The integration of open access journals in the scholarly communication system: three science fields

Tove Faber Frandsen (1)

1 RSLIS - Royal School of Library and Information Science

The greatest number of open access journals (OAJs) is found in the sciences and their influence is growing. However, there are only a few studies on the acceptance and thereby integration of these OAJs in the scholarly communication system. Even fewer studies provide insight into the differences across disciplines. This study is an analysis of the citing behaviour in journals within three science fields: biology, mathematics, and pharmacy and pharmacology. It is a statistical analysis of OAJs as well as non-OAJs including both the citing and cited side of the journal to journal citations. The multivariate linear regression reveals many similarities in citing behaviour across fields and media. But it also points to great differences in the integration of OAJs. The integration of OAJs in the scholarly communication system varies considerably across fields. The implications for bibliometric research are discussed.

Keywords: open access journals; bibliometrics

Domains: Library and information sciences

Tove Faber Frandsen. The integration of open access journals in the scholarly communication system: three science fields. 2008. ⟨hprints-00326285⟩