As a research scientist, I am challenged to find accessible and affordable journal subscriptions that can compliment my scientific research. Most journals offer expensive yearly subscription rates or charge high per article costs. With cancer research rapidly evolving, I need access to a selection of relevant journals. However, the costs are prohibitive and information in a single journal is limited to a few topics. I need a journal that publishes articles that reviews technology while also offering insights into the policy issues that affect cancer research. It would great to find one authoritative journal that covers all the fields that relevant, with articles that are authored by leading scientists. I recently came across a journal that I decided to take a closer look at. A journal aptly titled Oncotarget. The journal contained scientific research that was surprisingly right-off-the-press. The journal not only covered oncology research, but broadly included other important related areas of research including endocrinology, cardiology, cell biology and pharmacology just to name a few. Follow Oncotarget on Twitter.
To get a better idea of how the journal fairs in comparison with others, I looked up the journal’s impact factor. The impact factor is defined as a window into the journal’s success as a tool to share research information and attract reputable scientists to contribute high quality research. With an impressive impact factor of 5.168, Oncotarget is cited regularly which is helping the journal and its content remain prominent. Researchers keep up with impact factors as a yard stick to determine where to publish research findings. High impact factor journals attract high caliber authors.
I also considered the journal’s cost when making a decision on whether to spend resources on a subscription. While most journal subscriptions are costly, Oncotarget offers free-access. This means that the research papers are available to the public to download and print on demand at no cost. The research is accessible allowing breakthroughs to be shared broadly.
With Oncotarget’s goal defined as ensuring a life without disease, the journal is well on its way to fulfilling that goal by increasing availability of high caliber research. Visit his profile on Google Scholar.