yep, &quot;Impact Factor&quot; (IF) is the term, and (just to clarify) it encourages but does not force. there are open access journals like PLoS w&#x2F; significant IF, albeit not comparable to Nature.<p>since the link below was written, PLoS has become not only open access for articles but also open access for the <i>data</i> those articles are based on.  imo, open access to data (w&#x2F; privacy measures, of course, for human subjects) is of the same order of importance as access to articles.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org&#x2F;2013&#x2F;06&#x2F;20&#x2F;the-rise-and-fall-of-plos-ones-impact-factor-2012-3-730&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org&#x2F;2013&#x2F;06&#x2F;20&#x2F;the-rise-and-f...</a>