Dismantling the Ivory Tower’s Knowledge Boundaries: A Call for Open Access as the New Normal in the Social Sciences Post-COVID

14 Pages Posted: 18 May 2022

See all articles by Jacqueline N. Lane

Jacqueline N. Lane

Harvard Business School

Hila Lifshitz-Assaf

Harvard University Lab for Innovation Sciences; Harvard LISH, Lab for Innovation Sciences

Date Written: February 15, 2022

Abstract

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, governments, policymakers, foundations, publishers, and researchers poured significant resources into scientific knowledge production on COVID-19 and its impacts while also expanding access to such research. The emphasis on the “open access” publishing model—a set of principles and practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of cost and access barriers—was a boon to researchers studying the crisis and society in general, dismantling disciplinary and socio-economic boundaries within academia as well as boundaries between academia and the general public. By embracing the open access publishing model outside times of crisis, we could dismantle those boundaries permanently, leading to immeasurable benefits for society.

Suggested Citation

N. Lane, Jacqueline and Lifshitz-Assaf, Hila, Dismantling the Ivory Tower’s Knowledge Boundaries: A Call for Open Access as the New Normal in the Social Sciences Post-COVID (February 15, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4035670 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4035670

Jacqueline N. Lane

Harvard Business School ( email )

Soldiers Field Road
Morgan 270C
Boston, MA 02163
United States

Hila Lifshitz-Assaf (Contact Author)

Harvard University Lab for Innovation Sciences ( email )

Soldiers Field Road
Cotting House 321A
Boston, MA 02163
United States

Harvard LISH, Lab for Innovation Sciences ( email )

William James Hall, Sixth Floor
33 Kirkland Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
26
Abstract Views
164
PlumX Metrics