713 research outputs found
âLet the community decideâ? The vision and reality of soundness-only peer review in open-access mega-journals
Purpose: The aim of this research is to better understand the theory and practice of peer review in open-access mega-journals (OAMJs). Mega-journals typically operate a âsoundness onlyâ review policy aiming to evaluate only the rigour of an article, not the novelty or significance of the research or its relevance to a particular community, with these elements being left for âthe community to decideâ post-publication. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reports the results of interviews with 31 senior publishers and editors representing 16 different organisations, including 10 that publish an OAMJ. Thematic Analysis was carried out on the data and an analytical model developed to explicate their significance. Findings: Findings suggest that in reality criteria beyond technical or scientific soundness can and do influence editorial decisions. Deviations from the original OAMJ model are both publisher-supported (in the form of requirements for an article to be âworthyâ of publication) and practice-driven (in the form of some reviewers and editors applying traditional peer review criteria to mega-journal submissions). Also publishers believe post-publication evaluation of novelty, significance, and relevance remains problematic. Originality/value: The study is based on unprecedented access to senior publishers and editors, allowing insight into their strategic and operational priorities. The paper is the first to report in-depth qualitative data relating specifically to soundness-only peer review for OAMJs, shedding new light on the mega-journal phenomenon, and helping inform discussion on its future role in scholarly communication. The paper proposes a new model for understanding the mega-journal approach to quality assurance, and how it is different from traditional peer review
"Let the community decideâ? The vision and reality of soundness-only peer review in open-access mega-journals
Purpose: The aim of this research is to better understand the theory and practice of peer review in open-access mega-journals (OAMJs). Mega-journals typically operate a âsoundness onlyâ review policy aiming to evaluate only the rigour of an article, not the novelty or significance of the research or its relevance to a particular community, with these elements being left for âthe community to decideâ post-publication. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reports the results of interviews with 31 senior publishers and editors representing 16 different organisations, including 10 that publish an OAMJ. Thematic Analysis was carried out on the data and an analytical model developed to explicate their significance. Findings: Findings suggest that in reality criteria beyond technical or scientific soundness can and do influence editorial decisions. Deviations from the original OAMJ model are both publisher-supported (in the form of requirements for an article to be âworthyâ of publication) and practice-driven (in the form of some reviewers and editors applying traditional peer review criteria to mega-journal submissions). Also publishers believe post-publication evaluation of novelty, significance, and relevance remains problematic. Originality/value: The study is based on unprecedented access to senior publishers and editors, allowing insight into their strategic and operational priorities. The paper is the first to report in-depth qualitative data relating specifically to soundness-only peer review for OAMJs, shedding new light on the mega-journal phenomenon, and helping inform discussion on its future role in scholarly communication. The paper proposes a new model for understanding the mega-journal approach to quality assurance, and how it is different from traditional peer review
Open access megajournals: The publisher perspective (Part 2: Operational realities)
This paper is the second of two Learned Publishing articles in which we report the results of a series of interviews, with senior publishers and editors exploring open access megajournals (OAMJs). Megajournals (of which PLoS One is the best known example) represent a relatively new approach to scholarly communication and can be characterized as large, broad-scope, open access journals, which take an innovative approach to peer review, basing acceptance decisions solely on the technical or scientific soundness of the article. Based on interviews with 31 publishers and editors, this paper reports the perceived cultural, operational, and technical challenges associated with launching, growing, and maintaining a megajournal. We find that overcoming these challenges while delivering the societal benefits associated with OAMJs is seen to require significant investment in people and systems, as well as an ongoing commitment to the model
Open-access mega-journals: The publisher perspective (Part 1: motivations)
This paper is the first of two Learned Publishing articles in which we report
the results of a series of interviews with senior publishers and editors
exploring open access megajournals (OAMJs). Megajournals (of which
PLoS One is the best known example) represent a relatively new approach
to scholarly communication and can be characterized as large, broadscope,
open access journals that take an innovative approach to peer
review, basing acceptance decisions solely on the technical or scientific
soundness of the article. This model is often said to support the broader
goals of the open science movement. Based on in-depth interviews with
31 publishers and editors representing 16 different organizations (10 of
which publish a megajournal), this paper reports how the term âmegajournalâ
is understood and publishersâ rationale and motivations for launching
(or not launching) an OAMJ. We find that while there is general agreement
on the common characteristics of megajournals, there is not yet a consensus
on their relative importance. We also find seven motivating factors
that were said to drive the launch of an OAMJ and link each of these factors
to potential societal and business benefits. These results suggest that
the often polarized debate surrounding OAMJs is a consequence of the
