Open Access Religious Journals--An Analytical Study of the DOAJ.
Loan, Fayaz Ahmad ; Quraishi, Jahangeer Iqbal ; Refhat-un-Nisa 等
Open Access Religious Journals--An Analytical Study of the DOAJ.
INTRODUCTION
The higher education institutes and research centres all over the
world spend the major portion of their budget on research to generate
new knowledge, verify old and reject fictitious. After conducting
research in various disciplines, the researchers choose different means
to communicate and share their findings with their counterparts across
the globe mostly without any monetary benefit. The journals- print or
electronic- are considered as the primary vehicles of communication in
scholarly information transfer. However, due to the rapidly increasing
cost of journals plus shrinking library budgets, it is impossible for
any affluent library of the world to subscribe all the journals for its
scholars. To overcome these problems, open access (OA) electronic
publishing was heralded as a potential solution. The open access (OA)
idea arises from a small but lively meeting convened in the Budapest by
the Open Society Institute (OSI) on December 1-2, 2001. The resulting
statement of this meeting, the "Budapest Open Access
Initiative," was made public in February 2002 (Bailey, 2006). The
initiative received $3 million funding support from a philanthropist
George Soros, the founder of OSI (Sathyanarayana, 2008). The Public
Library of Science received a $9 million grant from the Moore Foundation
for open access (OA) publishing and announced its first two open-access
journals on December 17, 2002 (Seber, 2009). Gradually, many
institutions, organizations, societies, foundations, individual and
commercial publishers joined the movement. The leading publishers like
Springer, Nature, Oxford, Cambridge, Elsevier, Taylor & Francis and
Sage also launched the open access journals. The Open Access Scholarly
Publishers Association (OASPA) was established on 14 October 2008
(www.oaspa.org) in response to long-time informal discussions among open
access publishers and aims to represent the interests of open access
journals publishers globally. This provides a vehicle for all
organizations involved in open access publishing to share their
experiences and develop common good practices.
The idea of creating a comprehensive directory of open access
journals was discussed at the First Nordic Conference on Scholarly
Communication in Lund/Copenhagen (http://www.lub.lu.se/ncsc2002). The
Directory of Open Access Journals was launched by the Lund University on
May 12, 2003, with funding from the Open Society Institute and the
Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) (Seber,
2009). In June 2004, the Open Society Institute (OSI) funded $1,299,018
(USD) to support open-access projects that included developing the
'Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)', converting a
'Subscription-Based Journal to Open Access' and 'Guide to
Launch a New Open Access Journal' (Guerrero, 2004). The Directory
of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) service covers free, full text,
quality-controlled scientific and scholarly journals. The DOAJ includes
journals published by the not-for-profit open access journal publishers
and all contents are freely available without delay (e.g. no embargo
period) to the end-user. The publishing models of journals rely on
significant donations from private foundations, institutional support
and from those authors or institutions who can afford to make some
payment towards the cost of publication. The Directory of Open Access
Journals (DOAJ) covers all subjects from acoustics to zoology and the
present study will focus on the journal of religious studies.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The growth and development of the open access scholarly publishing
have been one of the success stories of the Internet and the World Wide
Web. Falk reported that there were only five journals offering open
access mode to their contents in 1992 and the number reached to 1200 in
2004 (Falk, 2004). The Ulrich Directory of Periodicals listed 24,263
journals published by 9,970 publishers in which 229 publishers deal with
both open access and traditional access journals and 996 open access
journals are published by them (Frantsvag, 2010). McVeigh evaluated the
number of open access journals from region perspective in the ISI
citation databases. The study brought out a striking result. Nearly 15%
of the covered titles from Asia-Pacific are available as open access,
and over 40% of the titles from Central or South America are open access
journals. In contrast, open access journals from North American and
Western Europe comprise 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively, of the total
coverage from those regions (McVeigh, 2004). Lone, Rather, Shah (2008)
found that the top five countries in terms of the number of journals in
the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) were USA, Brazil, UK,
Spain, and Germany. India ranked number 7 on the list, well ahead of the
developed countries such as China, Australia, and Japan.
Kaufman (2005) conducted a comprehensive investigation on open
access journals of various archives including the Directory of Open
Access Journals (DOAJ) and revealed that there were only 248 journals in
the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) in all disciplines in which
45 percent of them were in science and technology, 34 percent in
medicine, 10 percent in the social sciences, and 7 percent in the arts
and humanities. The study also depicted that the typical DOAJ journal
published just 41 articles per year. The study further depicted that
most of the full open access journals in the Directory of Open Access
Journals (DOAJ) were published by commercial publishers (54.8%),
followed by not-for-profit associations (14.5%) and academic departments
(12.9%) respectively. The study also confirmed that 47% percent of DOAJ
journals charged publication fees to authors or their institutions.
