[{"_1":2,"_3":-5,"_4":-5},"loaderData",{"_5":6,"_7":8},"actionData","errors","root",{"_26":27,"_28":29,"_30":12,"_31":12,"_32":12,"_33":12,"_34":12,"_35":12,"_36":37},"routes/canvas.shared.$sharedTextdocId",{"_9":10,"_11":12},"sharedTextdoc",{"_13":14,"_15":-7,"_16":17,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":23,"_24":12,"_25":12},"isAuthenticated",false,"sharedTextdocId","68acad61384c8191aea1c682cdf64cba","versionInt","title","Visual Abstract – Free Availability Of Cited Articles (yahaya & Tay 2016)","type","code/html","content","\n\n\n \n \n Visual Abstract — Free Availability of Cited Articles (Yahaya & Tay, 2016)\n \n\n\n

Visual Abstract

Could freely available articles reduce faculty reliance on the library?

Evidence from SMU citations (2015 cohort), free‑version checks via Google Scholar (May–June 2016). Yahaya & Tay (2016), arXiv:1611.01272.

\n\n

\n \n

Free versions exist for most cited items

70.4%

of 142 sampled citations had at least one free version.

Economics

79.8%

Social Sciences

50.0%

\n\n

\n \n

Free copies were online early enough to use

Economics median lead time to the oldest free copy:

\n \n

For cited items ≤2 years old: Economics 87.5% and Social Sciences 100% still had a free version.

\n\n

\n \n

Practical implication

Usable at time of research

≈ 74.3%

combining lead times with typical publication lags — many cites could have been obtained without library-mediated access.

\n \n

\n\n

\n \n

What versions were free?

\n Pre/Post‑prints 64%\n Final published 33%\n Other / undated ~3%\n

\n\n

\n \n

Where were free copies posted?

\n \n

Oldest: University websites (~67%)

\n \n

Newest: Researcher networks (~31%)

\n\n

Scope & caveats

Single institution sample (SMU); Economics dominates — active preprint culture likely boosts free availability and long lead times.
Dating of \"oldest free\" copies uses a best‑effort web \"carbon‑dating\" method with uncertainty.
Discovery relied on Google Scholar; other discovery routes may change levels slightly.

\n \n

\n\n \n\n\n","access","public","isModerationBlocked","isAnonifyApiKeyDetected","dd",{"_38":39,"_40":41},"disablePrefetch",true,"shouldPrefetchAccount","shouldPrefetchUser","shouldPrefetchSystemHints","promoteCss","disableSSR","stripModulepreloadImports","statsigGateEvaluationsPromise",["P",37],"traceId","1290582364571004886","traceTime",1781517365937]