Open Access Journals You Should Check Out
What is ‘Open Access’ and Why is it Important?
Open Access (OA) just means the literature, in this case research, is free and available online. The copyrights and licensing barriers also tend to be less restrictive for both authors and readers than traditionally published works. So why is this important? Traditionally published works are only available to those who can afford the subscription fees and/or article processing charges (APCs), and it affects education and future research. The Right to Research Coalition goes into greater detail, but here are the ways education and future research are restricted without OA:
Incomplete education: If your professor doesn’t have access to latest research, then they can’t bring it into the classroom. When you are writing research paper or thesis, you could be barred from accessing necessary articles for citation/research without paying a hefty fee if your school’s library does not have a subscription. This especially true for smaller colleges and universities.
Duplication: If a researcher or their institution does not have access to all the research done in their field, then they could possibly duplicate a study that has already been done.
Limited research input from low-income countries: Students, researchers, and doctors in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) face much steeper access barriers than their counterparts in high-income countries, especially when the journals originate in high-income countries. The average APC in USD is $2,000-$3,000 per article, and since the dollar is strong right now: that means the value of the APC could be higher in LMICs.
Less innovation: Small businesses and entrepreneurs, who have been observed as the driving force of innovations in some fields (e.g. biotechnology, renewable energy, etc…), with smaller budgets may not have access to all the latest research.
Open Access Journals You Should Check Out
Below are a list of open access journals I have screened from the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and are organized by subject. They all publish the full text of their articles in English, use a double-blind peer review system and don’t charge a fee for processing an article. There are countless journals listed that are published in other languages and have APCs on the DOAJ as well.
Agriculture
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International Journal of Agricultural Sciences: all aspects of crop and animal farming and businesses; the scientific underpinning of agronomy and animal husbandry, engineering solutions, agro-industrial systems; decision support systems; land use; environmental impacts of agriculture and forestry; socio-economics of agricultural development; impacts of climate change; rural biodiversity; experimental design and statistical analysis; the application of new analytical and study methods (including molecular studies)
International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development: decision-making; education and training; environmental policy and management; family and social enterprise; farm management; farming systems; farm structures; rural tourism and recreation; strategic planning; information and communication technology in agriculture
Business
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Journal of Economics, Business & Acountancy: public economics, international economics, banking and financial institution development economics, monetary economics, financial economics, finance and wealth management, marketing, human resource management, strategic management, operations, entrepreneurship, banking ethics, banking operation and management, public sector accounting, taxation, financial accounting, management accounting, auditing, and information systems
Journal of Small Business Strategy: small business, entrepreneurship, management
Education
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Tuning Journal for Higher Education: competence-based learning in higher education; academic teachers’ professional development and teaching competences; cooperation and partnership building; emergence and development of higher education areas
Social Work and Education: the theory and practice of social work, social care, social welfare, social work education and social politics at all levels
Languages other than English: Ukranian
Digital Culture and Education: digital technology; cultural implications emerging from technology and digital spaces; educational technology; public knowledge; MOOCs and open education; gamification, edutainment, and video games; new methodological approaches to the digital, the social, and educational spaces; new theoretical approaches to understanding the enmeshing of technology, education, and culture; digital humanities & digital sociology; computer sciences; postdigital, transhuminist, and posthumanist approaches; social, culture, political, and cultural dimensions of digital media in education; global and local dimensions of the relationships between technology and education; critical analysis of the relationship between technology, education, and culture
Engineering and Technology
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ARO-The Scientific Journal of Koya University: engineering, technology, agriculture, science, physics
Journal of Information Policy: electrical engineering, electronics, nuclear engineering: telecommunication, technology, industrial engineering, management engineering, information technology
Engineering and Applied Research: electrical engineering, agricultural engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, chemical engineering, technology
Engaging Science, Technology, and Society: science and technology studies (STS), STS-related issues
Environmental Sciences
