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Quantitative Evaluation of Publication Impact: A Guide

Open Access Journals

Not all metrics described in the Journal Articles (Traditional Publishers) section applies to open access electronic journals. For example, newer open access journals may not be covered by the ranking services. And, of course, libraries, don't subscribe. But the other metrics do apply. Also consider:

Downloads

Significance: A measure of interest at the very least. The number of downloads of an open access journal article can be large and is a measure of the accessibility of the research.

Tip: If not provided on the journal web site, the editor of the journal may be able to provide usage statistics.

Indexing

New open access journals will often not yet be indexed in traditional subject indexes. However, open access journals should be indexed by Google Scholar and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).