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This study analyzes Open Access (OA) publication patterns and their citation impacts in the UAE from 2016 to 2021 using the SCOPUS database. Addressing a critical research gap, it focuses on the UAE's unique academic and cultural context to offer insights into how OA practices influence citation metrics. By examining institutional factors and the performance of hybrid, green, and gold OA models, the study highlights the need for a national OA policy. The findings show that from 2016 to 2021, the UAE experienced a significant shift towards OA publishing, with OA publications increasing from 27% to 39%, and a 296% growth in OA publications compared to a 56% increase in paywalled articles. Despite the UAE's OA share being below the global average, several institutions outperformed this benchmark. OA articles generally received more citations than paywalled ones, with hybrid OA being the most cited category over green and gold OA.
Narayanan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.