Special Issue on Bibliometric & Scientometric Studies Directory of Open Access Journals: A Scientrometric Study of Surgery Journals Dr. Kotti Thavamani, Ph.D. Regional Medical Library The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Chennai. INDIA. P. Umamagheswari, M.Phil. Regional Medical Library The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Chennai. INDIA Abstract This research paper examines the surgery focused journals represented in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) during 2003-2013. A total of 107 surgery journals were examined by journals published by country, journals by year commence publications, publications of journals by language, publication of journals by language patterns, subject headings of e-journals on surgery - related journals, interdisciplinary subjects identification of journals, journals by publication fees, licenses for published journals, publication of journals with EISSN and ISSN and publication of journals by institutions. Keywords Scientrometrics; DOAJ; Open access; Publication analysis; Online journals; E- Journals; Surgery. Introduction Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is an online directory that indexes and provides access to quality open access, peer-reviewed journals. The aim of the DOAJ is to increase the visibility and ease of use of open access scientific and scholarly journals, thereby promoting their increased usage and impact. The DOAJ aims to be comprehensive and cover all open access scientific and scholarly journals that use a quality control system to guarantee the content. In short, the DOAJ aims to be the one-stop shop for users of open access journals. Literature Review Thavamani (2013) examined 151 library-focused journals represented in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) by number of issues: subject-specific distribution of library journals, interdisciplinary aspects, country of origin, language-used and other language characteristics, numbers of titles first appearing in given years, publication fees, the existence of license agreements, and the types of organizations having journals in the Directory that focus on libraries. 23 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
Jamdade & Jamdade (2013) traced Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) provides open access to scientific and scholarly journals, the total 137 free full text with abstracts online journals were accessed through DOAJ and analyzed based on subject headings, languages, country their accessibility of archives of online journals in Library & Information Science. Bansal (2014) studied 44 information about of all free access music e-journals in DOAJ. All music journals are analyzed on the basis of their originating country, language and year of emergence. Rajeev & Jat (2012) studied 33 free full texts with abstracts online journals were accessed through DOAJ and analyzed based on subject headings, languages, country, keywords, and their accessibility of archives of online journals in Health Sciences- Nursing. Kumar (2013) analyzed by country, keywords, frequency in the DOAJ. It indicates that there was only one open access journal i.e. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association was available before 1990 in the field of library and information science (LIS). Only 19.04% journals have their EISSN. Almost one fourth journals were publishing on half yearly basis. Objectives of the Study To trace country of origin, To study language of publications, To identify language patterns, To study subject distribution of surgery - related journals, To study interdisciplinary aspects of these journals, To study year commenced publications, To study publication fees, To study licenses for published items, To study published with EISSN and ISSN and To identify published by institutions. Methodology and Data Collection The data was collected from Directory Open Access Journals (DOAJ) website (http://www.doaj.org) covering the period from 2003 to 2013. One Hundred and Seven surgery titles and related information have been selected for the current study. These data are organized, calculated, tabulated, analyzed, and presented by using simple arithmetic and statistical methods in order to provide analysis. Limitation of the Study 24 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
