At nine years old, Esmeralda Martín’s goals were to attend college and become an author. At 18, she enrolled into UC Irvine, majoring in education science and psychology and social behavior with the hopes of one day becoming a teacher. During her time at UCI, Esmeralda also discovered a passion for research and how it can enable her to help her community.

After completing her undergraduate studies at UCI in spring 2023, Esmeralda achieved her second goal when she copublished a research article that focuses on how first-time parents of young children from low-to-moderate income, racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds split household tasks, child care, and financial responsibilities. Based on her work in the lab of UCI Professor Stephanie M. Reich, the research article “How New Mothers’ and Fathers’ Allocation of Tasks Relate to Their Coparenting Relationship,” was published in the Journal of Family Issues in November 2023.

With the help of a UC open access agreement with SAGE Publishing, Esmeralda and Clarielisa Ocampo, one of her student coauthors, have been able to share their published research with their families and friends around the world.

Publisher Open Access Agreements

The University of California has agreements with a number of scholarly publishers, such as SAGE Publishing, that allow UCI authors like Esmeralda and Clarielisa to be able to publish their work open access (OA) at a discounted rate or even at no cost. As with UC’s other OA publisher agreements, the UC libraries are redirecting subscription funds to help cover OA publishing fees for UC authors who publish in covered journals. Thus, the agreements help reduce costs for authors and control UC libraries’ journal-related expenses.

When UCI authors choose to publish OA in a SAGE journal, UCI Libraries will cover the first $1,000 of the OA fee, and authors will receive a 15-20% discount for the remaining fee. UCI authors who do not have sufficient research funds available may request additional library funding to cover the remaining OA fee.

A main benefit of publishing open access includes increasing access to publicly funded research.

Impact of Open Access

Because her research was published open access, Esmeralda was able to share her article with her family and friends. The news of her accomplishments even reached Mexico because open access articles can be read from every region and country. Esmeralda’s family was able to rejoice in seeing their family name, Martín, in formal print as well as share the excitement of having a published author in the family. As a first-generation college student, Esmeralda said she struggled with imposter syndrome during her first year of college.

“I was constantly surrounded by individuals who seemed to understand everything that the professor was discussing in lecture, whereas I felt like I couldn’t speak up or ask questions because I was worried about sounding like I didn’t belong in a college class,” Esmeralda explained.

Today, Esmeralda works as an academic affairs coordinator at a community college. She encourages other first-generation students to never doubt their sense of belonging in higher education because their voices are crucial and necessary in such spaces.

Clarielisa, who is now pursuing a PhD at the University of California, Riverside researching how to diversify STEM education and the STEM workforce, said it was incredibly meaningful to share her research with colleagues, friends, and family. She said their excitement emphasized the significance of this milestone, marking what she hopes will be the first of many publications.

“Having my work available through open access serves as a beacon for future students from similar backgrounds, demonstrating that publication is attainable and showcasing the work that I’ve accomplished” she said. “Open access ensures that my journey and contributions can inspire and inform others.”