A coalition of national and regional college student associations has issued a statement titled 'Student Statement on the Right to Research.' The statement calls on universities, research funders and researchers to take action in support of open access (OA) to research. Coalition partners include the American Medical Student Association, the Student PIRGs, Students for Free Culture, the Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, the Trinity University Association of Student Representatives and the California Institute of Technology Graduate Student Council. Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) helped to coordinate discussions that led to the launch of this statement and sponsors the statement website.
Students rely on access to academic journal literature for their research and education. However, even before the recent economic crisis, many colleges have struggled with the high costs of journal subscriptions, restricting access for students and scientists alike. The statement points out that learning and inquiry are impeded when scholars lack access to fellow researchers' work, and when students lack access to the work of scholars before them. At the same time, digital technologies have opened new opportunities for research. New tools facilitate faster discoveries, speed the development of new technologies, and accelerate the progress of science. Patients could have access to the latest medical research, citizens could evaluate scientific information on environmental impacts, and developing countries could apply the most recent scholarship to public health and development efforts. But access barriers leave these opportunities under-explored.
The 'Student Statement on the Right to Research' closes with a call to action, urging universities, governments and other research funders, researchers, and additional student organisations to support OA. It also implores them for a commitment to back OA in their activities.
The full text of the statement is available online at http://www.righttoresearch.org.
