17 July 2023–The Seismological Society of America (SSA)’s journal The Seismic Record is now included in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), a key community-driven service advocating best practices and standards in open access.
The journal was included in DOAJ after meeting a rigorous set of qualifications with respect to its publishing policies, editorial board, peer review process, copyright and licensing, publication fee and waiver policy and plagiarism screening efforts.
Inclusion in DOAJ ensures that a journal meets the scientific publishing industry’s ethical and quality standards for open access journals. It also helps researchers and librarians distinguish between valid journals and journals with “predatory” publishing practices.
Although it is not a requirement for inclusion, The Seismic Record will submit article metadata (such as author, title and abstract) to DOAJ, to increase the visibility and utility of the journal throughout the scientific community.
Launched in 2021, The Seismic Record is an open-access, online-only journal publishing short form papers covering the entire spectrum of seismological science. The journal provides an outlet to cover recent events and current topics of strong significance, warranting rapid peer review and publication within 60 days of submission. Papers must be no more than 3500 words and include no more than 30 references.
The SSA journals program is key to the Society’s core purpose of advancing seismology and the understanding of earthquakes for the benefit of society. The publications help SSA advance scientific integrity, encourage scientific collaboration and foster the professional development of scientists and engineers.