Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1: Foundations: Open Access -- Open Access: Beginnings and Developments -- Open Access: Components and Relationships -- Part 2: Foundations: Theory and Practice -- Theory: Definitions and Disciplines -- Theory and Practice: Relationships and Gaps -- Part 3: Perspectives: Theory in Research -- Theory in Open Access Studies: Scoping and Analysing -- Theory in Open Access Studies: Using and Generating -- Part 4: Perspectives: Theory in Action -- Theory in Open Access Practice: Theorising and Acting -- Theory in Open Access Practice: Engaging and Evading -- Part 5: Integrations: Theory, Practice, and Open Access -- Theory and Practice: Barriers and Bridges -- Open Access: Debates and Priorities -- Conclusion: Open Access in Theory and Practice.

"Open Access in Theory and Practice investigates the theory-practice relationship in the domain of open access publication and dissemination of research outputs. Drawing on detailed analysis of the literature and current practice in OA, as well as data collected in detailed interviews with practitioners, policymakers and researchers, the book discusses what constitutes 'theory', and how the role of theory is perceived by both theorists and practitioners. Exploring the ways theory and practice have interacted in the development of OA, the authors discuss what this reveals about the nature of the OA phenomenon itself and the theory-practice relationship. Open Access in Theory and Practice contributes to a better understanding of OA and as such, should be of great interest to academics, researchers and students working in the fields of information science, publishing studies, science communication, higher education policy, business and economics. The book also makes an important contribution to the debate of the relationship between theory and practice in information science, and more widely across different fields of the social sciences and humanities"--