Abstract
INTRODUCTION
 The successful implementation of Evidence Based Practice (EBP) depends significantly on practitioners’ access to relevant research articles. It has been argued that the time consuming nature of EBP is a major detriment to its acceptance and widespread use,1 and the logistical difficulties, like having to retrieve research publications of interest from the local university library, are likely to exacerbate this issue. In recognizing the associated adverse effects that this problem could present for knowledge generation and dissemination, the idea to make all research findings publicly available online led to the conception of the world wide web in the early 1990s.2 However, many scientific journals that are slow to abandon their subscription-based business models hide their online content behind paywalls, charging article fees that are usually in the range between $20 and $40. Acknowledging the barriers to EBP that these fees can impose, we have previously compared different strategies for prosthetists and orthotists to maximize their free online access to relevant research literature. The respective data collection in the Spring of 2017 resulted in the finding that approximately 40% of search results in Google Scholar linked to freely available full papers, whereas the remaining 60% links offered only the abstract, but not the full paper, free-of-charge.3 In light of the ever progressing efforts to improve public availability of research, such as the open-access publishing movement or the respective requirements mandated by research funding agencies, we hypothesized that the ratio of freely available online articles is increasing over time, and we repeated our data collection one year after the initial study.
 Abstract PDF Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cpoj/article/view/32010/24429
 How to cite: Burke J, Fiedler G. ONLINE ACCESS TO RESEARCH PAPERS – CHANGES OVER TIME. CANADIAN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS JOURNAL, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2, 2018, ABSTRACT, POSTER PRESENTATION AT THE AOPA’S 101ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SEPT. 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018. 
 Abstracts were Peer-reviewed by the American Orthotic Prosthetic Association (AOPA) 101st National Assembly Scientific Committee. 
 http://www.aopanet.org/
Highlights
The successful implementation of Evidence Based Practice (EBP) depends significantly on practitioners’ access to relevant research articles
The respective data collection in the Spring of 2017 resulted in the finding that approximately 40% of search results in Google Scholar linked to freely available full papers, whereas the remaining 60% links offered only the abstract, but not the full paper, free-of-charge.[3]
Our hypothesis was supported by the finding that open access to articles on Google Scholar almost doubled within one year
Summary
The successful implementation of Evidence Based Practice (EBP) depends significantly on practitioners’ access to relevant research articles. Acknowledging the barriers to EBP that these fees can impose, we have previously compared different strategies for prosthetists and orthotists to maximize their free online access to relevant research literature. The respective data collection in the Spring of 2017 resulted in the finding that approximately 40% of search results in Google Scholar linked to freely available full papers, whereas the remaining 60% links offered only the abstract, but not the full paper, free-of-charge.[3] In light of the ever progressing efforts to improve public availability of research, such as the open-access publishing movement or the respective requirements mandated by research funding agencies, we hypothesized that the ratio of freely available online articles is increasing over time, and we repeated our data collection one year after the initial study
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