Report on Challenges and Help Measures Faced by OA Journals and Platforms

Lead authors

Mikael Laakso , Xenia van Edig , Jorina Fenner , Clara Armengou , Leonidas
Pispiringas , Arnaud Gingold , Barbara Svetina 

Contributors 

Andy Byers , Ljiljana Jertec Musap , Tabea Klaus , Ignacio Lamata Martínez , Antti-Jussi Nygård , Janne Pölönen , Cezary Rosiński , Nikodem Wołczuk , Theresa Waldmann , Sy Holsinger , Aysa Ekanger 

Introduction

Discover how to enhance the impact and accessibility of your Open Access Diamond Journals (OADJs). This report provides crucial insights into the technical gaps and challenges many journals and platforms face when aligning with best practices and FAIR principles. Whether you're a publisher, editor, or developer involved in publishing platform development, this analysis will guide you in making informed decisions to improve your journal’s visibility and impact. 

Description 

For a better understanding of the context and technical requirements in this report, we recommend reviewing the Report on Standards for Best Publishing Practices and Basic Technical Requirements in the Light of FAIR Principles (Armengou et al., 2023). This report lays the foundation for the gap analysis presented in the current document and outlines the core standards and principles that guide best practices for Open Access Diamond Journals (OADJs).

Using the findings in the gap analysis and case studies, evaluate your own platform's alignment with the best practices outlined. Identify the technical gaps you are facing. This will help you understand the specific areas that need improvement to enhance your journal's performance and meet the recommended standards. Use the insights from the report to plan and implement changes in your publishing system. Whether you're considering adopting new platforms, upgrading existing systems, or improving specific technical practices, this report provides the foundation you need to make focused decisions and, consequently, meaningful improvements.

Purpose

This report identifies technical gaps in Open Access Diamond Journals (OADJs) by assessing their alignment with best practices and FAIR principles. Through a gap analysis of technical best practices for OADJs and case studies of European platforms, it highlights challenges in journal’s interoperability, metadata management, formats, licensing, and more, pinpointing areas where OADJs struggle to align with recommended practices and overcome these technical challenges.

Benefits

This report helps users become aware of and gain a deeper understanding of the technical gaps and challenges that many journals and platforms face while striving to meet standards in interoperability, metadata management, machine-readable formats, licensing, and more. By highlighting what journal publishing platforms OJS and Lodel offer, the report supports informed decision-making, helping users choose a platform that aligns with their needs. Finally, it provides a clearer path for addressing gaps and improving the functionality of Open Access Diamond Journals.

Link to the output

Report on challenges and help measures faced by OA journals and platforms

References

Report on Standards for Best Publishing Practices and Basic Technical Requirements in the Light of FAIR Principles

Further reading

All WP3 training materials, workshops and outputs.