Elite journals are losing their position of privilege

Having first documented the large-scale demise of the impact factor as a predictor of quality research, George Lozano and team examined whether this pattern also applies to the handful of elite journals. His recent study finds the proportion of top papers published by elite journals has in fact been in steady decline since the late-eighties. Journal hierarchies are breaking down and researchers will benefit from the many publishing venues now available to reach wider audiences.