{"id":4819,"date":"2024-08-21T13:35:14","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T13:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stm-assoc.org\/?post_type=oa-dashboard&#038;p=4819"},"modified":"2025-10-24T16:50:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T15:50:45","slug":"methodology-and-notes","status":"publish","type":"oa-dashboard","link":"https:\/\/stm-assoc.org\/oa-dashboard\/oa-dashboard-2\/methodology-and-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Methodology and Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"margin-bottom: -10px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Methodology &amp; Notes<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-44487\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com\/stm.offloadmedia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/10001047\/STM-Divider-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"40\" \/><br \/>\n<b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sources<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This dashboard is based on analysis of data from\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elsevier.com\/en-gb\/solutions\/scopus\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Scopus<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elsevier.com\/en-gb\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Elsevier<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esac-initiative.org\/about\/transformative-agreements\/agreement-registry\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">ESAC initiative<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fand the\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/doabooks.org\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fand will be updated annually.\u202f The data supplied by Scopus are from a combination of both proprietary data and data from openly available sources, including the\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/doaj.org\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fand\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unpaywall.org\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Unpaywall<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u202f All data included in this dashboard is available to download via the link at the bottom of this page and to re-use under the terms of a\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202fCC BY-NC<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202flicense.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Methodology<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Scopus data in the form of two separate datasets (overview by countries\/regions and overview by funder) was analysed via Microsoft PowerBI. Input data has been enriched by the means of lookup tables, to enable splits by:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Open Access types<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Discipline (STM or SSH)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Regions (i.e. groups of countries)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Research4Life eligible countries\/regions<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Funders<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Data visualisations from PowerBI have subsequently been exported in csv format for visualisation using the Flourish platform.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Each article, review and conference paper considered in this dashboard was assigned to unique categories for the purposes of analysis and visualisation. For example, where the country\/region is displayed, this only reflects the country of the corresponding author, while the countries\/regions of co-authors are not shown. Similarly, articles, reviews and conference papers have been assigned to a unique discipline, based on the Science-Metrix Classification of Scientific Journals, and each article, review or conference paper was assigned to a unique OA type (e.g. a gold OA article deposited in an institutional repository is only counted once as gold OA rather than twice as gold OA and green OA). Although this approach introduces an extent of simplification, it was necessary to avoid double counting in our analysis.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To understand whether an author was offered gold open access, but did not take it up, Scopus and Elsevier data was examined to establish whether gold open access was used by other publications in the journal. If at least one of the articles in the journal in a given year was published gold open access, then the entire journal is considered to have offered gold open access to all authors in that publication year.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With each annual update there will be slight variation across the dataset due to the continuous updating and refinement of the data held within Scopus.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Classification<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Scopus defines\u202f<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">articles<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fas based on original research or opinion,\u202f<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">review papers<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fas significant reviews of original research that has already been published, and\u202f<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">conference papers<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fas original articles reporting data presented at a conference or symposium.\u202f For further information, please see the\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elsevier.com\/solutions\/scopus\/how-scopus-works\/content\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Scopus Content Coverage Guide<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u202f \u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Scopus records were mapped to the\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.science-metrix.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F05%2Fsm_journal_classification.xlsx&amp;data=05%7C01%7CLucy%40stm-assoc.org%7C0ee14c32c8c24796005a08db09e71add%7Cfd35d3189a774ee585d7c22deeb22cfe%7C0%7C1%7C638114660415205957%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=2nuoJEyay8zv1jo5MB0US7UOPrF99H2ASCKaapSYUNo%3D&amp;reserved=0\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Science-Metrix Classification of Scientific Journals (7<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">th<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202fpublic release)<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fand then assigned to disciplinary groupings via lookup, as shown in the table below.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 27.1535%; height: 234px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"1\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Science-Metrix field<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Category<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"2\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Communication &amp; Textual Studies<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">SSH<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"3\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Economics &amp; Business<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">SSH<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"4\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Historical Studies<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">SSH<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"5\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Philosophy &amp; Theology<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">SSH<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"6\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Social Sciences<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">SSH<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"7\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Visual &amp; Performing Arts<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">SSH<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"8\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Agriculture, Fisheries &amp; Forestry<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"9\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Biology<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"10\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Biomedical Research<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"11\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Built Environment &amp; Design<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"12\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Chemistry<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"13\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Clinical Medicine<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"14\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Earth &amp; Environmental Sciences<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"15\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Enabling &amp; Strategic Technologies<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"16\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Engineering<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"17\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Information &amp; Communication Technologies<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"18\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Mathematics &amp; Statistics<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"19\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Physics &amp; Astronomy<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr aria-rowindex=\"20\">\n<td style=\"width: 88.5289%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Psychology &amp; Cognitive Sciences<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 28.5872%;\" data-celllook=\"65536\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">STM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Geographic regions are identified using\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unstats.un.org\/unsd\/methodology\/m49\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">the United Nations M49 standard<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u202f Click on the following links\u202f for more information on the identification of\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/North_America\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">North America<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fand\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_in_South_America\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">South America<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u202f The European Union was identified using this\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/European_Union\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">List of Member States<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f(the United Kingdom is omitted in 2021 due to ceasing its membership).