictions: Balancing Research Sharing and Legal Considerations for Researchers.
To strike a balance between research preservation and legal considerations, CityU researchers are encouraged to use CityU Scholars, which not only showcases research publications harvested from databases and manual input, but also provides full-text content in accordance with publishers' Gold and Green Open Access (OA) policies. For more information on Library’s OA services, please refer to the guides CityU Scholars and Gold OA and CityU Scholars and Green OA.
0 Comments.