When free journals are better than expensive journals

In a recent post on Everybody’s Libraries, I compare an expensive math journal with several free ones, showing several open access journals that have higher citation impact factors, including Penn’s own Electronic Journal of Combinatorics.  Many other fields also have have a similarly wide range of journal subscription or publication prices that have little or no relation with quality, as Ted Bergstrom notes elsewhere in the case of economics.  Both free and subscription-based journals rely heavily on donated labor from scholars.  Scholars can help ensure healthy communication in their fields by giving their support to those journals that produce high value for low cost.

Advertisement