Tag Archives: peerReviewJournals

Students can’t access essential research

The main reason that student can’t access to essential research is because the price of subscription to academic journals has increased drastically and the schools can not afford this prices. Schools with low income are forced to drop out, which leaves students without access to the main core of disciplinary journals. At this point students and researchers are left to work with what is available and not with what they need. In order for them to conduct research effectively they need access to this large portion of records. They say that libraries must subscribe to this journals no matter what the price is, even if this makes them run out of money.

Academic Research

Academic research is a privilege because only the few, usually institutions, who can afford to pay for access to it are able to use the most up-to-date research findings and information. Academic and research institutions are more likely to have access to research and peer review journals due to the high yearly costs, normally ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, that would prevent most individuals from being able to afford to pay for access to the journals. If academic research were a right, then there would be significantly less to no cost for access to the most up-to-date journals. (Today, there are financial cost even on things that we consider to be within our rights; for example, we have the right to a trial, but lawyers need to be paid and there are court fees. Usually the tax payers “flip the bill.”)

We can leverage the academic research privilege by contributing to public resources like Wikipedia, which will provide free and easy access to information that someone has obtained from using an “out-of-reach” academic research journal (properly cited of course). This would allow a large number of individuals, who are unable to obtain that academic research, to be able to have access to these priceless/invaluable research resources. Resources like Wikipedia, would facilitate a way to avoid huge fees and be a way, a “loop hole,” around the money barrier that would grant free and unlimited access to any researcher.