Research Article: “Open-Access Mega-Journals: The Future of Scholarly Communication or Academic Dumping Ground? A Review”

The following article (open access version) is available via the White Rose Research Online repository. The article is also published in the Journal of Documentation
Title
Open-Access Mega-Journals: The Future of Scholarly Communication or Academic Dumping Ground? A Review
Authors
Valerie Spezi
Loughborough University
Simon Wakeling
University of Sheffield
Stephen Pinfield
University of Sheffield
Claire Creaser
Loughborough University
Jenny Fry
Loughborough University
Peter Willett
University of Sheffield
Source
Published Version in:
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 73 Iss 2 (2017)
doi:10.1108/JD-06-2016-0082

Version Linked in this Post: via White Rose Research Online
Abstract

Purpose: Open-access mega-journals (OAMJs) represent an increasingly important part of the scholarly communication landscape. OAMJs, such as PLOS ONE, are large scale, broad scope journals that operate an open access business model (normally based on article-processing charges), and which employ a novel form of peer review, focusing on scientific ‘soundness’ and eschewing judgment of novelty or importance. This paper examines the discourses relating to OAMJs, and their place within scholarly publishing, and considers attitudes towards mega-journals within the academic community.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents a review of the literature of OAMJs structured around four defining characteristics: scale, disciplinary scope, peer review policy and economic model. The existing scholarly literature was augmented by searches of more informal outputs, such as blogs and email discussion lists, to capture the debate in its entirety.

Findings: While the academic literature relating specifically to OAMJs is relatively sparse, discussion in other fora is detailed and animated, with debates ranging from the sustainability and ethics of the mega-journal model, to the impact of soundness-only peer review on article quality and discoverability, and the potential for OAMJs to represent a paradigm-shifting development in scholarly publishing.

Originality/value: This article represents the first comprehensive review of the mega-journal phenomenon, drawing not only on the published academic literature, but also grey, professional and informal sources. The paper advances a number of ways in which the role of OAMJs in the scholarly communication environment can be conceptualised.

Direct to Full Text Article (22 pages;PDF)

Filed under: Journal Articles, News, Open Access, PLOS, Publishing