New metadata field: embargo period

[nfrerebeau]

Would it be relevant to add the embargo period in months? Most French open access journals in the humanities have a one-year embargo period. This might be something to consider before submitting an article.

[joeroe]

I think that's a good idea. Of the journals currently listed, I know Paléorient has a two year embargo.

[rossmounce]

fwiw, if a journal has an embargo period (preventing articles from being immediately open access from day-1 of publication) then technically it is NOT a diamond open access journal (in my understanding of the terminology).

That's not to say you shouldn't list such journals here, or that such journals shouldn't be recommended, it just means the words being used to describe what this is might need adaptation if a wider variety of journals & publishing models are included.

[zackbatist]

The purpose of this project is to make it easier for archaeologists to engage in more equitable publication arrangements, and promoting diamond open access journals is a great way of achieving this goal. I'm not sure if splitting hairs on "purity" of diamond OA is really necessary or desirable in this context. But I'm happy to discuss any suggestions for specific terms you might use to describe journals that fit all the features of diamond save for having an embargo period.

[joeroe]

I do worry slightly that we're now applying a double standard, where diamond journals with an embargo period are included but gold OA journals with reasonable fees and a waiver policy are not – both represent financial compromises, but we're currently implying that one.

@rossmounce Do you happen to know of any literature discussing embargo period periods in relation to diamond open access?

[rossmounce]

@joeroe there is no literature discussing embargo periods in relation to diamond open access because the two things are completely mutually exclusive. Diamond open access means providing immediate open access to published content with no fees for authors or readers. See e.g. https://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/blog/diamond-open-access-a-shining-example-of-community-over-commercialization/ "What is Diamond Open Access?
Diamond open access publishing provides immediate and free access to digital research outputs without charging authors or readers any fees. This model is often supported by universities, research institutions, or philanthropic organizations. It applies to both articles and longform publications."

If a journal applies some kind of time-embargo, whether it be 1-month, 6-months, or 24th months, whatever... it isn't doing diamond open access.

Since you're covering a variety of models, not just diamond, perhaps you might also consider covering Subscribe to Open journals?
There are lots of Subscribe to Open journals in anthropology, I haven't spotted any that are archaeology core (but maybe I just overlooked?). For examples see here: https://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/Subscribe_to_Open_(S2O)_journals

[joeroe]

I was thinking of resources that establish that they are mutually exclusively, so thanks for that. The definitions I was able to find from UNESCO and Coalition S were ambiguous on whether immediate open access is required feature of the diamond model, though both seem to advocate for it.

S2O is new to me, but I also don't see any archaeology journals on that list.

[rossmounce]

fwiw many of the BioOne journals will start doing S2O in 2026 so that might get closer to the archaeology discipline.
https://bioonepublishing.org/our-work/subscribe-to-open/

Journals like:
Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History
Journal of the North Atlantic (describes itself as an "archaeology and environmental history journal")
Journal of Coastal Research
Pacific Science
Palynology
Anthropozoologica

all have archaeology revelant articles in them occasionally(?), albeit aren't "core" archaeology titles.

[bbartholdy]

I think this is an interesting discussion. It didn't occur to me that diamond OA journals might have an embargo period since I don't see what the journal's motivation would be for this if it's not funded by subscriptions. I agree with @rossmounce that this is probably not truly diamond since it's not truly equitable. It has been well documented that OA confers a citation advantage, so placing an embargo on papers takes away some of that advantage. @joeroe do you know if all papers in Paléorient are given an embargo period, and how do you access the embargoed papers?

I would also be hesitant to include gold OA journals with reasonable fees and waivers (unless we change the name and scope of the project - or maybe start a second project?)

[joeroe]

They are still funded by subscriptions, is the thing; you need a subscription to access articles when they're first published rather than N months later.

Paléorient seems to have dropped their embargo policy recently; at least it is no longer on their website and issues from 2024 are available OA.