Assess discipline- and publisher-level heterogeneity in Ukrainian APC support effects

Ascertain whether the effects of publisher-provided support for Ukrainian authors—specifically APC waiver initiatives—are uniform across scientific disciplines and whether differences exist between Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, and SAGE in the scope and effectiveness of their waiver programs.

Background

Multiple large publishers implemented APC waivers for Ukrainian authors in response to wartime disruptions. The extent to which these supports affect publication behavior may vary by discipline and by publisher policies.

The paper’s dataset enables disciplinary and publisher comparisons, but the authors note that without direct waiver usage data, differences in scope and effectiveness of specific programs remain to be established.