All top open access journals maintain their credibility, quality, publication standards and ethics with utmost zeal. The first step an author needs to take towards zeroing down an open access publication that is ideal for their paper is the identification of a trustworthy and reputed open access journal that will boost its impact factors. The best open access journals in the academic community are often curated into lists that serve as a starting point for all searches for information. In order to make an informed decision about submitting one’s research in high quality open access journals, there’s the need to educate oneself about their publishing policies, copyright policies, etc.
The basic and most important job for authors in identifying the best open access journals is to exercise rigorous maturity in short listing journals for their work. They must investigate their choices thoroughly for academic credit and keep a critical eye on the frontrunners and black sheep of academic publishing. There are of course certain general indicators that should raise an alert about the journals being anything other than high quality open access journals.
First off, top open access journals are members of or adhere to reputable industry organizations. Edorium journals in pursuance of ethical scholarly publishing, adhere to the ‘Code of Conduct for journal Publishers’ given by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). They are also a member of CrossRef, the scholarly doi linking organization.
Similarly, the editorial board is another checkpoint in zeroing down on best open access journals. The editorial board members reflect the strength of a journal and they also make sure that the peer-review process is thorough and meticulous. A stringent editorial review is a cornerstone of academic publishing and more so in the case of, scientific journal articles. In Edorium Journals, an internationally acclaimed editorial board of experienced physicians and scientists uphold the scientific standards of the journal and formulate editorial ethics and policy.
Related to this point is the most valuable question about the peer-review process. The best open access journals are characterized by clear and detailed peer-review process and also a credible peer-review panel. The peer-review process in Edorium Journals is extremely thorough and includes a rigorous double-blind, external process that eliminates subjective judgments and bias. Reviewers are taken on board on the basis of their expertise and interests, their reputation and past experiences. Lists of reviewers that annually contribute to the manuscript peer-review process are available in the Edorium Journals website.
Now, a quality website with a professional outlook is also a marker of credibility for top open access journals. Advertisements from manuscript processing companies, or scholarly societies and related commercial firms often generate revenue for open access journals. Hence, a highly flawed, poor quality or absence of a website may hint at shady ties of a journal to the research world. Edorium Journals has a website that provides information about all the little aspects and pointers of the publishers in the publishing of high quality open access journals.
In the open access publishing business module, the subject of cost that the journals accrue in open access publishing is for the most part covered by contributions from authors. This takes the form of publication fees which is payable only in the event of the article being published. Any other charges in the form of submission or manuscript handling fees are highly dubious and suspected scenarios. Edorium Journals has no submission or manuscript handling charges but a single Article Publication Charges (APC) which pays for the entire process of publishing and is applicable for payment only when an article has been accepted for publication. APC for Edorium Journals is on average 2-4 times lower than other contemporary online open access journals for scientific journal articles. The website provides the current APC figures for all its own journals and also gives a comparison with the fees of other leading publishers.
Another marker for best open access journals is the journal’s stand on licensing issues, copyright terms, and use of content at the article-level. All published articles in Edorium Journals are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. If due credit is given to the author and publisher as original creators and producers of the work cited, it is free to be used. The copyright of the article is retained by the author. Hence, Edorium Journals provides free access to all its articles published in their high quality journals not only to readers but to the authors as well, for re-use and reference.
Edorium Journals streamlines all its avenues, from faster publication schedule to comprehensive guidelines for authors, editors, and reviewers. In addition to this, they have a Publication Ethics Committee in the role of an advisory committee to address issues related to publication ethics; and an Editorial Advisory Board on an international level which provides ongoing advice and comments about a wide range of issues not directly related to routine functioning.
Edorium Journals, through its top open access journals, disseminates research in multiple ways and format thereby ensuring that a given work has high visibility, better citation, and increased impact. They also nurture these scientific journal articles to become the most authoritative anchors in their subjective fields. They have high quality open access journals on basic sciences, medical and surgical specialties under the online open access publication system. Moving on, they plan to include a wider range of medical and biomedical sub-specialties. Their flagship journal, International Journal of Case Reports and Images, is a multidisciplinary journal that is dedicatedly publishing case reports articles in all specialties.
The quality indicator for best open access journals hinges on honesty and integrity. If there are unscrupulous means or ends involved the mission of an academic publisher is lost. Edorium Journals encourages, motivates and guides scholars to publish the best research following highest ethical values and in the most authoritative, high quality open access journals in their respective fields. They also welcome opportunities for joint ventures with other publishers, societies, and organizations to do an outstanding work for a great cause.
Today, markers of best open access journals are decided not through established reputation of age-old brands but through accessibility and credibility. The popularity of open access journals has risen favorably owing to the belief that research funded by the public should be freely available to them. Consequently, it is essential for top open access journals to ensure transparent policies in sharing the scholarly output. Edorium Journals aces all these criteria and more.
In spite of being rather new and growing academic publishers of high quality open access journals, Edorium Journals has a vision, belief, and confidence to make a difference in the field, to be the best open access journals. The academia is shifting its focus from historical journals with prestige to top open access journals that promote the advancement of education and research throughout the scholarly community.
The best open access journals mark their prestige and position by going above and beyond their usual forays. Edorium Journals mirrors its commitment to the betterment of the scholarly world through its endeavors like, Mentored Review Article (MRA) program which enables undergrad and post-grad students all over the world, to be mentored by the eminent faculty comprising the Editorial Boards of the Edorium Journals publishing group.
Also, Edorium Journals awards the trust and confidence of its authors along with the dedicated service of reviewers through its annual Excellence Awards for outstanding research, and Reviewer Excellence and Outstanding Services Awards. A lot of contributing factors work towards making an academic publisher contend as producers of best open access journals and all of these should be acknowledged and appreciated.
Quality is the most positive indicator of best open access journals around, editorial selection works like a filter for readers on what is worth reading and what wastes time. Edorium Journals lives by a golden rule when it comes to accepting papers, that is, the quality and scientific validity of a particular work. Having said that, the quality of a paper rests with the author and since the publisher is in no way related to the process of creating, modifying or altering the original work of an author what they can do is stress on strict editorial policies.
Authors are strongly encouraged to review and follow the ‘Instruction for Authors’ for respective journals under Edorium Journals to ensure a properly formatted manuscript. The absence of author instructions often points towards bad journals who would publish anything for money. In fact, Edorium Journals requires all submitted manuscripts to be prepared in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Best open access journals (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Ann Intern Med 1997; 126; 36-47).
High quality open access journals have methods, processes and a proper system hierarchy for all their publishing procedures, shortcuts and lax views on quality do not make journals reach the heights of reputation and credibility. Edorium Journals works hard, works honestly and in the most stringent quality controlled environment and does it with utmost ethical considerations to be counted among the top open access journals in the scientific community today.