Open Access: Who are the Ghost Readers?

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to analyze 'ghost readers' of Open Access journals by studying download patterns, revealing that their habits closely resemble those of institutional academic readers.

Contribution

The paper proposes a novel approach to infer the reading habits of anonymous Open Access users using download data, bridging a gap in understanding non-credentialed readership.

Findings

Ghost readers' habits are similar to institutional academic readers

Download patterns can reveal insights into anonymous readership

Method applied to Annual Reviews OA volumes

Abstract

To develop a funding model for Open Access journal publication, it is necessary first to understand who benefits. This is a difficult task, because, in Open Access, no credentials are needed to read a journal article, and, thus, those people who access journal articles through Open Access leave no self-identification. We might call these readers "ghost readers". In this paper, I propose a method to learn the reading habits of the ghost readers. I explore this method using a database of downloads from the Open Access volumes of the Annual Reviews journals. I find that the habits of the ghost readers are very similar to those of academic readers from known institutions.