On the importance of Open Access for the publication performance of DFG-assisted scientists. Report on the results of a survey by order of the German Research Society

As one of the signers of the >> Berlin Declaration On Open Access to Scientific Knowledge << in October 2003, the German Research Foundation (DFG) began at that time to look into ways of offering more active support to Open Access (OA) initiatives. Now the results of a DFG-commissioned survey provide an overview of the factors which primarily determine publishing and response behaviour in various disciplines, and identify the level of importance of free-of-charge online publications for these academic fields and their publishing usage habits. The survey reveals that the usage of various types of OA is still low for the individual publisher, but at the same time there is a high level of approval among those surveyed that the DFG should give stronger support of OA.