Attitude Towards Quality of Contents in Open Access Sources and Services among Management College Professionals in Karnataka

Abstract

Research is one of the key elements that require special focus in management education at present. It has become imperative for management institutions to brace up to the challenges posed by globalisation, and augment the quality of research and allied activities. Researchers today can access resources online, anytime from anywhere—thanks to the “open access” movement, which enables free and unrestricted access to scientific research publications. The present study aimed at assessing and comparing attitude towards open access sources and services among students, researchers and faculty of management colleges in Karnataka. A total of 923 respondents were selected through stratified random sampling. Interview schedule was employed to obtain the required data from the respondents through a structured questionnaire based on vital aspects of open access sources and services. Findings of the study revealed that the respondents, on the whole, held favourable attitudes towards open access. It was found that the faculty group had significantly higher preferences than students and researchers for quality of contents in open access, in terms of increasing reputation of authors, publishers and organisations, and improving peer review process.