Journal Flipping

Open Access means open and equitable scholarly communication. This goal is also being supported by more and more journals by publishing scientific articles under an Open Access model. This makes the articles available immediately and free of charge not only to the scientific community, but to the entire public.

In principle, we can identify two options for changing the publication model:

• One option is so-called journal flipping, which refers to the change of an existing journal from subscription-based closed access to open access.
• Another possibility is the founding of a new journal.

Since start-ups often emerge from existing journals, the dividing line between the two paths is not sharp. In the details, however, the two forms differ significantly:

• For a "flipped" journal, nothing changes in some aspects; for example, indexing in databases can be retained and the journal's reputation also remains if the name stays the same.
• Newly founded journals, on the other hand, usually face the challenge of having to re-establish their reputation, but possibly also infrastructures.

Which of the two paths is suitable for one's own journal depends on a number of factors, for example whether the naming rights of the journal belong to the editorial board or whether the publishing house supports flipping.

But even if a publisher or publishing platform decides in favour of an open business model and against a subscription-based one, the publisher incurs costs that need to be covered. These costs result from the fact that publishers and journals ensure editing, marketing and quality assurance of the contributions, as well as providing the technical infrastructure. When switching to Open Access, alternative ways of financing have to be found, as subscription fees are no longer collected. This is a challenge for the entire scientific community. Charging author fees, so-called APCs, is also problematic, as this model does not provide sustainable and fair funding, as current market developments show. For this reason, TIB is committed to establishing alternative financing models.