Tools for finding open access journals and articles

Test different tools!

There are hundreds of journals to choose from, so it can be hard to decide which ones are reputable. Try different tools, such as the ‘Think. Check. Submit‘ checklist to help you assess the quality of the journal you are considering. If you are still not sure about your choice, speak to your supervisor or colleagues about your publishing options. University library staff can also provide useful guidance and advice.

When choosing a suitable, reliable and high-quality publishing channel, for example, the following services can be used:

  • CORE (Collection of open access research papers). Scientific OA articles from journals and publication archives.
  • DART-Europe E-theses Portal. Theses and dissertations from hundreds of European universities.
  • DOAB (Directory of Open Access Books). Scientific peer-reviewed OA books in different fields from various publishers.
  • DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals). Find a suitable OA journal for your discipline. DOAJ is a community-curated online directory which contains a comprehensive list of OA journals of various disciplines. Search e.g. by subject, full-text, language or country. NB: The majority of the journals listed by the DOAJ do not charge APCs!
  • Elsevier Journal Finder is a tool by Elsevier. You can limit your search to a certain field of science or to OA journals.
  • Edanz Journal Selector is a tool for choosing suitable journals beyond publisher borders. A journal can be searched e.g. by the field of study or an abstract. You can limit your search to OA journals.
  • JANE (Journal Article Name Estimator) helps you to choose a suitable journal, focusing on disciplines of biomedicine. The search is limited to publications indexed by the Medline database. OA journals are highlighted in the results.
  • Journal checker tool checks the journal’s Plan S compatibility.
  • JUFO (Publication Forum) portal is a service intended for searching information on scientific series, conferences and book publishers included in the Publication Forum classification used in Finland. You can find e.g. the publication forum level and the open access status of the journal.
  • OAPEN. The online library and publication platform for open access academic books.
  • Open Book Publishers is an academic book publisher whose electronic books are open to all.
  • SCImago Journal & Country Rank portal contains indicators for evaluating journals and countries that are based on the Scopus database (e.g. h-index, number of citations, SJR). You can limit your search to OA journals.

Several of these services can also be used for searching of scientific articles.

Also, check out these preprint servers:

Examples of browser add-ons and extensions:

These tools can be used for checking if article can be found as open access.

  • Unpaywall – Automatically displays a green Unpaywall icon in the right corner of the browser window if the article is available in an open access archive.
  • Open Access Button – By clicking the extension icon in the upper righthand corner or the browser, the extension opens a new window displaying the article if it is available as open access.

Remember:

  • There are numerous services available for searching OA journals, articles and repositories. Try them and find the ones that are the most useful for your needs!

(8/2024 KH)

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