IOP Publishing's Applied Physics Express converts to fully gold OA

IOP Publishing (IOPP) and the Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP) have announced that Applied Physics Express (APEX) is to become fully open access (OA). From January 2024, all articles published in APEX, the journal devoted to rapid dissemination of new findings in applied physics, will be immediately and openly accessible for anyone to read. The move reflects the increasing demand for more accessible and open science, and funders’ mandates requiring authors to publish their work in OA journals.  

Making APEX open access means that authors will be able to inform the widest possible global audience, increasing the reach and impact of physics research. IOPP user data shows that OA content is downloaded 80% more and cited 30% more than paywalled content, demonstrating the substantial advantages of publishing research OA.  

Together, IOPP and JSAP endorse equal opportunities for everyone to contribute to physical science and are committed to ensuring that the transition to OA is inclusive. IOP Publishing will support researchers based in low-income and lower-middle-income countries by covering their article publication charges (APCs), with waivers for eligible authors applied automatically.  

In addition, all JSAP official members receive a 20% APC discount.   

Violeta Ribarska, Head of Partner Publishing and Engagement, said: “APEX has such an active, global community of researchers, so our decision to switch the journal to OA had to be geared towards demand. Open access publishing has been gaining momentum throughout the author community, so we’re confident that the time is right. Where we have flipped other journals – either our own or those we publish with our partners – we have seen a marked increase in the average downloads per article and in citation rates. We’re proud to be working with JSAP to help researchers realise these benefits and increase the reach of their research.” 

Junichi Motohisa, Chief Executive Editor of APEX, added: “Since we started publishing APEX on IOPP's platform nearly a decade ago, we have seen our journal go from strength to strength. Flipping our journal to OA feels like a large but natural next step as OA is at the heart of the global movement to open science and ahead of funder mandates. We’re looking forward to working with the journal community to make their work even more accessible.”