Possible Duplicate:
Opening website external links in new window — published usability tests
Should you open a new tab when linking to an external website.
Historically I know this was a big no no. Nielsen and others presented research that shows opening a new window is bad practice. You should leave the user in control. But has user behavior/expectation changed with the advent of tabs? (I hypothesise most users now have browsers set up so that target="_blank" opens in a new tab)
I think we should be opening in the same tab:
Gives the user the choice
Doesnt break the back button Works better
with assistive technologies such as screen readers.
but the following article gives a different opinion: http://uxmovement.com/navigation/why-external-links-should-open-in-new-tabs/
Any experience or research to back up either side of the argument would be greatly appreciated.