Evolution of open access publishing in Chinese scientific journals

Abstract

Based on the 1,608 journals covered by the Chinese Science & Technology Journal Citation Reports (2005 edition), we analyzed the open access (OA) publishing situation of Chinese scientific journals. From this database we identified 91 journals offering full OA; a further 139 journals offered delayed OA. Data collected at three different time points (January 2006, July 2006, and January 2007) showed that the OA status of these journals is not stable; some OA journals subsequently became non‐OA. Most of the Chinese OA journals are not part of a larger aggregation, but are published independently. Relatively more OA journals are published in the fields of medicine and biology. Citation indicators of OA journals were found to be higher than those of non‐OA journals.

Which domains do open‐access journals do best in? A 5‐year longitudinal study

“…Relatively few studies about this topic have been conducted on the journal level, making it difficult to acquire a comprehensive understanding of this topic. All of these studies reviewed in Table (Björk & Solomon, ; Cheng & Ren, ; McCabe & Snyder, ; Wohlrabe & Birkmeier, ) seem to suggest the existence of citation advantages for OA publications across various knowledge domains. However, more evidence is required before we can make more solid claims about the effects of OA on the impact of scientific journals.…”

Chinese scientific journals: how they can survive

“…(The database corporations which only pursue profits have all the digital publication resources, and because of this, it is very difficult to develop open access in China.) 8,9 All these factors hinder the rapid development of Chinese scientific journals, and further widen the gap between these journals and world-class journals .…”

Open Access Journals in China: The Current Situation and Development Strategies

“…Although the OA publishing model may be helpful in enhancing a journal's visibility and accessibility and increase citations of its content [Cheng & Ren, 2007], the many constraints and requirements related to OA publishing, such as funding systems, business models, performance evaluation systems, reader identification, and intellectual property issues, and the lack of an internal driving force for undertaking the transition from a print journal to an OA journal have resulted in the notably slow growth of OA journals in China. Although the OA publishing model may be helpful in enhancing a journal's visibility and accessibility and increase citations of its content [Cheng & Ren, 2007], the many constraints and requirements related to OA publishing, such as funding systems, business models, performance evaluation systems, reader identification, and intellectual property issues, and the lack of an internal driving force for undertaking the transition from a print journal to an OA journal have resulted in the notably slow growth of OA journals in China.…”