The benefits of open access for science

The greatest benefit of open access is that it enables the results of scholarly research to be disseminated more rapidly and widely. More people can read the results of scholarly research, including those who would otherwise not be able to access that information because they cannot afford the subscription to an expensive journal, for example. New ideas can be also be dispersed more rapidly and widely, which in turn triggers new research studies; it serves as an impetus for knowledge.

Businesses also have broad access to the most recent scientific ideas, which they can then build on. Finally, open access contributes to the knowledge economy and provides an economic boost and since open access also implies wider reuse, recent knowledge can be put to immediate use in teaching (Bjork, 2017; Eysenbach, 2006a, 2006b; Hawkes, 2012; Norris, Oppenheim, & Rowland, 2008; Wang, Liu, Mao, & Fang, 2015).