During International Open Access Week, I co-moderated a panel called “Open Access and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” The panelists were amazing and I learned a great deal. Being a strong proponent of open access, I sometimes gloss over the challenges of its implementation. One interesting subject that came up very briefly was the use of highly technical and unnecessarily academic language in research publications. It’s all well and good for researchers, instructors, and members of the public to be able to access current research without coming up against a paywall, but making content more accessible to readers is also important.
This topic struck a chord. As academics and authors, do we need to constantly prove our intelligence through needless jargon and pretentious word choices? I think this is an excellent question to pose throughout academe…
Leah Howd 