We need to rethink the way we identify diamond open access journals in quantitative science studies

Abstract

With the announcement of several new diamond open access (OA) related initiatives, such as the Action Plan for Diamond Open Access, the DIAMAS and CRAFT-OA projects, and the recent creation of the Global Summit on Diamond Open Access, it is clear that diamond OA is now at the forefront of the OA movement. Diamond OA is a publishing model that is free for both authors and readers, with the publishing costs generally assumed by grants, governments, subsidies, or a community. However, while working on our recent Quantitative Science Studies publication and dataset, we noticed that temporarily waiving APCs was a commonly used strategy by the Big 5 for-profit publishers for some of their journals. This letter discusses the need for more cautiousness when doing research about diamond OA and APCs, as well as the need for more transparency in the costs for publishing.