MELIBEA

MELIBEA is a directory and validator of institutional open-access (OA) policies regarding scientific and academic work. As a directory, it describes the existing policies. As a validator, it subjects them to qualitative and quantitative analysis based on fulfilment of a set of indicators that reflect the bases of an institutional policy.

Based on the values assigned to a set of indicators, weighted according to their importance, the validator indicates a score and a percentage of fulfilment for each policy analyzed. The sum of weighted values of each indicator is converted to a percentage scale to give what we have called the “validated open-access percentage”, calculated as explained in the Methodology section.

The types of institution analyzed include universities, research centres, funding agencies and governmental organizations.

MELIBEA has three main objectives:

1. To establish indicators that reveal the strong and weak points of institutional OA polices.
2. To propose a methodology to guide institutions when they are drawing up an institutional OA policy.
3. To offer a tool for comparing the contents of policies between institutions.

The idea of applying a sequence of questions reflecting the qualities of a clear and precise institutional OA policy was inspired by a paper by Peter Suber posted in his monthly bulletin for February 2009 (“Open access policy options for funding agencies and universities” http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/02-02-09.htm).

Methodology

The units of analysis are the documents expressing the institutional open-access policy of universities, research centres, funding agencies and government organizations.

These documents are evaluated according to 24 questions (Q) that cover descriptive aspects (details of the institution, the document, etc.) and aspects of policy content (requirement or recommendation, document type, deposit deadlines, barriers, scope, embargo periods, incentives, etc.). Twelve of these questions were assigned a maximum score of two points each. The value of each one varies according to the terms in which the policy is expressed. These values are given a weighting factor and they are added to obtain the weighted value (P):

Weighted value (P)= Q4*0.4+Q7*0.05+Q8*0.1+Q9*0.05+Q10*0.02+Q13*0.05+Q14*0.1-Q15*0.05+Q20*0.05+Q21*0.05+ Q22*0.04+ Q23*0.04

Finally, what we have called the “validated open-access percentage” (OA%) is calculated. For comparative purposes, this percentage is calculated by converting the weighted value to a scale of 0 to 100 bearing in mind the minimum and maximum values that can be obtained according to the proposed model:

Validated percentage (OA%)=100*(P-Pmin)/Pmax-Pmin

NB: The validator is conceived so that the minimum will always be greater than 0. As the questionnaire is intended for academic institutions of different types (academic, research, funding and government), some questions may not be relevant and are left unanswered. The maximum will thus always be lower than two, but varies according to the scale used.

For funding and governmental institutions the maximum value that can be obtained is 1.74 and the minimum 0.5. For universities and research centres the maximum and minimum are 1.8 and 0.45, respectively.

Bearing in mind these conditions, the OA% is calculated as:

Funding and governmental institutions

% OA= 100*(P-0.5)/1,74-0,5= 100*(P-0.5)/1,24

Universities and research institutions:

% OA= 100*(P-0.45)/1.8-0.45= 100*(P-0.45)/1.35