Research Guides: Open Science, Citizen Science and Science 2.0: Open Journals

Academic publications should be available for the world to read, to learn from, to build upon. Ben Adida

IMPACT FACTORS
If an OA journal is relatively new, you can evaluate the publisher by checking indicators for their other journals. SJR, SNIP and Eigenfactor are second-generation metrics that attempt to compensate for impact factor’s failings and are worth reviewing. One final indicator, more qualitative, is to look up the editorial board, authors and other people associated with the journal and research their backgrounds.

Directory of Open Access Journals This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive source for OA journals. Has developed quality control standards for inclusion.

OAIster This link opens in a new window
Find free digital resources for scholars, often in university research repositories.
Subjects: Covers most subjects.
Info type: scholarly articles, ebooks, research reports, working papers, conference papers, theses, primary sources, sheet music, audio files, web videos, data sets

IS THE PUBLISHER REPUTABLE?
First, consider asking your library liaison or check the publication on Ulrich’s, a database that contains information on journals and publishers. An OA journal that is included in a major index such as Web of Science has been critically reviewed and is likely a widely recognized and reputable OA journal. Google Scholar is comprehensive and free, but its selection criteria are not published. Check Beall’s List of Predatory Publishers and Scholarly Open Access to see if the publisher is listed.

Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association
Has produced a code of conduct for OA publishers.

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