Following on from the recent webinar entitled Introducing the OA Switchboard, we asked our speakers to respond to the unanswered questions posed by attendees via the webinar chat. You can find those questions and answers below. This may be useful for those who missed it or wish to share it with colleagues.
Slides can be viewed here.
OASPA is very grateful to the speakers for all of the work and time they have given to this webinar – in preparation, on the day, and after.
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Questions received via the webinar chat channel
Answers from Yvonne Campfens (YC), Ivo Verbeek (IV) and Ádám Dér (AD)
Q. Since the new German Research Foundation (DFG) funding program “Open Access Publication Costs” is currently available in Germany: to what extent are funding bodies, such as the DFG, involved in the development of OA Switchboard and know what this tool could achieve in the short, medium and long term and, above all, what not?
YC: Not enough! It would be great to get an introduction.
Q. Where in your workflow / messaging board do independent peer review servers come in? As AfricArXiv, we work e.g. with Decentralized Science, PREreview, Qeios, Peer Community In …, ScienceOpen, OSF/hypothesis etc. Do you have those also on your roadmap? Happy to discuss details 🙂 Also where do preprints come in?
YC: Please get in touch, I’d like to learn more yvonne.campfens@oaswitchboard.org – I would like to better understand who would want to ask what question to whom?
Q. Does OAS also process non-OA charges (if applicable). For instance page charges. In some cases both OA fees and non-OA fees are being charged for one single article.
IV: Answered in first and second video from Yvonne, the answer is yes, supported.
Q. Are funding opportunities also possible to inquire for preprint levels? i.e. What about APCs and funding opportunities by preprint repositories?
YC: A question back: who would want to ask the question?
Q. Is there/will there be an API so that Eligibility Inquiries can be generated automatically?
IV: Yes – shown in webinar. See https://bitbucket.org/oaswitchboard/api/src/master/.
Q. Is the communication always one to one? I could imagine cases, for example, where multiple would be willing to pick up the tab for a certain article.
YC: Messages (the same message) can be sent in parallel or sequentially. In a next iteration we are also planning for a ‘forwarding’ functionality.
Q. Can you set-up auto-reject rules on a journal level or only on for instance publisher level
IV: Auto-reject rules are on the institutional/funder (receiving side of E1 messages) and can include information on article, journal, but also publisher level, yes.
Q. Are there any integrations with ScholarOne Manuscript Central?
IV: Not yet. On our FAQ page (https://www.oaswitchboard.org/faq) you can read about ‘certified integrators’ in Q15.
Q. Do you have a timeline for when you will integrate with ScholarOne?
IV: Not yet. Send an email to Yvonne (yvonne.campfens@oaswitchboard.org) for more details.
Q. Does each user organisation only have access to their own data? Who owns the data? Could some organisation use the whole system data to create reports and services that they could then ‘sell back’ to HEIs and funders? Or is the data protected and only accessible and usable by the organisation(s) related to it?
YC: Indeed, we are serious about security, privacy and confidentiality. This is all protected technically and by contracts. See our FAQ on the website (https://www.oaswitchboard.org/faq), especially Q13, Q14 and Q26. Happy to discuss in-person.
Q. I’m curious about the industry standard list for publication types. Where can I learn more?
IV: It should be in the repository (see FAQ on our website). https://bitbucket.org/oaswitchboard/api/src/master/
More specific, the schemas: https://bitbucket.org/oaswitchboard/api/src/master/switchboard/schemas/
Q. I would also be interested in learning about the industry standard list of article types. I’m not seeing anything in the FAQs.
IV: It is in the public repository – https://bitbucket.org/oaswitchboard/api/src/master/
Q. Where does the OA Switchboard sit compared to the Journal Checker Tool from PlanS or oable from Knowledge Unlatched.
YC: Integration with JCT (forwarding those questions on behalf of funders or institutions to , in case JCT is unable to immediately answer) is on our roadmap for 2021.
If institutions use oable, that can be the way they receive messages and integrate with the OA Switchboard. A message for them as recipient will be routed to oable, if so instructed by the institution in configuring their account when onboarding.
Q. Are these verification data coming from the Plan S journal checker tool which may contain some errors that we have identified. Or does OAS have their own raw data in terms of R&P or P&R deals? And who is paying for the service?
YC: Verification data are not coming from the Plan S Journal Checker Tool. An institution/funder can set up master data on their central OA fund policies as part of configuration of their account.