Walters and Linvill (2011) examined the characteristics of 663 open
access journals in biology, computer science, economics, history,
medicine, and psychology and revealed a great variation in the size of
open access journals; the largest publishes more than 2,700 articles per
year, but half publish 25 or fewer. The results also depicted that just
29 percent of open access journals charge publication fees and the
number of such journals is higher in the fields of biology and medicine.
They also depicted that the open access journal landscape is greatly
influenced by a few key publishers in which 28 percent commercial, 32
percent university, and 35 percent society/non-profit. Coming to
humanities and social sciences, little growth is depicted in comparison
to science and technology. Hu (2012) identified that among the 2960
scholarly journals indexed by the Chinese National Knowledge Information
(CNKI) database in the humanities and social sciences, 147 journals
offered open access. Rufai, Gul, and Shah (2011) conducted a study to
identify the open access journals in library and information science. A
total of 144 open access journals in the field of library and
information science were obtained from the Directory of Open Access
Journals (DOAJ), Urlichsweb.com and J-Gate. Among these, 32 journals are
indexed by all databases while 29 titles are indexed only by Directory
of Open Access Journals, 11 only by Urlichsweb.com & 16 by Open
J-gate. The 144 open access library and information science journals
were published from 37 countries in which maximum (45) titles were
published in the United States (31.25%), followed respectively by 12 in
Brazil (8.33%) and 10 in Spain (6.95%). The researchers also found that
universities are the leading publishers of open access journals which
published 55 titles, accounting to 38.19 per cent of the total, followed
by library associations and research centres/institutes with 32 (22.22%)
and 22 (15.28%) titles respectively. When it comes to the content
language(s), 72.92 per cent of journals (105) are unilingual, 19.44 per
cent as bilingual (28), 4.17 titles (6) in three languages, 2.78 per
cent titles (4) in four languages and a single title (0.69%) is
published in more than four languages. Loan (2014) examined the
publishing trends of the Open Access (OA) journals in the field of
education, available in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
The findings show that a maximum number of journals (567) listed in the
DOAJ is published in education; from the United States (120, i.e.,
21.16%); and during the first decade (2001-10) of the 21st century (393,
i.e., 69.31%). The linguistic assessment shows that the OA education
journals are published in 32 different languages and English is the
principal language adopted by the 75.84% (430) of journals. The results
also reveal that the majority of the education journals (496, i.e.,
87.48%) don't charge any publication fee from the authors and still
100% of them have maintained their continuity. In another study,
Bjornshauge (2011) reported that the Directory of Open Access Journals
(DOAJ) listed 7300 plus open access journals published from more than
115 countries by 2985 publishers. The study also revealed that 29
percent (2040) of journals accepted author processing charges whereas 71
percent (5063) didn't demand such charges. The author processing
charges were highly demanded by journals published from Africa (60%)
followed by North America (44%) and minimum by journals published from
South America (7%). Loan, Refhat, and Asmat (2015) conducted a study to
point out the publishing trends of the open access business and
economics journals available in the Directory of Open Access Journals
(DOAJ). The findings show that 607 business and economics journals are
listed in the DOAJ and are published from the 67 countries of the world.
The maximum number of journals (88, 14.50%) is published from Brazil,
and during the first decade (2001-2010) of the 21st century (382,
62.93%). The linguistic assessment shows that the open access business
and economics journals are mostly monolingual (405, 66.72%) and the
majority of these are published in the English language (498, 82.04%).
The results also reveal that the majority of the business and economics
journals (415, 68.37%) doesn't charge publication fees to authors
whereas almost one-fourth (147, 24.22%) of the journals demand article
processing charges. Solomon and Bjork (2012) also reported that as on
August 2011, 1,825 journals (26%) listed in the Directory of Open Access
Journals that charged author processing charges (APCs) whereas rest
didn't charge any publication fee to authors.
A sizeable literature is available all over the world on open
access journals in general and the DOAJ in particular. The results
reveal that presently the open access journals are published from
various regions and countries in all subject areas and in almost all
influential world languages. However, more journals are published in the
science and technology disciplines than the social sciences and
humanities. The present study will be a step forward to study the open
access scholarly journals in religious studies.
