Tell me more ×
Academia Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for academics and those enrolled in higher education. It's 100% free, no registration required.

Is there any compulsory rule for researchers to have publications in restricted access publication platform? What if one has majority of his publications on open access journals?

share|improve this question
7  
No, there is no such rule. – JeffE May 20 '12 at 18:08
5  
Of course, there's no absolute rule; the more interesting question to me is: "What are the implications for your career if you ethically object to closed access journals and choose to only publish in open access journals?" In many cases, this will require you to submit to lower prestige journals. In what cases is this price worth paying? How can you minimise any detrimental effects on your career? If you find this interesting too, feel free to edit question to incorporate. – Jeromy Anglim May 21 '12 at 5:40
3  
Such an ethical stand requires you to submit to fewer journals, not necessarily to worse journals. – JeffE May 21 '12 at 8:12
3  
@JeffE I guess it depends on the field as to whether at present good open-access options exist. – Jeromy Anglim May 22 '12 at 0:51
@JeromyAnglim: ...or can be created. – JeffE May 22 '12 at 7:35
show 1 more comment

2 Answers

up vote 24 down vote accepted

No. The important point is whether the journals are good (= publish good papers) rather whether the access is open or restricted. This being said, in many fields AFAIK the better journals are access-restricted.

share|improve this answer
12  
However it's important to distinguish between real journals and the many vanity presses masquerading as journals. – Henry May 20 '12 at 21:01

Some funding agencies require to publish in open-access journals, or at least strongly encourage it. For example, I am funded by a funding agency that strongly encourages to do so. Unfortunately, in many fields, there simply aren't any high-quality open-access journals around.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.