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La Granja: Revista de Ciencias de la Vida: earth sciences, geosciences, biotechnology and agricultural sciences
Languages other than English: Spanish (Castilian)
Ecozon@: ecocriticism, culture and environment, literature and environment, environmental ethics, ecofeminism, animal studies, bio-art
Languages other than English: German, Spanish (Castilian), Italian, French
Journal of Natural Resources and Development: hydro-meteorological extremes and their impacts; climate change adaptation; integrated water resources management; land and ecosystems; ecosystem-based disaster risk management; (agro)-biodiversity; sustainable energy systems; the water – energy – food security nexus; environmental governance
Fine Arts
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Tate Papers: British art, modern international art, museum practice, art history, contemporary international art
ZoneModa Journal: fashion research--its complexity (aesthetic, social, cultural, economic, and historical); fashion criticism and fashion theory
Languages other than English: Italian
HyperCultura: literature (print and hypertext), media studies (radio, television), film studies, visual and performative arts, teaching (language, literature, rhetoric)
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Music and Arts in Action: musicology, ethnomusicology, cultural studies, anthropology, applied drama, cultural sociology, social ecology, institutional and micro-ethnography, psychology and arts education
Language and Literature
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Biolinguistics: theoretical linguistics, language acquisition, theoretical biology, genetics, cognitive psychology
Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies: language teaching, education, linguistics
Law
Human Rights /حقوق بشر: human rights, humanitarian law, international human rights, comparative human rights
Languages other than English: Persian
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The Chinese Journal of Global Governance: globalization, international law, rule of law, international community, economics, developing countries
Brazilian Journal of Forensic Sciences, Medical Law and Bioethics: medical law, criminology, odontological law, bioethics, criminal profiling, forensic sciences
Languages other than English: Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian)
Medicine
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*There are too many to choose from, so I picked a few of my favorites*
Archiwum Medycyny Sądowej i Kryminologii (Archives of Forensic Medicine and Criminology): forensic medicine, forensic science and related fields, medical ethics and deontology
Languages other than English: Polish
Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal: medicine, biomedicine, community health, family medicine, health sciences, biochemistry, biomedical communication
Oncology in Clinical Practice: clinical oncology, targeted therapies, types of neoplastic disease, diagnosis, therapy (predominantly systemic treatment but also radiotherapy), molecular biology of cancer and pathology
Military Science
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Journal of Defense Analytics and Logistics: military logistics, military operations, supply chain management, defence logistics, operations research, supply chain management space
Vojnotehnički Glasnik / Military Technical Courier: contemporary weapon systems, modern military technologies, military equipment
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Religion
Journal of Islamic Studies: Islam, Islamic law
Languages other than English: Arabic
Political Science
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Journal of Eurasian Studies: Eurasia, migration, international relations, domestic and international politics, economic and developmental issues, social and intellectual exchanges, environmental concerns and technology
Journal for Deradicalization: terrorism, political violence, theory and practice of deradicalization, radicalization processes, new developments in radical and violent milieus or groups
Strategic Public Management Journal: public management, strategic management, public policy, administrative law, public policy analysis, regional development, community development, public finances, urban planning, program evaluation in public administration, ethics, comparative administrative systems
Psychology
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International Journal of Integrative Psychology: psychotherapy, integrative psychotherapy, psychology, transactional analysis, eclectic psychotherapy, counselling
Language and Psychoanalysis: language, methodology, theory, philosophy, child development, psychopathology, psychotherapy, embodied cognition, cognitive science, applied dynamical system theory, consciousness studies, cross-cultural research, and case studies
Journal of Social and Political Psychology: social and political psychology, understanding social problems, promoting social justice, socio-political issues, theoretical and methodological pluralism, diversity, peace psychology, community psychology, cultural psychology, environmental psychology, media psychology, economic psychology
Social Sciences
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Journal of Tourism Futures: tourism, international tourism, hospitality, tourism business
Journal Arts and Social Sciences: humanities, social sciences, fine arts
Languages other than English: Arabic
Revista Internacional de Estudios Migratorios / International Journal of Migration Studies: migration, human sciences, social sciences, ethnic relations, intercultural relations, anthropology
Languages other than English: Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), French