Peer Reviewed Open Access Academic Journals Versus Conventional Paper Based Formats–What’s the Difference?

Congratulations to Iris Publishers on the release of the inaugural issue of the Online Journal of Dentistry & Oral Health. Open access research outputs have generated considerable discussion in recent years amongst the academic community due to the significant differences to conventional paper-based academic journals. Those in favor of the conventional formats argue that the paper-based journals have a greater tendency to be read, as hard (and soft) copies are regularly received by subscribers as well as libraries and academic institutions. Furthermore, they traditionally have higher impact factors as a result of these journals being around for several years and their regular base of subscribers. However, there are several limitations to the conventional paper-based format. First and foremost, their content is not as accessible as the open access formats. Requiring a subscription to the journal or a fee to view the individual articles limits the audience primarily to those with institutional access as it is unrealistic for most individuals to subscribe regularly to several different academic journals. The open access format has the advantage that anyone can search online and view its content without any fee, regardless of their affiliation with an institution or not. This allows for a greater reach and higher readership and the potential for a greater number of citations.

From an author’s perspective, it is more challenging to have an article published in the paper-based journals and the process from submission till acceptance and print can take several months. The open access format generally tends to be more accepting to article submissions, and the process from submission to acceptance can typically be accomplished over a few weeks, albeit usually for a processing fee. The argument that conventional journals have a greater impact is not as true as it once was as several open access academic journals, such as the Online Journal of Dentistry & Oral Health, are peer reviewed ensuring that the quality of content remains of a high caliber. I believe the peer reviewed, open access format is going to grow significantly in the coming years due to the several advantages over the traditional formats and it is very exciting to be affiliated with the Online Journal of Dentistry & Oral Health. I look forward to reading the content in this and upcoming editions.

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Authors declare no conflict of interest.