Diagnostic Pathology in 2010: the successes and perspectives of open access publication

Excerpt

Electronic information transfer has replaced previous written information in nearly, if not all fields of communication to a high percentage. This method includes social information which is commonly spread by radio and television (and only delayed and less intensively distributed by newspapers), as well as all fields of science. This information can be classified into "spread of research results and ideas" (scientific journals) and into "direct research participation" (clinical trials, high energy experiments, etc.). Open access publication is a specific form of electronic information transfer. It is based upon an open information transfer medium such as the internet, and offers a non-commercial, i.e., free, access to read all included articles. The payment for this is provided by the authors (or their institutions), and interested companies by advertisement. Obviously, open access can be easily provided in electronic communication, and is, in general, difficult to be implemented by non-electronic media worldwide. …