Business and publication model of surgical journals: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Background: The research community is increasingly recognizing the significance of understanding journal business models and their influence on the dissemination and readership of scholarly literature. This has sparked discussions on publisher payment models, exemplified by the recent termination of the subscription contract between the University of California and Elsevier. Methods: Scopus was used as the primary database to extract the list of surgery journals and other variables related to journal metrics. SCImago Journal Ranking (SJR) was used to extract information about the journals such as name and type of publisher, language and location model of the journal and publication model. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: More than half of surgical journals were published by university publishers (54.2%). Similarly more than half of the journals are of European origin (53%). About 1/3 of the surgical journals employ open access publication model. We obserevd a greater number of orthopedic subspeciality journals (19%). SJR was higher for university and commercial type of publishers. Conclusion: A small number of multinational commercial corporations dominate the publication of surgery journals, leading to significant centralization. Despite the majority of surgery journals being open access, their impact is similar to that of subscription-based journals.