There are 18 different major subject areas represented in the Directory of Open Access Journals, only those related to the Surgery related (107) journals in health sciences subject areas only studied. There may be some journal titles listed in other disciplines covered in the Directory that do not explicitly describe a focus on surgery related but which may be actually surgery-related. These titles would be absent from this study. For purposes of this study only those titles identified under the subject heading Surgery related Journal were considered during 2003 2013 period only. Analysis and Findings Table 1: Surgery Journals Published by Country Countries Total Percentage 1 United States 21 19.626 2 United Kingdom 15 14.018 3 India 12 11.214 4 Egypt 10 9.345 5 Brazil 8 7.476 6 China 3 2.803 7 Germany 3 2.803 8 Spain 3 2.803 9 Turkey 3 2.803 10 Argentina 2 1.869 11 Cuba 2 1.869 12 Italy 2 1.869 13 Pakistan 2 1.869 14 Romania 2 1.869 15 South Africa 2 1.869 16 Bangladesh 1 0.934 17 Canada 1 0.934 18 Chile 1 0.934 19 Colombia 1 0.934 20 France 1 0.934 21 Hong Kong 1 0.934 22 Iran 1 0.934 23 Japan 1 0.934 24 Malaysia 1 0.934 25 Mexico 1 0.934 26 Netherlands 1 0.934 27 New Zealand 1 0.934 28 Nigeria 1 0.934 29 Poland 1 0.934 30 Portugal 1 0.934 25 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
31 Serbia 1 0.934 32 Uganda 1 0.934 Figure 1: Distribution of Journals by Country Table 1 and Figure 1 show the distribution of journals according to country of origin. There are 32 countries represented in DOAJ publishing journals related to surgery. The highest number, 21 (19.626%), originated are based in the United States. United Kingdom had the second highest number, 15 (14.018%). Seventeen countries had only one (0.934%) surgery journal during the study period. Table 2: Distribution of Journals by Year Commence Publications Year Total Percentage 1 1959 1 0.934 2 1995 1 0.934 3 1996 1 0.934 4 1997 2 1.869 5 1998 2 1.869 6 1999 1 0.934 7 2000 5 4.672 8 2001 5 4.672 9 2002 3 2.803 10 2003 4 3.738 26 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
11 2004 5 4.672 12 2005 8 7.476 13 2006 10 9.345 14 2007 10 9.345 15 2008 7 6.542 16 2009 10 9.345 17 2010 16 14.953 18 2011 12 11.214 19 2012 4 3.738 Figure 2: Year Commenced Publications Table 2 and Figure 2 show the year in which publication commenced for the surgery journals. The greatest number of journals began publication in 2010, with 16 titles (14.953%). The Neurologia Medico-Chirurgica has published since 1959, from Japan. Table 3: Publications of Journals by Language Language Total Percentage 1 English 97 73.484 2 Portuguese 13 9.848 3 Spanish 12 9.090 4 French 2 1.515 5 Turkish 2 1.515 6 German 2 1.515 7 Serbian 1 0.757 8 Polish 1 0.757 9 Italian 1 0.757 27 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
10 Rumanian 1 0.757 Total 132 100.000 Figure 3: Journals by Language Table 3 and Figure 3 show the language of publication of the journals. There are 10 languages represented with 97 (73.484%), the highest number claiming English as its language of publication. Portuguese language has the second highest 13 (9.848%) number. Five languages (Serbian, Polish, Italian, and Rumanian) have one surgery journal title. Some journals report publications in more than one language; hence the total number of journals in various languages is 132. Table 4: Publication of Journals by Language Patterns Language Patterns Total Percentage 1 One language 86 80.373 2 Two languages 17 15.887 3 Three languages 4 3.738 28 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
Figure 4: Language Patterns Table 4 and Figure 4 show the numbers of languages in which individual journals are published. Most of journals, 86 (80.373%) are published in one language, while 4 (3.738%) journal report they publish in four languages. Table 5: Subject Headings of E-Journals on Surgery- Related Journals Subjects Total Percentage 1 Surgery 80 74.766 2 Neurology - Surgery 6 5.607 3 Gastroenterology - Surgery 3 2.803 4 Surgery - Internal medicine 3 2.803 5 Surgery - Neurology 3 2.803 6 Cardiovascular - Surgery 2 1.869 7 Dentistry - Surgery 2 1.869 8 Surgery - Cardiovascular 2 1.869 9 Surgery - Medicine (General) 2 1.869 10 Surgery - Pediatrics 2 1.869 11 Surgery - Anesthesiology 1 0.934 12 Surgery - Urology 1 0.934 29 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
Figure 5: Distribution of Surgery - Related Journals Table 5 and Figure 5shows the subject related distribution of surgery journals. There have been 107 titles identified in 12 subject areas. Within these 12 areas, not surprisingly most journals were published in surgery Journal, specifically, 80 (74.766%). The lowest percentage, 0.934% representing two journals, occurs in Surgery Anesthesiology and Surgery - Urology journal. Table 6: Interdisciplinary Subjects Identification of Journals Interdisciplinary Subjects Number of Subjects Covering Percentage 1 Neurology - Surgery 6 22.222 2 Gastroenterology - Surgery 3 11.111 3 Surgery - Internal medicine 3 11.111 4 Surgery - Neurology 3 11.111 5 Cardiovascular - Surgery 2 7.407 6 Dentistry - Surgery 2 7.407 7 Surgery - Cardiovascular 2 7.407 8 Surgery - Medicine (General) 2 7.407 9 Surgery - Pediatrics 2 7.407 10 Surgery - Anesthesiology 1 3.703 30 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
