Where to Publish?

The easiest way to find relevant journals in your discipline is to exchange information in your research community. So talk to your colleagues or ask for advice in your library. For more in-depth research, quality-checked online directories are a good option.

How Do I Find the Right OA Journal?

DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals

A good starting point for finding a suitable OA journal is the DOAJ. It is a global online directory of quality-checked OA journals, including more and more from from Switzerland.

Directory of Open Access Journals

oa.finder

Research tool for scientific publication organs, new with data of the University of Zurich. "The oa.finder will show you which journals are gold open access, what their citation impact is, whether they charge article processing charges (APCs), and if so how much, and whether your institution covers these charges via a transformative agreement or a publication fund."

oa.finder

B!SON

B!SON helps to find a suitable OA journal by using semantic and bibliometric methods.

B!SON

Short tutorials on how to use oa.finder and B!son Search OA journal

How Do I Check the Quality of an OA Journal

An OA journal should meet the same qualitative requirements as conventional journals. A guide and food for thought for choosing the right journal:

Think.Check.Submit.

Further Assessment Tools

These platforms help to choose a suitable journal according to the following criteria:

Citation freqency - oa2020-de.org

Keywords - edanz.com

Score Cards - qoam.eu

Cost-effectiveness - eigenfactor.org

Bibliometrics & Open Metrics

How Do I Find an Open Access Book Publisher?

DOAB: Directory of Open Access Books

The online directory DOAB lists OA book publications with scientifically recognised quality levels. Thus, DOAB is a helpful tool to find not only publications but also trustworthy book publishers.

DOAB

OAPEN: Online Library and Publication Platform

OAPEN is an initiative for OA publishing of monographs in the social sciences and humanities. Various university presses have joined the initiative and offer their publications freely via the OAPEN library.

OAPEN

Predatory Publishers and Journals

In recent years, the number of journals published by predatory publishers has skyrocketed. These are their strategies:

High publication fees with no or insufficient quality assurance
Lack of transparency with regard to quality control, fees, copyright
Members of the editorial board do not exist, or the names of well-known researchers are used without their knowledge
Imitation of names and design of renowned journals
Use of falsified impact factors
Spam mails promising an implausibly fast publication, although an elaborate peer review is to be carried out