A mega journal (also mega-journal and megajournal) is a peer-reviewed academic journal open access journal designed to be much larger than a traditional journal by exercising low selectivity among accepted articles. It was pioneered by PLOS ONE.[ This "very lucrative publishing model"][ was soon emulated by other publishers.
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Definition
A mega journal has the following defining characteristics:
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broad coverage of different subject areas;
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accepting articles for publication based on whether they are technically sound rather than selecting for perceived importance;
[ and
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using article processing charges to cover the costs of publishing,
[ although it is also possible for a mega journal to function as a non-profit (one example is Open Library of Humanities).
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Other less universal characteristics are
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"an accelerated review and publication process",
[ "fast turnaround time";][
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"academic editors",
[ even "a large editorial board of academic editors",][ (instead of professional editors); and
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value-added services such as reusable graphics and data through Creative Commons licenses.
Mega journals are also online-only, with no printed version, and are fully open access, in contrast to hybrid open access journals.[
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Influence
It has been suggested that the academic journal landscape might become dominated by a few mega journals in the future, at least in terms of total number of articles published.[Hayahiko Ozono, Okayama University, Participants' Report on The 5th SPARC Japan Seminar 2011. "Burgeoning Open Access MegaJournals". National Institute of Informatics. [1]]
Mega journals shift the publishing industry's funding standard from the subscription-based model common to traditional closed access publications to article processing charges.
List of mega journals
Notes
Further reading
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Bill Cope and Angus Phillips, The Future of the Academic Journal, 2nd ed., Chandos Publishing, Jul 1, 2014, 478 pages.
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Peter Binfield, "
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Open Access MegaJournals -- Have They Changed Everything?", Creative Commons New Zealand Blog
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Sönke Bartling & Sascha Friesike (Editors), Opening Science: The Evolving Guide on How the Web is Changing Research, Collaboration and Scholarly Publishing, Springer, 2014, , 339 pp.
