Research ArticleInformation Research CommunicationsVol. 3 | Issue 1 | 2026 | pp. 42–52Open access
The Synergy Effect: How Funding and Open Access Amplify Research Citations in Emerging Universities
- 1*,
- 1,
- 1
- 1 Department of Library and Information Science, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, INDIA
Published in Information Research Communications
Correspondence: Fullstar Lamin Gayang
Department of Library and Information Science, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, INDIA
Email: fullerlamin@gmail.com
Copyright: © 2026 Manuscript Technomedia LLP. This is an open access article.
- Published:
- Jan 1, 2026
- Received:
- Dec 16, 2025
- Accepted:
- Feb 27, 2026
- DOI:
- 10.5530/irc.3.1.5
How to cite
Gayang, F. L., Wanniang, E., & Islam, A. (2026). The Synergy Effect: How Funding and Open Access Amplify Research Citations in Emerging Universities. Information Research Communications, 3(1), 42–52. https://doi.org/10.5530/irc.3.1.5
Abstract
Background
We examined the interaction between Open Access (OA), research funding and citation impact from seven universities in Northeast India by studying 8616 articles between 2015 and 2024.
Methodology
The findings indicate that OA articles receive substantially more citations than closed access publications, with a 68% citation advantage and statistically significant differences (p<0.001).
Results
Funding for research makes a publication more likely to be in OA by 1.67-3.9 times, with internationally funded agencies contributing significantly more to OA (60.9-100%) than Indian national funding agencies (16.9-71.2%). We found a significant synergy between funded OA publishing and citation impact; OA articles supported by funding received 171-274% more citations than unfunded papers that were closed access.
Conclusion
The advantages of international collaboration were similarly strong; internationally collaborating papers received 21.9-73.1% more citations than their domestic collaboration.
Keywords
Subject
Article metadata
| Title | The Synergy Effect: How Funding and Open Access Amplify Research Citations in Emerging Universities |
|---|---|
| Authors | Fullstar Lamin Gayang; Evangelyne Wanniang; Akramul Islam |
| Affiliations | Department of Library and Information Science, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, INDIA |
| Corresponding author | fullerlamin@gmail.com |
| Journal | Information Research Communications |
| Volume / Issue | Vol. 3, Issue 1 (2026) |
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