The implementation of a platform to host open access online journals is a collaborative effort between the Library and Information Service and academic departments and other units affiliated with Stellenbosch University, in support of the mission and strategy of the University. SUNJournals is the name of the service offered to our clients. Open Journal Systems (OJS) - the software being used to host the journals - is a journal management and publishing system that has been developed by the Public Knowledge Project through its federally-funded efforts to expand and improve access to research. The pilot project was conducted during 2011.

Criteria for valid open access scholarly journal titles

Mandatory

1. The journal must have a proper web page and URL with the following info e.g. Contact details, Editorial Team, Editorial Board, Advisory Board, Scope and Focus, Peer Review Process (must be an exhaustive peer review process), Publication Frequency, Open Access Policy, Author Guidelines, About the Publisher, Previously published issues (Archive), Copyright policy (under the Creative Commons Licensing policies).
2. The journal must have an international editorial board, and academic affiliations of all members must be clearly defined.
3. Policies and workflows need to be transparent, incl. policy on screening for plagiarism.
   
4. The journal must have a valid online ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) registered with the ISSN International Centre (France).
5. The publisher must be a member of CrossRef, with a doi (digital object identifier) prefix assigned to the journal title, doi’s assigned to individual articles, and doi's registered with CrossRef.
6. The journal must have an established history of responsible reporting (not always possible with “new” OA journals).

7. The journal must contain good quality articles detailing well performed research.
   
   

Recommended

1. Listed on DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) (not all OA journals are listed on DOAJ immediately, and there might be a slight time delay), with metadata uploaded to DOAJ.
2. Publisher must be registered with OASPA (Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association).
3. OA policy of publisher must be available via SHERPA/RoMEO.
4. The journal should be affiliated within an established academic institution.
5. Listed on Wikipedia as an academic journal.
6. Digital preservation policy needs to be in place.
7. All articles are screend for plagiarism using plagiarism detection software, before being published.
8. The journal title must be listed with one of the following:
   International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) (ProQuest)
   Science Citation Index (Thomson Reuters)
   Social Sciences Citation Index (Thomson Reuters)
   Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Thomson Reuters)
9. Journal impact factor assigned to the journal. See Journal Citation Reports (Thomson Reuters). Access at SU: E-databases  >>  Journal Citation Reports - ISI (for impact factors)
10. Journal ranking is recommended. See SCImago Journal Ranking (Scopus).

11. Also see Beall's list of potential, possible, or probable predatory scholarly open-access publishers (use with caution).
    
    

Online journals hosted by the SU Library and Information Service

• African Journal of Business Ethics
• African Journal of Nephrology​
  
• African Population Studies
• African Public Procurement Law Journal
• Akroterion
• Global Media Journal African Edition
• Journal for Language Teaching
• Lexikos
• Missionalia
• ORiON
• Per Linguam
• Psychology in Society (PINS)
• R&D Journal of The South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering
• SA Heart Journal​
  
• Scientia Militaria
• Scriptura
• Social Work / Maatskaplike Werk
• South African Journal of Enology and Viticulture
• South African Journal of Higher Education
• South African Journal of Industrial Engineering
• South African Journal of Library and Information Science
  
• South African Journal of​​ Pre-Hospital Emergency Care​
• South African Statistical Journal
• Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus (SPILPlus)  -- (SPIL)
  

• Trends in Nursing
  
  

Journal-related services offered by the SU Library and Information Service

• Hosting of journal on virtual server
• Digital preservation of journal for the long-term
• Back-up of journal.
• Registering a DOI prefix with CrossRef
• Registering of article doi's with CrossRef
• Registering an eISSN.
  
• Registering a journals.ac.za domain name
• Regular upgrading of OJS software
• Persistent URL's
• Registering the journal with search engines, harvesters, directories
• Training and support in setting up the journal
  
  

Enquiries: Ms Mimi Seyffert-With  | Tel.: +27 21 808 9489