JTCAM: an example of a diamond open access journal

Written by Stéphanie Chaillat

The Institut Polytechnique de Paris organized its first edition of Open Access Week in early November 2024, offering a series of events on open science, including testimonials from scientists. The diamond model and the Journal of Theoretical, Computational and Applied Mechanics (JTCAM), hosted on Episciences, were highlighted during a presentation by Stéphanie Chaillat, a researcher at the POEMS laboratory and a member of the journal’s editorial board.

Open science is now a major priority for the scientific community, aiming to disseminate knowledge sustainably and make it accessible to all. I agreed to participate in this webinar, organised by the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, to share my motivations for joining this movement, particularly through my involvement with JTCAM (Journal of Theoretical, Computational and Applied Mechanics). JTCAM is a Diamond Open Access journal managed by the Episciences platform, operating without fees for either authors or readers. Beyond its free model, JTCAM’s real strength lies in its concrete initiatives to actively support open science.

The journal adheres to the FAIR principles ensuring that digital resources are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. It also promotes reproducible science by encouraging authors to make their source codes, algorithms, and associated datasets publicly available. To support these efforts, the journal provides authors with technical guidance on utilizing platforms such as Zenodo (for research data and software), PANGEA (for Earth and environmental sciences), and Software Heritage (for software archiving). JTCAM’s peer review process is particularly rigorous. Each article is reviewed by at least two experts, with both the reviews and the various article versions being made publicly available on HAL. This model highlights collaborative work and showcases the contributions of the reviewers. Such transparency efforts strengthen both scientific rigour and confidence in published results. In line with our commitment to open science and our high standards, we have chosen not to use proprietary indexing systems such as Scopus or Web of Science, as their principles contradict the values we uphold.

After four years of operation, we are proud of the model promoted by JTCAM. However, the number of publications remains limited. This is partly due to the excessive influence of numerical indicators that continue to dominate research evaluation – a system that initiatives such as DORA and CoARA are seeking to reform. In addition, essential tasks such as formatting articles and helping authors publish their codes and data remain time-consuming. This artisanal approach makes it difficult to scale up the model, which is crucial for its wider development and impact. While we deeply appreciate the moral support of our institutions, which is essential to sustain our initiatives, it has become crucial to receive ongoing technical assistance, especially for copy-editing. We now look forward to concrete measures to ensure the sustainability and efficiency of our efforts.

In conclusion, the success of JTCAM depends on the dedication of passionate and committed researchers. I firmly believe that even modest initiatives can bring about significant changes in our publishing and collaboration practices. It is essential that young researchers are made aware of these new models and encouraged to participate actively. By joining forces, we can build a fairer publishing system that is in line with the core values of science: transparency, accessibility and collaboration.

 

 

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