\u202f The grouping named\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.research4life.org\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Research4Life<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fdisplays the aggregated total output of articles, reviews and conference papers by corresponding authors based in\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.research4life.org\/access\/eligibility\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">eligible countries\/regions<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f(lists A and B).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Access Type Definitions<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Each article, review and conference paper considered in this dashboard was assigned to a single access type based on the following definitions.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bronze:\u202f<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">an open access publishing route whereby an article or monograph is made free-to-read on the publisher\u2019s website and as such is supported by subscriptions or other forms of payment.\u202f It is made available under a general publisher policy (e.g. after an embargo expires), for a specific purpose (e.g. for content of broad interest), or on an ad-hoc basis. \u202f\u202fSuch publications may have limited or unclear reuse rights or be freely available only for a limited time. \u202fSome may have licenses considered to be an \u201copen license\u201d and others may not. Therefore, some of these articles might be considered gold if they had more complete metadata, while others may not meet the commonly accepted definitions of open access, such as the declaration of the\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org\/read\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Budapest Open Access Initiative<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gold:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fan open access publishing route where the final published version of an article (see\u202fVersion of Record) is freely and permanently available online immediately on publication, for anyone, anywhere to read. Re-use depends on the license applied to the article.\u202fArticle Publishing Charge (APC)\u202fmay apply. For the STM OA Dashboard, articles, reviews, and conference papers that have been published in a\u202fhybrid journal\u202fvia gold are included in this category. Versions of Record without a Creative Commons License but which are free to read on the publisher site are classified as bronze within the data shown.\u202f The number of gold open access publications identified here therefore may be less than other sources which use a broader definition of gold.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Green:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fan open access publishing route where a version of an article is publicly shared online in a repository or on a website, often as an\u202fAccepted Manuscript. This type of access is generally supported by subscriptions to the journal in which they are published and other forms of payment.\u202f To support a sustainable business model, publishers may maintain an embargo, a period where the article is only available from the publisher, and\/or may retain an\u202fExclusive License to Publish\u202f(sometimes for a limited time) through an agreement with the author.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Subscription-only:\u202f<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">a publishing route by which funding for publication is provided through individual or institutional payments. Articles are then available to researchers at institutions that subscribe to the journal at no cost. Individuals without subscription access may have other options for access, including individual payment per article, links or access provided legally by the author, document delivery or temporary access or renting access or interlibrary loan. Researchers based in Low- and Middle-Income countries\/regions may be able to take advantage of reduced or no cost subscriptions offered to their institutions through such organizations as\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.research4life.org\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Research4Life<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Limitations<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Versions of Record without a Creative Commons license but which are free to read on the publisher site are classified as bronze within the data shown. It is therefore likely that the number of gold open access publications may be less than other sources which use a broader definition of gold.\u202f Despite this, we are confident that the data accurately reflects the trends identified and discussed. Additionally, the open access type known as\u202fdiamond or platinum<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">is likely counted within the category of gold.\u202f It was not possible to refine the data sufficiently to identify this OA type separately.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Please note that the balance of subscription-only and green open access items for the most recent year reported is likely to be affected by\u202fembargoes\u202fand may change in future iterations of the dashboard.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The method used to measure the opportunity for an author to choose gold OA\u202fmay undercount the scale of gold OA offered in the market, as potentially there are journals that allow gold OA, but do not actually end up publishing any OA articles in a given year.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It is acknowledged that each of these data sources is subject to limitations, such as reduced coverage of local language publications from low- and middle-income countries\/regions. The use of alternative data sources might yield different results to those presented here.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Some percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.\u202f Figures were uploaded with two decimal places and then rounded to the nearest whole number in each visualisation by Flourish.\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">From April 2024, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.scopus.com\/posts\/changes-to-scopus-open-access-oa-document-tagging\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Scopus updated its OA tagging policy to fully align with the Unpaywall definitions<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u202f This change affected roughly 2 million OA tags in Scopus and represented roughly 8.4% of the 24 million+ OA items currently in Scopus.\u202f The result was that documents shifted their classification status either from bronze to hybrid or gold, or from hybrid to gold. The change did not cause items to lose OA status, or for non-OA items to become OA.\u202f For the STM OA dashboard, readers will see a small increase to rates of gold publication and a corresponding decrease in bronze across the dataset compared to previous versions of the dashboard.\u202fSlight variations across the dataset will occur with each annual update of the dashboard due to the continuous updating and refinement of the data held within Scopus.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ESAC data concerning Transformative Agreements is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esac-initiative.org\/about\/transformative-agreements\/share\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">self-reported by libraries and consortia on a voluntary basis.<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Acknowledgments<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This dashboard is the product of a collaboration involving STM publisher members, who provided data that underpin the dashboard; the independent consulting firm, Research Consulting, which provided guidance throughout the project and provided the formulation of data analysis methodology, processing, and validation; and Scopus, which also provided data and analysis.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/stm-assoc.org\/document\/2025-stm-oa-dashboard-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Click here to download data<\/span><\/b><\/a><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f(.xlsx)<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For more information,\u202f<\/span><a href=\"mailto:%20info@stm-assoc.org\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">contact\u202fus\u202fby\u202femail<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you wish to reuse any of the information presented as part of this dashboard, please cite it as follows:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM). (2025. The STM Open Access Dashboard. [Online]. Available from:\u202f https:\/\/www.stm-assoc.org\/oa-dashboard\/<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Last updated:\u202fOctober 2025<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":4799,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-4819","oa-dashboard","type-oa-dashboard","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Methodology and Notes - STM Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stm-assoc.org\/oa-dashboard\/oa-dashboard-2\/methodology-and-notes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Methodology and Notes - STM Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Methodology &amp; 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