Open-Access Publishing of Articles in Special Education Journals: A Systematic Review

Access to published, peer-reviewed articles in special education is important to researchers and practitioners alike. However, much of the published literature base lies behind paywalls, inaccessible to many potential consumers. Although researchers can make their published work openly accessible in multiple, there is limited information on the prevalence of open-access publishing, predictors of open-access publishing, and the costs of and options for accessing paywalled articles in special education. To address these gaps in the literature, we examined articles published in 2022 in 43 special education journals (n = 1,678) and found that 55% of articles were openly accessible; reporting funding for the research, non-U.S. corresponding authors, and journal impact factor were positively associated with open-access publishing; and the average cost to access a paywalled article was approximately $36. Implications for equity, scientific progress, and the research-to-practice gap are discussed.