From: "Ellis, Jennifer" <[log in to unmask]> Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 13:50:52 +0000 January 2014 saw President Obama sign the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 into law in the United States, requiring federal agencies with research and development budgets exceeding $100 million per year to develop public access policies. Whilst this has only been law for a relatively short period of time there has been much discussion on its implications, adding to a vocal movement that has been arguing for better access to publicly funded research for many years. But do researchers understand how it affects them, and what they need to do to comply? As part of a wider survey on Open Access carried out in March 2014, Taylor & Francis asked authors a series of questions on this issue, the findings of which have just been published at: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/explore/Open-Access-Survey-2014-Annex-A.pdf Just under 2,500 US-based authors responded (31% of the total respondents globally), and their answers showed that, whilst levels of awareness were relatively low (at 32%), authors felt generally positive about the Act and its benefits for them. Across all disciplines most agreed that publishing under this public access policy would enable their work to be read by more people (62%) and reach those outside the authors’ field more easily (53%). Almost half of authors agreed that this would lead to more citations of their work (47%) and increase its impact (45%). The survey results raise interesting questions on the communication and education required when governments issue legislation on access to research, and how information reaches individual researchers. Whilst awareness may be relatively low at this point (just months after the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014) how much will this have increased in a year’s time, as agencies formalize their policies, researchers get to grips with what this means for them, and they start to see the benefits for their research? You can now read the complete country level analysis at: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/explore/Open-Access-Survey-2014-Annex-A.pdf with the full survey results at: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/openaccess/opensurvey/2014 Plus, tell us what you think via Twitter @TandFOpen and follow the conversation at #oasurvey2014. Best wishes, Elaine Devine, Communications Manager (Author Relations) Taylor & Francis [log in to unmask]