extent to which observers perceive publishers to be motivated by these
societal or business benefits
Open access megajournals: The publisher perspective (Part 1: Motivations)
This paper is the first of two Learned Publishing articles in which we report the results of a series of interviews with senior publishers and editors exploring open access megajournals (OAMJs). Megajournals (of which PLoS One is the best known example) represent a relatively new approach to scholarly communication and can be characterized as large, broad-scope, open access journals that take an innovative approach to peer review, basing acceptance decisions solely on the technical or scientific soundness of the article. This model is often said to support the broader goals of the open science movement. Based on in-depth interviews with 31 publishers and editors representing 16 different organizations (10 of which publish a megajournal), this paper reports how the term âmegajournalâ is understood and publishersâ rationale and motivations for launching (or not launching) an OAMJ. We find that while there is general agreement on the common characteristics of megajournals, there is not yet a consensus on their relative importance. We also find seven motivating factors that were said to drive the launch of an OAMJ and link each of these factors to potential societal and business benefits. These results suggest that the often polarized debate surrounding OAMJs is a consequence of the extent to which observers perceive publishers to be motivated by these societal or business benefits
Open-access mega-journals: The publisher perspective (Part 2: operational realities)
This paper is the second of two Learned Publishing articles in which we
report the results of a series of interviews, with senior publishers and editors
exploring open access megajournals (OAMJs). Megajournals (of which
PLoS One is the best known example) represent a relatively new approach
to scholarly communication and can be characterized as large, broad-scope,
open access journals, which take an innovative approach to peer review,
basing acceptance decisions solely on the technical or scientific soundness
of the article. Based on interviews with 31 publishers and editors, this
paper reports the perceived cultural, operational, and technical challenges
associated with launching, growing, and maintaining a megajournal. We
find that overcoming these challenges while delivering the societal benefits
associated with OAMJs is seen to require significant investment in people
and systems, as well as an ongoing commitment to the model
The diverse niches of megajournals : specialism within generalism
Over the past decade, megajournals have expanded in popularity and established a
legitimate niche in academic publishing. Leveraging advantages of digital publishing, megajournals are characterized by large publication volume, broad interdisciplinary scope, and peer-review filters that select primarily for scientific soundness
as opposed to novelty or originality. These publishing innovations are complementary and competitive vis-Ă -vis traditional journals. We analyze how megajournals
(PLOS One, Scientific Reports) are represented in different fields relative to prominent generalist journals (Nature, PNAS, Science) and âquasi-megajournalsâ (Nature
Communications, PeerJ). Our results show that both megajournals and prominent
traditional journals have distinctive niches, despite the similar interdisciplinary
scopes of such journals. These nichesâdefined by publishing volume and disciplinary diversityâare dynamic and varied over the relatively brief histories of the
analyzed megajournals. Although the life sciences are the predominant contributor
to megajournals, there is variation in the disciplinary composition of different megajournals. The growth trajectories and disciplinary composition of generalist
journalsâincluding megajournalsâreflect changing knowledge dissemination and
reward structures in science
Polarization in the future journal publishing ecosystem : Selective subscription journals and open access mega-journals
The development of information technology has drastically changed scholarly communication. The advent of electronic journals has changed the industrial structure of academic publishing. As the market concentration of journal publishing continues to increase, the pricing of journals has been dominated and controlled by large publishers. The never-ending rise of subscription prices is approaching a tipping point that libraries/institutions â even in high-income countries â can no longer bear. In these circumstances, the open access (OA) movement has been promoted over the past 15 years, and new types of publications have appeared. This paper discusses the position of each stakeholder in the OA landscape, and foresees a new ecosystem of future journal publishing â the polarization of selective subscription journals and OA mega-journals
A history and development of peer-review process
152-162The paper shows the importance of peer review process in the scholarly communication system and discusses both the closed and the newly emerging open peer review models. It also examines the peer review system at the scholarly academies or societies in their nomination systems for prizes, rewards, etc. It also discusses the various facets of the newly developed open peer review models now prevalent in various journals. The paper may help to understand and appreciate the role played by peer review in the scholarly communication system and the efforts being made to make it more transparent
A history and development of peer-review process
The paper shows the importance of peer review process in the scholarly communication system and discusses both the closed and the newly emerging open peer review models. It also examines the peer review system at the scholarly academies or societies in their nomination systems for prizes, rewards, etc. It also discusses the various facets of the newly developed open peer review models now prevalent in various journals. The paper may help to understand and appreciate the role played by peer review in the scholarly communication system and the efforts being made to make it more transparent
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