11 Surgery - Urology 1 3.703 Total 27 100.000 Figure 6: Interdisciplinary Identification of Journals Table 6 and Figure 6 show the interdisciplinary nature of surgery related journals. Eleven titles have been identified as being interdisciplinary. Among these 11 interdisciplinary areas, the greatest numbers 6 (22.222%) of journals were published in the Neurology - Surgery. Table 7: Distribution of Journals by Publication Fees Publication Fee Total Percentage 1 No 53 49.532 2 Yes 48 44.859 3 Information Missing 2 1.869 4 Conditional 4 3.738 31 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
Figure 7: Publication Fees Table 7 and Figure 7 show whether or not fees are associated with the publication. These fees may be assessed to authors or institutions, but given the open access standards of DOAJ, no fees are required for access to any of the Directory journals. The vast majority of the journals, 53 (49.532%), have no publication fees while 48 journals (44.859%) do assess a fee under the study period. Table 8: Licenses for Published journals License Total Percentage 1 No 63 58.878 2 Yes 44 41.121 Figure 8: Licenses for Published journals 32 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
Table 8 and Figure 8 show the number of journals that have or do not have license requirements. Most of the journals 63 (58.878%) do not have licenses to publish. Only 44 (41.121%) surgery journals have licenses. Table 9: Publishing of Journals with EISSN EISSN Total Percentage 1 No 63 58.878 2 Yes 44 41.121 Figure 9: Publishing of Journals with EISSN Table 9 and Figure 9 shows the numbers of surgery journals with EISSN are published. Most of journals, 63 (58.878%) are published with EISSN. And only 44.121% (44) of the e- journals are published without EISSN. Table 10: Publishing of Journals with ISSN ISSN Total Percentage 1 Yes 107 100 2 No 0 0 Table 10 shows the numbers of journals with ISSN are published. Hundred (100) percent of journals are published with ISSN. 33 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016
Finding and Conclusion Some findings are not surprising that most of the journals publish in English. Most of journals, 73 (76.041%) are published in one language, while 3 journal report they publish in three languages. The highest number, 21 (19.626%), originated are based in the United States. United Kingdom had the second highest number, 15 (14.018%). Seventeen countries had only one (0.934%) surgery journal during the study period. The greatest number of journals began publication in 2010, with 16 titles (14.953%). There are 10 languages represented with 97 (73.484%), the highest number claiming English as its language of publication. Portuguese language has the second highest 13 (9.848%) number. There have been 107 titles identified in 12 subject areas. Within these 12 areas, not surprisingly most journals were published in surgery Journal, specifically, 80 (74.766%). Eleven titles have been identified as being interdisciplinary. Among these 11 interdisciplinary areas, the greatest numbers of journals were published in the Neurology - Surgery. The vast majorities of the journals have no publication fees and only do assess a fee under the study period. Most of journals are published with EISSN during the study period. References Mohan L. Jamdade & Pramila M. Jamdade (2013) A Bibliometric Study of Directory of Open Access Journals: Special Reference to Library & Information Science, Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies. 1 (1), 48-62. Neera Bansal (2014) Directory of Open Access Journals, Music: A Bibliometric Study, International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4 (1), 1-9. Parveen Kumar (2013) A Bibliometric Study on Open Access Journals in Library Science Discipline in DOAJ, International Journal of Information Library and Society, 2 (1), 21-29. Thavamani, Kotti (2013) Directory of Open Access Journals: A Bibliometric Study of Library and Information Science, Collaborative Librarianship. 5 (4), 246-255. Vashistha Rajeev & Jat Madan Lal, (2012) Directory of Open Access Journals, Health Science. Nursing: A Bibliometric Study. Journal of Indian Library Association. 28 (2), 26-35. Follow us on: IRJLIS, Facebook, Twitter 34 International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science Vol.6 1, March, 2016