What are the best open access psychology journals? Increasing the visibility of research is an integral part of the open access movement. By making their work freely available online, researchers can give more readers unrestricted access to it, increasing its visibility and impact. In addition, research published as open access can be more discoverable than work in traditional subscription-based journals because full texts can be indexed more easily by search engines such as Google Scholar.
Many different types of open access publication models may suit your article and subject area. In this article, we look at some of the best open access psychology journals you should consider as an outlet for your work. We focus on various factors that are inherent to the quality of a journal. These are the review process policy, the reputation of the editorial board, and the article processing charge policy.
Benefits of publishing in one of the best open access psychology journals
By providing greater access to research articles, open access helps to foster a culture of sharing and collaboration. Open access also helps to promote a culture of trust by making research results more transparent. As a result, researchers are more likely to be confident about research findings. This is particularly important in fields such as psychology, which has been plagued by problems with replicability.
By providing greater access to research articles, open access helps to foster a culture of sharing and collaboration. This can lead to the generation of new knowledge and ideas that may not otherwise have been discovered if they had never been published in an open access journal. Below, we list several of the best open access psychology journals that are currently available. But, first, let us review some of the key factors to consider.
Factors to consider
Choosing the right outlet among the best open access psychology journals for your research is crucial for ensuring that your work reaches the appropriate audience and has the desired impact. There are several factors to consider when selecting the ideal journal to submit your manuscript to, and being mindful of these factors can increase the likelihood of your work being accepted and cited by others in your field. Here are the key aspects to consider:
- Scope and relevance: The first and foremost factor to consider is the scope and relevance of the journal to your specific research. Ensure that the journal you select either (a) has a focus on the psychological subdiscipline that your research falls under, such as clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, or social psychology, to name a few, or (b) target the field of psychology broadly. The best open access psychology journals may be those that ensure a broad readership. Most of them have subsections focusing on the different psychological subdisciplines. Always consult the journal’s aims and scope section to determine if your research is a good fit.
- Journal reputation: The reputation of a journal plays a significant role in the visibility and credibility of your research. Look for journals with strong editorial boards comprising respected scholars in the field of psychology.
- Indexing and discoverability: Ensuring that your research is easily discoverable is essential for increasing its visibility and impact. Opt for journals that are indexed in well-known databases and repositories such as Google Scholar, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Inclusion in these databases ensures that your work can be easily found by other researchers, increasing the likelihood of citations and future collaborations.
- Open access model: Open access journals typically fall into one of two categories – gold or green open access. Gold open access journals make all articles freely available upon publication, while green open access allows authors to archive a version of their manuscript in an institutional or subject-specific repository. Consider the benefits of each model and select a journal that aligns with your needs and preferences. The best open access psychology journals typically practice the fold open access model.
- Article processing charges (APCs): Many of the best open access psychology journals require authors to pay an article processing charge (APC) to cover the costs associated with publishing their work. APCs can vary widely between journals and may be a deciding factor for some researchers with limited funding.
- Peer review process: A rigorous and transparent peer review process is vital for ensuring the quality of published research. Investigate the peer review model employed by the journal – single-blind, double-blind, or open – and determine if it aligns with your preferences. Many of the best open access psychology journals nowadays practice double-blind review to limit the potential for biased decisions. Additionally, consider the average time to review and publication, as this can impact the speed at which your research becomes available to the wider academic community.
- Policies on open science: The best open access psychology journals typically endorse open science practices. The importance of open science policies in selecting a psychology journal for your work cannot be overstated. Embracing transparency and reproducibility, open science practices promote collaboration, accelerate scientific discovery, and enhance the credibility of research findings. By selecting a journal with a strong commitment to open science, researchers not only contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field but also foster a culture of openness and trust. Furthermore, publishing in a journal that adheres to open science principles can increase the visibility and impact of one’s work, as open access articles are more accessible to a wider audience. In this way, researchers play a crucial role in promoting ethical and rigorous scientific practices, ultimately benefiting the entire scientific community.
5 of the best open access psychology journals
As a scientist, you are interested in answering questions and addressing problems. This is why you chose to study science. You want to know how things work and why things happen. You may also be interested in communicating your findings to others. The best open access psychology journals will publish papers that answer important questions and significantly advance the field of science. They should also be well-respected by other researchers. This means that they are peer-reviewed so that published work has been rigorously checked by scholars who are considered experts in the field.
