Fall of the (pay)wall: accessibility and readability of the scientific literature

[ UUID ] cee67cb3-9a71-42b8-8305-376c575a059c

[ Session Name ] Fall of the (pay)wall: accessibility and readability of the scientific literature [ Primary Space ] Digital Inclusion [ Secondary Space ] Openness

[ Submitter's Name ] Theresa Cheng [ Submitter's Affiliated Organisation ] University of Oregon, Oregon Health & Science University [ Submitter's GitHub ] theresacheng

What will happen in your session?

We'll undergo three phases of a design process to create projects that help students access and understand scientific literature.

Empathize: Pairs will observe one another using the web to answer a scientific question from a primary source without journal subscription access. On post-it notes, they'll jot down barriers to access and understanding. To map the problem space, small groups will pool and group/label their post-it notes on white boards. We'll have a whole-group discussion on access and equity with respect to scientific literature.
Ideate: Small groups will select 1+ problems and brainstorm solutions.
Experiment/prototype: Small groups will sketch a front page interface and/or mission statement for one of their proposed solutions. We'll share and discuss the proposals.

What is the goal or outcome of your session?

Although science is largely publicly funded, many barriers make scientific papers inaccessible to the public. Paywalls literally block access but are not the only barrier, as the knowledge and skills neeeded to successfully navigate and interpret the literature are heavily tied to socioeconomic privilege. The goal of the session is to create new resources and tools to make the scientific literature a more welcoming and navigate-able space, particularly for underrepresented students and trainees in STEM. Participants should leave the session (a) able to articulate barriers that students face when trying to access and understand the literature, and (b) with the kernal of a prototype for an open web project, tool, or resource that dismantles these barriers.

If your session requires additional materials or electronic equipment, please outline your needs.

The session requires post it notes, whiteboard space, poster paper, whiteboard markers, regular markers, and a projector + dongles.

Time needed

90 mins