An anthropological emic-etic perspective on open access practices

Jingfeng Xia

doi:10.1108/00220411111105461

Login

Welcome:
Guest

Search for:

Browse:

Product Information:

Resources:

Journal of Documentation

ISSN: 0022-0418

Online from: 1945

Subject Area: Library and Information Studies

Content: Latest Issue | Latest Issue RSS | Previous Issues

Options: To add Favourites and Table of Contents Alerts please take a Emerald profile

An anthropological emic-etic perspective on open access practices

Document Information:
Title:	An anthropological emic-etic perspective on open access practices
Author(s):	Jingfeng Xia, (School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University-Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA)
Citation:	Jingfeng Xia, (2011) "An anthropological emic-etic perspective on open access practices", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 67 Iss: 1, pp.75 - 94
Keywords:	Communications, Open access publishing
Article type:	Conceptual paper
DOI:	10.1108/00220411111105461 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Acknowledgements:	The author thanks Blaise Cronin and Rachel Applegate for their constructive comments, and is also grateful to the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions.
Abstract:	Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine open access practices using an anthropological view of emics and etics. Design/methodology/approach – An emic-etic distinction has been theorized in anthropological research for decades. Its insider and outsider views are adopted here to provide greater understanding of open access development. The visions of various groups of academics, particularly faculty scholars and librarians, are explored to identify their different positions on open access involvement as well as the impact of those positions on open access practices. Findings – This analysis reveals that new models of scholarly communication need to cope with existing systems and become sustainable only when the thoughts and behaviors of insiders have been fully understood by outsiders and appropriate strategies have been taken on in practice. Originality/value – A theoretical framework was introduced to understand the practices of open access repositories and journal publishing.