Open Access in Public Law

The project “Open Access to Public Law” explo­res if and how a quality-assured multi-author blog (QMAB) such as Verfassungsblog can con­tribute to building a sustainable Open Access ecosystem in legal sciences. Verfassungsblog is the first open QMAB in German legal sciences. It is recognised as a high-quality online medium in the legal academic community and also renowned beyond Germany. Verfassungsblog publishes experts’ analyse and comments on topical events and developments in constitutional law and politics.

Still, Open Access is not well established as a publication mode in (German) legal academia, in particular when it comes to traditional scholarly publications such as journals, monographs or edited volumes. This is the project’s starting point: In a first step, an empirical study shall shed some light on the reasons behind the discipline’s hesistancy to publish Open Access. Apart from that, discussions with Open Access funding institutions and in cooperation with Knowledge Unlatched shall enable us to identify how QMABs can can secure Open Access funding. Finally, we develop a business model in order to sustainably operate Verfassungsblog that can be used by other academic blogs.

03.2021 – 05.2023

  • Fischer, G. (2022). Im Ringen um Erkenntnis und Anerkennung: Wie Rechtswissenschaftler*innen das eigene akademische Publizieren im Zuge von Open Access sehen. Recht und Zugang, 3(1), 19–49. https://doi.org/10.5771/2699-1284-2022-1-19
  • Dalkilic, E. & Gast, K. (2023). Potenziale und Hindernisse der Open-Access-Finanzierung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung qualitätsgesicherter Multi-Author-Blogs – eine Umfrage unter Bibliotheksmitarbeiter*innen. Recht und Zugang, 4(2), 92–115. https://doi.org/10.5771/2699-1284-2023-2-92
  • Gast, K. (2023). Vergleichende Analyse der Publikationskosten beim qualitätsgesicherten Multi-Author-Blog und Verlagen. Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7991752
  • Gast, K. (2023). Potentiale aus einem Zusammenschluss des Verfassungsblogs mit weiteren Publishern – ein Modell zur Schätzung monetärer Synergieeffekte (Version 1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10212380
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