Availability and Accessibility of Research Outputs in NARS: A case study with IARI

Abstract

This article focuses on the trends in publication, authorship pattern, availability, and accessibility of articles during 2008–2010 from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), a constituent of the National Agricultural Research System in India. The data reveal that during the period of study, researchers from IARI produced 1,833 publications, most of which were jointly authored, and that the most preferred journal for publication by researchers is the Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, which is now an Open Access journal. While publications from IARI are available to subscribers of the Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA), public availability to IARI publications is very meager. Hence, in order to make their research output more accessible and available to a wider audience, IARI researchers should deposit their work in IARI’s Open Access repository Eprints@IARI. However, making such a deposit requires an Open Access policy, which IARI is yet to adopt.