As psychology continues to grow in popularity, it is necessary that we create an open environment where ideas can be shared freely. In this way, everyone can benefit from the latest findings in the field. The best open access psychology journals are a great place to start this journey. But which open access psychology journal should you choose? There are many factors to consider. Some of the best open access psychology journals you may want to consider are:
- advances.in/psychology
- PLOS ONE
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Scientific Reports
- BMC Psychology
We will review each of these journals in more detail.
advances.in/psychology
Many consider advances.in/psychology one of the best-open access psychology journals at the moment. It has a broad scope and accepts papers from various psychological sub-disciplines. Moreover, it emphasizes high-quality articles that significantly advance the field and are of wide importance. The journal’s publisher, Advances.in, is run by researchers. A unique aspect of the journal is that it promotes a fair academic publishing model that financially compensates editors and reviewers for their work.
Peer review
In many ways, the journal advances.in/psychology is revolutionizing open access publishing, making it one of the best open access psychology journals at the moment. Unlike almost any other journal, it pays editors and reviewers for their work. This was a highly welcomed change by the academic community, as many scholars have grown discontent with the publishing model that takes advantage of their work. The fact that reviewers are paid also ensures that the review process is fast and of high quality.
Moreover, the journal practices double-blind review. This is important as single blind reviews (where the authors of a given paper are revealed to the reviewers) strongly favor scholars from highly ranked institutions. Thus, to ensure a fair and high-quality review, advances.in/psychology practices double-blind review (i.e., neither the authors nor the reviewers know each other’s names).
Importantly, advances.ins/psychology publishes anonymized reviewer reports together with the respective accepted article. This ensures a high degree of transparency and accountability.
Editorial board
The editorial board of the journal is clearly outstanding. The editor-in-chief and co-founder of the journal, Dr. Jonas R. Kunst, has been a scholar at Harvard and Yale and received various awards, such as the Rising Star designation from the Association of Psychological Science. Co-founder Dr. John F. Dovidio from Yale University serves as consulting editor and is considered one of the most prominent scholars in the world.
The journal’s editorial board members further consist of excellent scholars from some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, such as Cambridge University or Harvard. In addition, it features scholars from a wide variety of countries who all are interested in reinventing academic publishing.
Article processing charge policy
Upon acceptance of their paper, authors are asked to pay an APC of $1950. Importantly, significant parts of it are used to pay editors and reviewers for their work. In other words, when you publish in the journal, you support your colleagues. When your colleagues publish in it, they support you.
Reasons to choose the journal
The journal advances.in/psychology checks many boxes, making it one of the best open access psychology journals at the moment. Especially its innovative publishing model that pays editors and reviewers for their work and its highly prestigious editorial board makes it a great choice. Scholars who want to publish in a high-quality outlet and at the same time contribute to a more sustainable publishing model should strongly consider submitting their work to the journal.
PLOS ONE
The journal PLOS ONE is one of the oldest journals among the best open access psychology journals. Strictly speaking, it is not a psychology journal per se but accepts submissions from a wide variety of disciplines. It is owned by the Public Library of Science (PLOS).
Peer review
PLOS ONE practices single-blind review. In other words, reviewers know the authors’ identities, but authors do not know who reviewed their papers.
Editorial board
The editorial board of PLOS ONE features a prestigious editorial board. The editor-in-chief is Dr. Emily Chenette, and the deputy editor-in-chief Dr. George Vousden. The editorial board members also consist of renowned scholars in many other editorial roles. This is important as the journal needs specialists in the many disciplines it covers.
Article processing charge policy
Upon acceptance of their paper, authors pay an article processing charge of $1,805 for standard research articles and study protocols. The price for other formats is lower.
Reasons to choose the journal
By submitting their work to the journal PLOS ONE, authors have the opportunity to publish in one of the oldest open-access journals. It has a high standing in the community and a prominent editorial board. Whereas it accepts submissions from various disciplines beyond psychology, it can clearly be regarded as one of the best open access psychology journals.
