Removing all barriers in the way of Science: A case study on Sci–Hub’s usage in Europe

Gerakopoulou, Elli; Founti, Christina M.; Foster, Christopher

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/100280 Copy

Description

Title

Removing all barriers in the way of Science: A case study on Sci–Hub’s usage in Europe

Author(s)

• Gerakopoulou, Elli
• Founti, Christina M.
• Foster, Christopher

Issue Date

2018

Keyword(s)

• Sci – Hub
• Piracy
• Open access
• Hacktivism
• Europe

Abstract

Sci- Hub is the world’s largest pirate academic library. This case study explores its usage in Europe based on the website’s log data for the 6-month period between September 2015 and February 2016. A quantitative analysis of the log data was conducted followed by a qualitative interpretation of the results. The analysis revealed the European countries with the largest number of download requests, emerging download trends across disciplines and academic publishers. Financial crises impact, academic publisher regimes and user behavior studies are used to explain the results. In addition, hacktivism and Open Access are explored and suggest Sci-Hub’s alignment with hacktivism and the formation of a unique digital social movement.

Publisher

iSchools

Series/Report Name or Number

iConference 2018 Proceedings

Type of Resource

text

Language

eng

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/100280

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2018 is held by Elli Gerakopoulou, Christina M. Founti, Christopher Foster. Copyright permissions, when appropriate, must be obtained directly from the authors.

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