Open-access mega-journals: The publisher perspective (Part 2: operational realities)
2018-12-06T10:59:55Z (GMT)
by
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.
License
CC BY 4.0