Open access and research assessment in the social sciences

Open access (OA) - free and unrestricted online access to research publications - is increasingly encouraged, required, and monitored at various levels which has made it a top topic within science policy during the last decade. This chapter focuses on the intersection between assessment and OA, highlighting the social sciences and especially the diversity of research output. OA should be considered as a part of research assessment, as it contributes to quality by enhancing transparency and impact. Using OA as a criterion in assessment may discriminate against researchers, institutions and fields with locally oriented research missions and less OA-resourceful research environments. There are also potential system-level risks of endangering multilingual scholarly communication, and promoting quantity in publishing at the expense of quality. When hiring, promoting and funding individual researchers, experts should assess the quality of research based on the contents rather than the journal or publisher or open availability of publications.