RESEARCH DESIGN
a) Problem Statement
Religion plays a very important role in our lives as it acts as a
light to guide people through the tunnels of darkness. Without religion
or spirituality, it is impossible to seek answers to many confusing
questions in the world. A major portion of any religion like Judaism,
Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam is based on the same basic
values and principles. Every religion teaches its followers to choose
right over wrong, good over evil, just over unjust, truth over lies, and
live in peace and harmony in the world. A look at some of the most
ancient and beautiful buildings of the world have a religious
significance. Ancient tombs, monasteries, temples, churches, synagogues,
mosques and gurdwaras account for some of the wonders of the world. Holy
wars have been waged and lives have been lost all for the sake of
religion. Religion is treated more important than money, power,
position, relationships, and property. Keeping the significance of the
religion in view, scholars study/conduct research on various religious
issues and problems in order to search the truth. These research
findings are communicated through various channels and journals
especially open access, are considered as the best vehicles for
transferring the first-hand information. Therefore, the present study is
a very important step for studying the scholarly publishing trends in
the religious studies.
b) Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of the paper is to study the publishing trends of
the open access scholarly journals in religious studies through various
parameters based on religion, country, language, growth rate, publishing
bodies, author processing charges and quality control measures.
c) Scope and limitations of the Study
The study does not explore the whole World Wide Web, but only the
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and therefore, figures
don't represent the actual number of the open access scholarly
journals in religious studies, but merely journals listed in the DOAJ.
Hence the findings should be cautioned.
d) Methodology
The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is considered as the
best source of information about OA journals. The Directory of Open
Access Journals (DOAJ) was accessed during the month of December 2017 to
collect the data. Data was later presented in tabular forms and analyzed
using the quantitative techniques to reveal findings in accordance with
desired objectives.
DATA ANALYSES
1. Religion-wise information
The results reveal that most of the open access journals (76.47%)
accept research papers, articles; book reviews etc. on all religions
whereas 17.65% journals have focused on Islam, 3.36% on Christianity,
1.68% on Judaism and 0.84% on Buddhism respectively (Table 1). There is
no journal on Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, etc. The efforts need to be
taken to create and register journals on these religions in the DOAJ as
well. It will help to know the actual message of these religions through
the lens of the religious experts. Moreover, the common message of peace
and human values will be spread to the scholarly community.
2. Country-wise information
Till date, 27 countries have contributed 119 open access journals
in religious studies. Among these, the maximum of journals is published
in Indonesia (21, 17.65%), followed by Brazil (14, 11.77%), Colombia
(11, 9.25%), Poland (10, 8.41%) and Spain (9, 7.56%) respectively (Table
2). No religious journal is registered in the DOAJ published in Indian
languages especially Hindi and Urdu.
3. Publisher wise information
The publisher wise information reveals that 119 religious journals
are published by 114 publishers in which the maximum journals are
published by the academic institutions especially universities (Table
3).
4. Language-wise information
The open access religious journals are published in 17 different
languages. English is the principal language adopted by the 79 (66.39%)
journals followed by Spanish (48, 40.34%) and Portuguese (25, 21.01%)
and French (21, 17.65%) and German (19, 15.97%), respectively (Table 4).
5. Growth of journals
The open access journals in religion have started from 3 journals
in 2003 and since then have continuously accelerated the speed of
publication. Presently 119 journals are registered in the DOAJ and most
of them have adopted open access publishing model since 2010 (Fig 1).
6. Publication fee-wise information
The present study depicts that the majority of the religious
journals (107, 89.92%) doesn't charge the publication fee to
authors whereas 8 journals demand publication fee from the authors and 4
journals (3.36%) don't provide any information (Table 5).
7. Quality control measures
All the journals adopt review process of the articles before
publication in the journal in which the majority of the journals applies
'Double-blind peer review' (65, 54.62%) followed by
'Blind peer review5 (27, 22.69%) and 'peer review' (19,
15.97%) respectively. Very few journals (3, 2.52%) adopt 'Editorial
review' process before publication (Table 6).
DISCUSSION
The research journals are available on almost all religions of the
world through open access mode. The need is to create awareness among
the religious scholars for their optimum utilization. However, the
journals officials also need to be cautious in selecting the papers.
Only those papers need to be included which can be helpful in achieving
peace and harmony in the global family and avoid papers which can be
disastrous for the world peace. Moreover, Islam is the most preferred
choice of the majority of the journals for publishing papers followed by
Christianity. The journals authorities need to be cautious in including
articles to maintain the real reputation of these journals. These
journals shouldn't become the propaganda platforms for the focused
religions.
The maximum of journals is published in Indonesia followed by
Brazil. The other countries must join hands to speed up the research
process in religious studies and share the findings with their global
partners through open access platforms on all branches of knowledge.
Further, the open access religious journals are mostly contributed by
various publishers around the world. Only seven publishers have
contributed more than two journals each and rest contributes only one
journal each. The other publishers of the world also need to come
forward and contribute in this field for the service of humanity.
The open access journals have taken the speed in the 21st century
after the global open access movement was started in the Budapest. The
need is to create more journals in the open access mode to overcome the
financial barrier between user and information. The majority of the
journals are published in English. This is a very good step as the
English is considered as Lingo Franco (international Language) and the
majority of the people are able to understand the English language as
well. The journals which aren't available in the English language
also need to create an English version in order to reach the more
people.
