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N – DOAJ – Fully Functional Now for Application and Reapplication

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is fully functional since 2015-01-23. On this day, publishers were informed via e-mail to reapply now with all their journals which are already in the directory.


DOAJ is already using its new Journal Application Form since 2014-03-19 which grew from 6 to now 58 questions. So far this form was only opened to be used by journals that had not been in the directory before and applied now for the first time. “The simple fact that we now request more information from a publisher upfront means that our editorial team is able to assess a journal’s honesty, transparency and value more effectively than before.” (DOAJ 2014a) 

DOAJ’s aim is to become the White Lister for Open Access journals and to end the present dominance of the legally questionable practice of blacklisting Open Access journals. (DOAJ 2014b)
 

Lot’s of work lies before DOAJ’s team. Presently, there are a little under 10000 unchecked journals in the directory. 560 new journals were checked based on the new application form since March 2014 (56 journals per month) and included into the directory with the “tick” (Figure 1). For the 10000 journals “there will be a grace period of 12-15 months, depending on how all this will work out.” (Bjørnshauge 2014) Journals not having reapplied after the grace period will be kicked out. Until the end of the foreseen grace period the team will have to check 740 journals per month to get it done in time, but it is “depending on how all this will work out”.

DOAJ Tick
Figure 1:   Journals checked based on the new application form get this “tick” in the directory


DOAJ is especially keen on six Open Access characteristics (Journal Application Form):

  1. Archiving (Portico, …)
  2. Article identifier (DOI, …)
  3. Delivery of metadata to DOAJ
  4. Machine-readable CC licensing information
  5. Either CC BY, CC BY-SA, or CC BY-NC
  6. To have the deposit policy registered (Sherpa/Romeo, …)

If all six characteristics are given, the journal obtains the DOAJ Seal (which is not yet designed). Up to 2015-01-23, 82 journals of the 560 journals checked got the seal (14.6%). So, the application or reapplication check can have three outcomes:

  1. failed
  2. included without seal
  3. included with seal

Posted on: 6 February 2015