About the Norwegian Register

A source for information

The Norwegian Register provides information about academic quality. It shows which publication channels we recognise as academic and the level assigned to each one. You can also check whether a publication channel allows open access publishing by consulting information that we collect from sources including the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and Sikt (Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research).

Disclaimer

The Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers collect information from other sources and registers. We endeavour to keep the information accurate and up to date, but we accept no liability for errors or outdated data.

The administration of the Norwegian Register

The Norwegian Register is managed by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir). We update and maintain the database and improve the website and its functions. We work continuously to maintain the database and ensure the quality of the information in the Norwegian Register.

HK-dir is also responsible for the Norwegian Publication Indicator and the European Reference Index for the Humanities, ERIH+(see Virksomhets- og økonomiinstruks for HK-dir in Norwegian). We cooperate with ERIH+ on maintenance, data collection and academic quality.

The National Board of Scholarly Publishing

The National Board of Scholarly Publishing, referred to below as NPU, consists of representatives from the university and university college sector, the research institute sector and the health trusts. NPU is responsible for the academic management of the publication indicator and serves as an advisory body on academic publishing.

The members of NPU are appointed by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. NPU also reports to the Directorate. NPU's mandate is set by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The Ministry may amend the mandate following proposals from the Directorate.

NPU has a committee that takes part in the decision meetings for level 1. NPU's role in the Norwegian Register is to provide advice on academic publishing. NPU formally approves publication channels, but the Directorate processes the suggestions and carries out the assessments.

At the decision meetings for level 1, we discuss only suggedtions that the Norwegian Register finds difficult to assess against the criteria for level 1. We also discuss approved publication channels that we are considering downgrading to level 0 (not approved) because of new information.

The Norwegian Register attends the NPU meetings as an observer.

NPU organises the scientific panels and approves or rejects their nominations for level 2.

The Scientific Panels

The main task of the scientific panels is to nominate publication channels for level 2 and assess which publication channels should no longer remain at level 2. Although level 2 is their main responsibility, the panels may also be involved in assessing publication channels at level 1 when requested by the Directorate and NPU.

We always seek advice from the scientific panels when considering whether to place a publication channel under discussion (level X). We also involve them when considering whether a publication channel should no longer remain under discussion (level X).

Classification of scientific field

The classification of scientific fields is based on the Web of Science classification. A journal or series can be registered under only one scientific field. This is because each scientific field has a scientific panel and/or a publishing committee responsible for the publication channels within that field.

There is currently no interdisciplinary field covering all disciplines. Interdisciplinary publication channels are usually classified under interdisciplinary natural sciences.

You can find an overview of all scientific fields on the NPI website. On the page for each scientific field, you will find contact details for the relevant publishing committee at the bottom.

Give us feedback!

The Norwegian Register exists for the research community. We therefore rely on the academic community to provide feedback and accurate information about publication channels. This helps us keep the Norwegian Register up to date and ensure that approved publication channels are of good academic quality.

To provide feedback on a specific publication channel, you can submit a comment through that publication channel's information page.

If you have questions or feedback about the Norwegian Register, please contact us at publiseringskanaler@hkdir.no.