Press release 31/2020
“This is a logical step for us,” says Alex Burdorf, one of the journal’s two Editors-in-Chief. “The journal has been committed to open science for many years. Unlike most OSH journals, we have been making our ‘online first’ – peer-reviewed and accepted – content freely available until the final version is published in print. In 2020, we implemented an ‘opt-out’ approach to OA as a transition, and as a result have been publishing more than 80% OA research. Now, it is time to do the final step and to go full open access from 1 January 2021”
Launched in 1975, Scand J Work Environ Health is published by the Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH). As a not-for-profit organisation, the goal of NOROSH is impact above profit. OA enables the journal to fulfil this vision. With very high quality standards, a responsive and rigorous editorial process, and rapid online publication of articles, the journal is well-positioned to thrive on an OA platform. Together with some of the strongest reviewers in the OSH field, our recently announced impact factor of 4.127 ‒ the highest for the journal ever ‒ ensures we will continue to attract top content and a high number of citations.
Under the OA model, anyone can share and adapt articles as long as the CC-BY 4.0 license restrictions are followed. For authors, this means greater visibility for their research, increasing the impact on health and safety efforts and also ensuring compliance with the requirements of funding agencies. OA articles are accessed and cited more often than locked content. They directly open in most search engines and can be shared on any website. As a result, university faculties and research bodies can increase awareness about their work and share their knowledge. Readers get free access to literature, which is particularly important for teachers and students faced with access barriers and libraries with their ever-shrinking budgets. Funding agencies and tax payers can see a return on their “investment” as publicly funded research becomes more widely available and disseminated more quickly to be used by policy makers and stakeholders to solve problems related to occupational or environmental health, and drive new technologies and innovations.
“The journal is unique among its OSH counterparts. We retain our publishing independence and are not owned or overseen by any commercial publishing house,” says Reiner Rugulies, the journal’s s other Editor-in-Chief. “This decision was made purely in the interest of open science. Our mission is to advance scientific knowledge and expertise in the OSH field through greater dissemination of rigorous, quality research. Being OA in 2021, is a critical step in achieving this objective.”
For further information contact: Lisa O'Donoghue-Lindy, Managing Editor. Tel/WhatsApp: +264 81 4190709. Email: lodo [at] ttl.fi (lodo[at]ttl[dot]fi). www.sjweh.fi
