{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]],"date-time":"2026-09-12T06:03:52Z","timestamp":1789193032105,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study analyzes the cognitive dissonance displayed by authors at research intensive institutions in the United States (U.S.) regarding the scholarly publishing of Open Access (OA) publications. A qualitative analysis of 154 open-ended responses was conducted. Eight codes were identified, then each response was analyzed for the codes. The codes themselves coalesce around a phenomenon the authors of this study term the article processing charge (APC) Trap, in which privileged and well-resourced researchers in the U.S. experience highly contradictory sentiments about OA publishing. The cognitive dissonance characteristic of the APC Trap result in strong feelings of conflict as well as powerlessness. The qualitative analysis reveals the APC Trap as a deeply layered phenomenon, with manifestation dependent on positionality, including demographic features and interactions between APC Trap codes. While much has been made of the failings of the APC model of OA publishing for under-resourced researchers, this study reveals the ways this publishing model is unsustainable even for privileged researchers most well-positioned to participate.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0351430","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T17:23:34Z","timestamp":1782926614000},"page":"e0351430","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["\u201cThe system is obviously bonkers\u201d: The APC Trap and the bind of scholarly publishing across four research intensive institutions in the U.S."],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6759-1624","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Melissa H.","family":"Cantrell","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6203-9387","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Rachel","family":"Caldwell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4505-9316","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jennifer A.","family":"Mezick","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matthew","family":"Estill","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5767-8486","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Lauren B.","family":"Collister","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0351430.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.3233\/ISU-160815","article-title":"Article processing charges: A new route to open access?","volume":"36","author":"G Beasley","year":"2016","journal-title":"Information Services and Use"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0351430.ref002","article-title":"Article processing charge hyperinflation and price insensitivity: an open access sequel to the serials crisis","volume":"29","author":"SYS Khoo","year":"2019","journal-title":"LIBER Q"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0351430.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22","DOI":"10.1162\/qss_a_00245","article-title":"The APC-barrier and its effect on stratification in open access publishing","volume":"4","author":"T Klebel","year":"2023","journal-title":"Quant Sci Stud"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0351430.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6","DOI":"10.1162\/qss_a_00015","article-title":"Article processing charges: Mirroring the citation impact or legacy of the subscription-based model?","volume":"1","author":"N Sch\u00f6nfelder","year":"2020","journal-title":"Quant Sci Stud"},{"key":"pone.0351430.ref005","author":"HG Morrison","year":"2018"},{"key":"pone.0351430.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcot.2020.10.039","article-title":"Article processing charge may be a barrier to publishing","volume":"14","author":"VK Jain","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Clin Orthop Trauma"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0351430.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"442","DOI":"10.5334\/pme.1517","article-title":"\u201cThe Best Home for This Paper\u201d: A Qualitative Study of How Authors Select Where to Submit Manuscripts","volume":"13","author":"LA Maggio","year":"2024","journal-title":"Perspect Med Educ"},{"key":"pone.0351430.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/1742-5581-4-1","article-title":"Factors influencing publication choice: why faculty choose open access","volume":"4","author":"SE Warlick","year":"2007","journal-title":"Biomed Digit Libr"},{"key":"pone.0351430.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"505","DOI":"10.1007\/s12109-020-09771-9","article-title":"Scrutinising what open access journals mean for global inequalities","volume":"36","author":"M Demeter","year":"2020","journal-title":"Pub Res Q"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0351430.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.5860\/crl.85.1.96","article-title":"Financial and other perceived barriers to transitioning to an equitable no-publishing fee open access model: A survey of LIS journal editors","volume":"85","author":"R Borchardt","year":"2024","journal-title":"Coll Res Libr"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0351430.ref011","article-title":"An APC trap? 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