(Original interview in Dutch)
The Tijdschrift voor OnderwijsPraktijk Studies (TOPS) is one of the journals on the Openjournals platform that has been open access since day one. In fact, Openjournals was there at the inception of TOPS. The journal has found its niche between academic journals, which can sometimes be a little too highbrow, and more journalistic practical magazines. The research in TOPS is based on practical experience and is accessible to practitioners. Editor-in-chief Patrick Sins (Thomas More University of Applied Sciences and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) explains how this journal came about and why open science is important to them.
Where did the idea for a journal come from?
“In the Netherlands, we have Didactief, a professional journal for teachers with short summaries of research and other articles. On the other end of the spectrum is Pedagogische Studiën, a high-level, scientific impact journal. There was nothing in between: education researchers and professionals lacked a place to publish and find practice-oriented education research. We jumped into that niche. Many studies do not fit into traditional scientific journals, and it is a great shame if they are not published.”
How did you end up at Openjournals?
“After forming the editorial team with my colleagues, we began searching for a way to make open access publishing possible. Through various channels, I ended up at Openjournals. After the first meeting, we immediately clicked. Openjournals wants exactly what we want: diamond open access, free for readers and authors.”
How is the collaboration?
“Great! It feels like we can rely on Openjournals. For example, we were lobbying the National Coordination Point for Education Research for a grant. Openjournals brought together all the education journals that were on the platform at the time to join forces. We can always turn to you for technical questions, and you also take a lot of work off our hands in this area. I think that without the help of Openjournals, we might not have existed. In addition, the system you offer provides a good basis for the journal; it ensures that the magazine is easy to find and read.”
Why is open access important to you?
“It quickly became apparent that it had to be open access. It is important to us that teachers can consult the articles in our journal directly and that researchers can publish their work easily, without incurring additional costs. Open science is research as it should be. In our field, we claim to be doing something for practice. So, on the one hand, you have to show that practical component, and on the other hand, you have to make sure that practitioners can read it. For me, it’s mainly about making research accessible to the people it concerns.”
