Structural Challenges of Diamond Open Access in the Social Sciences: Insights from DOAJ and Scimago Data

Diamond Open Access is considered a more equitable and sustainable alternative to APC-based and subscription-based publishing models and is particularly prominent in the Social Sciences. This article examines the functions, dissemination, and challenges of Diamond Open Access in this disciplinary context, based on extensive quantitative analyses of DOAJ and Scimago data. It analyses copyright policies, quality standards, publishing activity, peer review durations, and impact metrics—comparing Diamond and Gold Open Access journals as well as those published by legacy and non-legacy publishers. The findings show that while Diamond Open Access journals dominate numerically, they exhibit structural shortcomings in key areas such as technical infrastructure, indexing, and visibility. The article argues that Diamond Open Access can make a substantial contribution to bibliodiversity if its goals are realistically adjusted, its infrastructure strengthened, and its functional equivalence to other publishing models ensured. Finally, it discusses strategies to support Diamond Open Access in the Social Sciences, with a particular focus on the role of academic libraries.