[AISWorld] CFP - Challenges Journal Special Issue: Challenges in Open Access Publishing for Software Engineering and Information Systems Fields

[Graziotin Daniel]

Challenges in Open Access Publishing for Software Engineering and Information Systems Fields
Special Issue of Challenges journal <http://www.mdpi.com/journal/challenges>
Special Issue Web page: <http://www.mdpi.com/journal/challenges/special_issues/systems-fields>

It is known that research results are often hidden behind the publishers' paywall and may not be accessible for all researchers and practitioners. While there are thousands of peer-reviewed journals with consistently increasing subscription costs, universities, libraries and companies are suffering from budget cuts making it difficult for them to offer a wide access to articles and journals. Therefore, there is an apparent danger that published research results are not seen by the audience that would benefit from them. Arguably, a solution for this matter would be to make all the research results freely available over the Internet. Open Access as defined in the Budapest statement is such an initiative. Indeed, as of today, various Open Access models for publishers exist. The most commonly used models are called the gold, green, hybrid, and the delayed publishing models. Many new players are entering this market: independent journals and magazines, subscription-based traditional publishers, and the so-called predatory publishers. In Software Engineering and Information Systems fields, the status of Open Access publishing is little researched and hence to large extent an unknown and little understood venue for researchers and practitioners. The purpose of this special issue on Open Access publication challenges is to investigate the uncharted terrain in the fields of Software Engineering and Information Systems. We welcome all kinds of viewpoints including theoretical contemplations, systematic reviews, mapping studies, and empirical research papers on different topics, including: 

*	Publication models 
*	Quality of Open Access publications 
*	Industrial experiences 
*	Researchers' perceptions 
*	Publishers' viewpoints 
*	Status of Open Access research 
*	Costs of Open Access publishing 
*	Barriers for adoption of open access 
*	New publication innovations in Open Access 

Submissions:
Manuscripts should be submitted online. Please see the Instructions for authors page <http://www.mdpi.com/journal/challenges/instructions#submission>.
For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on the website.

The publication fees are waived for submissions in 2013 (including this special issue). However, a fee may apply for those articles that need major editing and formatting and/or English editing. 
Please see <http://www.mdpi.com/journal/challenges/apc> for more details.

Important Dates: 
Abstract (optional): October 1st, 2013. 
Deadline for manuscript submission: November 1st, 2013. 
Notification to Authors: February 1st, 2014 (tentative date). 
Final version: March 1st, 2014 (tentative date). 

About the Journal:
Challenges (ISSN 2078-1547) is an international, peer-reviewed scientific Open Access journal which provides an advanced forum for presenting research proposals and discussing open problems. It also publishes reviews and communications.

Special Issue Editors:
Daniel Graziotin (primary contact), Xiaofeng Wang, and Pekka Abrahamsson. 

Faculty of Computer Science, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Domenicani 3, 39100 Bolzano/Bozen, Italy 
E-Mail: graziotin at inf.unibz.it, {xiaofeng.wang, pekka.abrahamsson}@unibz.it. 
Phone (Daniel Graziotin): +39-0471-016257 
Fax (Daniel Graziotin): +39-0471-016009