OA Switchboard doesn’t keep data on R&P or P&R deals generally/centrally.
The funders, and institutions with an account are paying.
Pricing is on the website (FAQ). Happy to discuss 1-on-1.
Q. Will funders like Max Planck mandate/strongly encourage to use OA Switchboard?
AD: We are not a funder, but we believe that it’s a natural requirement from many institutions, not only funders to operate with standardised workflows and reporting. Having said that, it’s unlikely that we will mandate this in the foreseeable future, as it is also clear that it takes time until the community implements such standards.
Q. Will OAS integrate with ServiceNow?
YC: The idea is that parties (on behalf of a publisher/funder/institution) connect to the OA Switchboard via our API.
Q. Would participation as a ‘pilot user’ involve costs for the OAS platform? And do you currently accept any other pilot users at all? 😉
YC: Pilots don’t involve charges from the OA Switchboard. If you’re interested, please drop me an email: yvonne.campfens@oaswitchboard.org
We’re very happy to add further pilots and pilot users.
Q. Is the intention that authors could submit their own E1 queries, or is this entirely for funders and ?
IV: MVP supports messages (E1, P1) in use cases where messages originate from the publisher only. Different use cases may be supported in the future, but we are a back office solution to facilitate communication between funders–institutions. We won’t have a UI for researchers/end-users. See also Q28 on sustainability and our principles on https://www.oaswitchboard.org/faq.
Q. With a “web hook” do you mean that you use a REST API to transfer the JSON objects? Or do you use the modern ActivityPub protocol in line with the Open Web and Open Social Media?
IV: We support generic webhooks, but also custom connectors if needed. Standard webhook is HTTP POST.
Q. Is there a plan to formalize the communication schema as part of a community consensus process and expand its potential use cases?
IV: The standard message structure – technically: the message schemas – is already a community consensus process. Changes are discussed and decided by a workgroup. For ‘how to get involved’, see: https://www.oaswitchboard.org/get-involved
Q. Does the involvement of Jisc mean that all Jisc members have access to OAS? Or are separate subscriptions still needed?
YC: See the 3 December Jisc announcement on https://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/uk-collaborates-with-new-body-to-accelerate-global-open-access-03-dec-2020
“Jisc is working with the OA Switchboard to explore how UK institutions can best benefit from the shared data and infrastructure this service will provide. Institutions are encouraged to get involved by contacting Yvonne Campfens, project manager (yvonne.campfens@oaswitchboard.org)”
Q. My experience, for example from the German DeepGreen project, is that in publishing houses e.g. the license department and the technical content department are often strongly separated. Sometimes one hand does not know what the other hand is doing. What are your hopes or the status of discussions with that the OA Switchboard can be integrated into these various publication process steps? I am currently in doubt that so many will or *can* participate.
YC: I’d be very much interested to discuss in-person. Please contact me via yvonne.campfens@oaswitchboard.org
Q. Will you make the OAS roadmap (for 2021 and beyond) – or elements of it – available on your website?
YC: Definitely. We’re currently working on this, and it will be posted on our website soon. As per our deed of incorporation: “…community representation, involvement and input in product/service development is ensured and formalised via: an Advisory Group, which holds regular meetings as part of the framework of the organisation, Task/Working Groups, information on the website regarding the development roadmap, regular reporting (via newsletters or blogs or otherwise), and relevant ‘Codes’.”
Q. Will this switchboard eventually include OA monographs / chapters as well?
YC: We’re committed to supporting all types of research output, and have a Working Group of OA Books and proceedings. For ‘how to get involved’, see: https://www.oaswitchboard.org/get-involved
Q. Is the system set up as anchored to the single-publication (like article)? In other words, will the system be able to accommodate non-APC third-party funding models like library subsidies (e.g., Open Library of Humanities)?
YC: We’re committed to supporting all business models, and have a Working Group of ‘diamond initiatives’. For ‘how to get involved’, see: https://www.oaswitchboard.org/get-involved
Q. Does the publisher enter Y/N for Prior Agreement here? Or does it auto-populate based on the information above?
IV: Prior agreement Y/N is a field that would have to be entered by the publisher, either via API or through the UI.
Q. A typical use case is likely that a publisher would like to know whether to charge the funder or the institution. Are the messages to be sent one after the other (e.g. funder and then institution) or shall they be sent together?
YC: Messages (the same message) can be sent in parallel or sequentially. In a next iteration we are also planning for a ‘forwarding’ functionality.
