Skip to main content

Directory of open access journals

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) was launched in 2003 at Lund University, Sweden, with 300 open access journals and today contains ca. 10000 open access journals covering all areas of science, technology, medicine, social science and humanities.

An ambition of the open access movement is for traditional publishers, like Wiley-Blackwell and Elsevier, to move away from a 'Hybrid' publishing model to an Open Access publishing model - such as those titles listed in the DOAJ.

We strongly advocate researchers using the DOAJ listing to consider journal platforms for their research

 

Books
open access-DW

Open access journals are more cost-effective and efficient for communicating scholarly works, than 'Hybrid' publications

There are no embargoes, and therefore no delays for disseminating your work. Since the paper is open from the publisher's platform, they can help generate greater levels of impact by promoting the research via social channels.

If a fee is required to publish, the publisher does not accept any other source of revenue (e.g. subscriptions) which provides a greater degree of transparency for the costs of dissemination. Very often Open Access journals are funded by other mechanisms, such as by consortium, so cost should not be a barrier to authors in most cases. We operate an institutional fund for Brunel academics where such Open Access publishing fees are required.

Most Open Access journals also publish under creative commons licences by default (typically CC-BY). This enables authors to meet the OA policy requirements of funding bodies like the Research Councils and Research England. You can check the licence utilised by your Open Access journal in the DOAJ. Very often you have complete rights to dissemination even prior to formal publication. This allows you to engage with repository publishing systems and to freely share your work with colleagues and students at all times.

If more authors engage with quality Open Access journals, such as those found in the DOAJ, this will encourage traditional publisher to flip all business models for their journals to open. There are a number of other initiatives in the landscape that are driving this outcome. To be effective, authors need to think carefully about where they should publish their research with a mind to the future of the scholarly communication ecosystem.

DOAJ and journal quality

Publishers must now pass  stringent checks before inclusion in the listings. DOAJ is co-author to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (Principles) and DOAJ members are expected to follow these principles as a condition of membership. DOAJ reserves the right to reject applications for membership, or revoke membership if a member or sponsor is found to contravene the Principles.