Open Access Publishing
Open access ensures that scientific publications are accessible to everyone free of charge.
How to choose a scientific publication for your research
When selecting a publication channel, prioritize its openness, reliability, and quality to enhance the impact of your research. Beware of predatory journals that charge fees for open access but fail to perform essential scholarly tasks like rigorous peer review.
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- The Aalto University Open Science and Research Policy states that Aalto University is committed to open access publishing.
- Attention should also be paid to the reliability of the publication channel.
- Publishing in a high-quality publication channel will increase the impact of research.
Not sure about the quality of a journal? Consult your research community, or contact acris@aalto.fi.
Quality assessment of publication channels
There are several tools available to assess the reliability and quality of a publication channel. Reliable scientific publication channels can be found using the following services:
- (levels 1,2, and 3)
- The (open access journals)
- The ) (open access publishers)
The number of questionable publication channels is steadily increasing. So-called predatory journals charge publication fees but neglect core scholarly responsibilities, such as rigorous peer review. However, shortcomings in editorial quality may also result from other factors, such as limited resources.
- Questionable publication channels have been compiled in the so-called , which is no longer actively updated, and in (subscription required).
- Journals identified as questionable are assigned level 0 in the . Level 0 also includes reliable journals, such as university series.
The impact of journals can be measured using various tools, such as . More tools.
Characteristics of reliable and questionable/predatory journals
- The ISSN is sometimes mentioned as a sign of a reliable publication channel, but even a predatory journal can obtain one.
- Questionable/predatory journals often claim to be indexed in well-known databases where they are not actually listed — always verify such information from the original source.
| Reliable journals | Questionable/Predatory journals |
|---|---|
| The journal is verifiably listed in well-known databases (e.g., Scopus, Web of Science, DOAJ). | The journal falsely claims to be indexed in well-known databases. |
| The scope of the journal is well-defined. | The journal's scope statement is vague or includes several different fields. |
| The journal is affiliated with or sponsored by an established scholarly society or academic institution, and the publisher may be a member of or . | The journal imitates the name and/or website of a well-known journal. In extreme cases, the website of a reputable journal may be hijacked by a predatory journal. |
| The editor and members of the editorial board are recognized experts in the field. | A missing or fabricated editorial board, which may include the names of well-known researchers without their consent. |
| Instructions to authors are clear and comprehensive (e.g., the peer review process, author fees, copyright, and possible licenses are clearly described). | Inadequate web site and instructions: no contact information, shortcomings in instructions to authors (e.g., peer review process, copyrights, and author fees). |
| Rigorous peer review. | Inadequate or lacking peer review. |
| Obtrusive direct marketing by e-mail, including promises of a quick publishing process. |
Tools for quality assessment of the publication channels
Publication Forum (Julkaisufoorumi) is a classification system for publication channels—journals, conferences, and book publishers—maintained by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. It evaluates publication channels through 23 expert panels and ranks them into four levels: 3 (top), 2 (leading), 1 (basic scientific), and 0 (not meeting level 1 criteria). Level 0 includes both reliable channels like university series and questionable ones such as predatory journals. The system aims to identify and exclude suspicious outlets by placing them at level 0, and it also provides information on openness. The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture uses Publication Forum as the primary tool for assessing journal quality, which influences university funding. However, it should not be used to evaluate individual researchers.
Journal Impact Factor
One of the most recognized tools for measuring the impact of journals the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) listing by Clarivate Analytics. Journal Impact Factors can be viewed through the licensed Journal Citation Reports database, which is accessible via (Aalto username and password required).
Calculation formula for 2019:
A=total cites in 2019
B=2019 cites to articles published in 2017-2018
C=number of articles published in 2017-2018
D=B/C = 2019 Journal Impact Factor
Citescore, SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) ja Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP)
Elsevier offers free access to three journal classifications based on data from Elsevier’s Scopus database.
- CiteScore calculates the average number of citations. CiteScore 2024 calculates the average number of citations received from 2021 to 2024 for articles published in that eriod by the number of such publications.
- SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) examines the quality of citations, e.g., the prestige of the citing journal.
- Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) measures impact by weighting citations in relation to the total number of citations in a subject field.
Find reliable open access journals
Find reliable open access books
OASPA is a community of open access scholarly publishers. All members undergo a review process before joining and must continue to uphold high standards to remain part of OASPA.
Think. Check. Submit
Think. Check. Submit. helps researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their work.
Think. Check. Attend.
Think. Check. Attend. is an initiative that aims to guide and assist researchers in judging the legitimacy and academic credentials of conferences.
A journal rating tool based on user experience:
MDPI, Frontiers and Hindawi
Some large open access publishers, such as MDPI, Frontiers, and Hindawi are controversial. Their portfolios include journals of varying quality, ranging from respected to lower quality. We advise researchers to carefully evaluate the quality of individual journals from these publishers. The classification can be used as a tool in the evaluation. If the journal is at least on level 1, it can be considered as a trustworthy publication channel.
Aalto University has decided to discontinue its 10% discount agreement with MDPI starting October 2024, and the 10% discount agreement with Frontiers from the beginning of 2025. Some Hindawi journals are included in the FinELib agreement with Wiley. Wiley has announced plans to discontinue the Hindawi brand and fully integrate Hindawi journals into the Wiley portfolio (as reported, for example, by ).
Additional information
Questionable publishing
