Numerous studies have reported that articles published in open access journals garner more citations than articles published in subscription-based journals, although this claim has recently come under intense scrutiny. What the debate about quantitative trends in citation patterns is missing is the opinion of the authors who publish articles in open access and subscription-based journals. In particular, are authors concerned with the anticipated post-publication metrics (citations, pageviews, or downloads) for their articles when choosing publication venues? For authors who have not submitted a manuscript to an open access journal, what percentage increase in post-publication metrics would be necessary to persuade them to do so? This study seeks to address these questions via semi-structured interviews with tenure-track faculty members in the Departments of Biology and Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is hoped that this study will help inform the outreach efforts of open access advocates and campus administrators