Only a few journals in the religious studies demand author
processing charges. However, it is a debatable question that who should
pay the author processing charges- author, its institution or any
funding agency like University Grants Commission. The author/researcher
uses its mind, time and labour to generate the new knowledge for the
benefit of the whole global community and obviously, an author
shouldn't pay from its own pocket. The institutions or funding
agencies should come forward to support the author as well as open
access journals and in return, these institutions will get free access
to the scholarly information for their academicians.
These journals adopt a formalized process of peer-review prior to
publication. Peer-review is basically a quality control and quality
improvement mechanism. Typically, the editors of the journals request
subject experts (reviewers) in the relevant field to review the papers.
The reviewers mostly consist of a small group of subject experts
(qualified peers) recognized by the journal. Later, the reviewers submit
a detailed report of the paper along with a recommendation to reject,
accept or improve the paper based on the suggestions. This process helps
not only checking the quality of paper; but improving the quality as
well.
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Fayaz Ahmad Loan Dr.
University of Kashmir (J&K), India, fayazlib@yahoo.co.in
Jahangeer Iqbal Quraishi Mr.
Central University of Kashmir, (J&K), India
Refhat-un-Nisa Ms.
University of Kashmir, (J&K), India
Wasim Hussain Mr.
University of Kashmir, (J&K), India
[1.] Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Loan, University of Kashmir, Jammu &
Kashmir, (India)-- 190006. Corresponding author E-mail:
fayazlib@yahoo.co.in
[2.] Jahangeer Iqbal Quraishi, Central University of Kashmir, Jammu
& Kashmir, (India)
[3.] Refhat-un-Nisa, University of Kashmir, Jammu & Kashmir,
(India)
[4.] Wasim Hussain, University of Kashmir, Jammu & Kashmir,
(India)
Caption: Fig. 1--Growth of Journals
Table 1: Religion-wise Journals
S.NO. Religion Number Percentage
1. Islam 21 17.65
2. Christianity 04 3.36
3. Judaism 02 1.68
4. Buddhism 01 0.84
5. Hinduism 00 00
6. Sikhism 00 00
7. Jainism 00 00
8. Shivism 00 00
9. Zoroastrianism 00 00
10. Religions (All) 91 76.47
Total 119 100
Table 2: Country-wise Journals in Religious studies
S. No. Country Number Percentage
1. Indonesia 21 17.65
2. Brazil 14 11.77
3. Colombia 11 9.25
4. Poland 10 8.41
5. Spain 9 7.56
6. Italy 6 5.04
7. USA 5 4.20
8. Argentina 5 4.20
9. Turkey 5 4.20
10. Chile 4 3.36
11. Germany 4 3.36
12. Romania 4 3.36
13. Iran 3 2.52
14. South Africa 3 2.52
15. Mexico 2 1.68
16. Switzerland 2 1.68
17. Austria 1 0.84
18. Canada 1 0.84
19. Czech Republic 1 0.84
20. Finland 1 0.84
21. France 1 0.84
22. Ireland 1 0.84
23. Malaysia 1 0.84
24. Peru 1 0.84
25. Serbia 1 0.84
26. UK 1 0.84
27. Venezuela 1 0.84
Total 27 119 100
Table 3: Publisher-wise Journals in Religious studies
S. No. Publisher Number
1. Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika 02
2. University of Isfahan 02
3. Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya 02
4. Universidad de Chile 02
5. Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo 02
6. Pabst Science Publishers 02
7. De Gruyter Open 02
8. Others (1) each 105
Total 114 119
S. No. Percentage
1. 1.68
2. 1.68
3. 1.68
4. 1.68
5. 1.68
6. 1.68
7. 1.68
8. 88.24
Total 100
Table 4: Language-wise Journals in Religious studies
S.NO. Language Number Percentage
1. English 79 66.39
2. Spanish 48 40.34
3. Portuguese 25 21.01
4. French 21 17.65
5. German 19 15.97
6. Indonesian 16 13.45
7. Italian 13 10.92
8. German 12 10.08
9. Polish 9 7.56
10. Arabic 8 6.72
11. Turkish 5 4.20
12. Persian 3 3.31
13. Czech 1 0.82
14. Hebrew 1 0.82
15. Kurdish 1 0.82
16. Russian 1 0.82
17. Serbian 1 0.82
Total Languages = (17)
Note: Journals were multi-lingual and hence percentage and total will
vary
Table 5: Publication fee-wise Journals in Religious Studies
S.NO. Publication fee Number Percentage
1. Yes 8 6.72
2. No 107 89.92
3. Information missing 4 3.36
Total 119 100
Table 6: Quality Control measures of Journals in Religious Studies
S.NO. Peer review process Number Percentage
1. Double-blind peer review 65 54.62
2. Blind peer review 27 22.69
3. Peer review 19 15.97
4. Editorial review 03 2.52
Total 119 100
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright
restrictions.
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