MDPI joins COUNTER Registry in open access research transparency boost

Open access (OA) publisher, MDPI, has been included in the COUNTER Registry, a move designed to provide libraries and institutions with standardised usage statistics to better measure the global impact of OA research.

The publisher will now offer usage reporting across its entire journal portfolio, giving institutions and research consortia access to transparent data about how their scholarly work is being accessed and used. These reports are designed to help institutions evaluate their research impact and make informed decisions about funding and purchasing.

The latest COUNTER Code of Practice, Release 5.1 (R5.1), provides international standards for reporting usage statistics for online scholarly content. This updated version is optimised for OA and includes Global Item Reports, which show worldwide usage for individual articles.

According to Tasha Mellins-Cohen, Executive Director at COUNTER Metrics, this commitment from MDPI is a significant step. “We’re delighted to see born-OA publishers engaging with COUNTER,” she said. “By adopting the COUNTER standard, MDPI is showing that they want to be measured against the same yardstick as other publishers.”

Becky Castellon, Institutional Partnerships Manager at MDPI, added: “COUNTER 5.1 compliance reflects MDPI’s continued efforts to provide the best support for our affiliated scholars and institutions. Through these usage reports, our global research community can access trustworthy data about how their work is being used and accessed. This information is often vital for reviewing publishing partnership agreements and for making informed decisions about future funding allocations.”

“Publishing in OA is a long-term investment in openness and research impact,” continued Castellon. “In line with COUNTER’s recommendations, we believe that tracking long-term trends is the best way to ensure a fair assessment of OA cost per use. When used in this way, alongside other industry-standard metrics like citations, COUNTER 5.1 reports can become valuable resources for measuring the global impact of OA.”