Frontiers in Psychology
Frontiers Media was funded by Kamila Markram and Henry Markram in 2007. Today, it features an impressive selection of journals. One of them is Frontiers in Psychology. The journal accepts submissions from the various sub-disciplines in psychology.
Peer review
Frontiers practices a forum-based peer-review. Reviewers insert their comments into the forum, and authors respond to them individually. Frontiers practices single-blind review. The names of the reviewers appear in the article, with some exceptions. This ensures a high level of transparency.
Editorial board
Frontiers in Psychology has an enormous number of editors. At the time of writing this post, it was reported to have more than 14 000 editors. This allows them to select editors who are specialized in the topic of a respective submission.
Article processing charge policy
Frontiers in Psychology currently charges $3,225 for the publication of standard research articles. The APC is lower for other types of submissions.
Reasons to choose the journal
Frontiers in Psychology features an impressive number of editors and an innovative peer review process. This makes it one of the best open access psychology journals researchers can consider for their work.
Scientific Reports
Although Scientific Reports publishes work from many fields, psychology is one of its specialties. It has become a popular open access outlet for psychologists. The journal is part of Nature Portfolio, which is owned by Springer Nature.
Peer review
The identity of reviewers is hidden from the authors who submit their work. Their peer review policy does not state explicitly whether the identity of authors is hidden from reviewers.
Editorial board
Scientific Reports has a highly competent editorial board. The editor-in-chief is Dr. Rafal Marszalek, and the deputy editor Dr. Giampiero Accardo are both very experienced editors. In addition, given the journal’s broad scope, it features various more specialized editorial roles.
Article processing charge policy
At the moment of writing this post, the APC of the journal is $2190. This fee may be subject to VAT and other applicable taxes.
Reasons to choose the journal
Many psychologists publish high-quality work in Scientific Reports. The journal features an esteemed editorial board and is respected in the field. This makes it one of the best open access psychology journals that authors can choose as an outlet for their work.
BMC Psychology
Our last journal in this selection of five of the best open access psychology journals is BMC Psychology. The journal is owned by the publisher BioMed Central. The journal publishes work from the various psychology sub-disciplines.
Peer review
The journal practices single-blind reviews. That means that the names of reviewers are not disclosed to the authors. However, the reviewers know the authors’ names. The journal achieves high levels of transparency by publishing anonymized reviewer reports alongside accepted articles. Sometimes, BMC Psychology acquires reviews via Research Square, which pays reviewers a small honorarium for their work. Reviews acquired through this platform are double-anonymized.
Editorial board
Like the other examples of the best open access psychology journals, BMC Psychology features a strong editorial board. The main editor is Toni Milevoj, who has two master’s degrees (in political science and philosophy). He is supported by several senior editorial board members and numerous editorial board members.
Article processing charge policy
BMC Psychology charges $1490.00 per accepted article, plus VAT or other applicable taxes.
Reasons to choose the journal
BMC Psychology clearly should be part of any list of the best open access psychology journals. Its scope is broad, its editorial board highly experienced, and many psychologists recognize it as one of the major open access journals in the field. What’s more, in some cases, reviewers are paid a small honorarium.
Conclusion
Many consider psychology a key area for open access research. Indeed, much of the best work in the field is nowadays published in non-traditional open access journals. This is great as an increasing number of research now is available to researchers and other interested readers. But which are the best open access psychology journals you can choose from? In this article, we have given you an overview by focusing on the peer review process, the editorial boards, and the article processing charges of some of the best open access psychology journals that currently are accepting submissions.
It turns out that there are many different open access models and journals that can fit your research and subject area. The best open access psychology journals prioritize quality over quantity, and thus make it difficult for authors to publish in them. Crucially, some of these journals also pay their editors and reviewers, which has been a highly welcomed innovation by the academic community. Authors who care about a sustainable and fair publishing model may strongly consider submitting to such a journal. advances.in/psychology pays editors and reviewers on a regular basis. BMC Psychology pays reviewers when these are hired through Research Square.
In this article, we have highlighted some of the best open access psychology journals you should consider as an outlet for your research. However, there are many more strong open access journals out there. When you publish your research in one of the best open access journals, you are helping the open access movement and your colleagues in the process.
