{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T04:11:45Z","timestamp":1760242305702,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,6]],"date-time":"2017-04-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1491436800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000267","name":"Arts and Humanities Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["AH\/M010643\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AH\/M010643\/1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000267","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Publications"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Open-Access Mega-Journals (OAMJs) are a relatively new and increasingly important publishing phenomenon. The journal Medicine is in the unique position of having transitioned in 2014 from being a \u2018traditional\u2019 highly-selective journal to the OAMJ model. This study compares the bibliometric profile of the journal Medicine before and after its transition to the OAMJ model. Three standard modes of bibliometric analysis are employed, based on data from Web of Science: journal output volume, author characteristics, and citation analysis. The journal\u2019s article output is seen to have grown hugely since its conversion to an OAMJ, a rise driven in large part by authors from China. Articles published since 2015 have fewer citations, and are cited by lower impact journals than articles published before the OAMJ transition. The adoption of the OAMJ model has completely changed the bibliometric profile of the journal, raising questions about the impact of OAMJ peer-review practices. In many respects, the post-2014 version of Medicine is best viewed as a new journal rather than a continuation of the original title.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/publications5020007","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,6]],"date-time":"2017-04-06T09:57:30Z","timestamp":1491472650000},"page":"7","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Transitioning from a Conventional to a \u2018Mega\u2019 Journal: A Bibliometric Case Study of the Journal Medicine"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"5","author":[{"given":"Simon","family":"Wakeling","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4591-7173","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peter","family":"Willett","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7449-6852","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claire","family":"Creaser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Library and Information Statistics Unit, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK"}]},{"given":"Jenny","family":"Fry","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of the Arts, English and Drama, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4696-764X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephen","family":"Pinfield","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8174-7912","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valerie","family":"Spezi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Library and Information Statistics Unit, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"MacRae, D. (2017, January 03). Tips for Journal Editors Transitioning to Open Access and the Role of Mega-Journals in the Publishing Landscape. Available online: http:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/tips-for-journal-editors-transitioning-to-open-access-and-the-role-of-mega-journals-in-the-publishing-landscape."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"(2017, January 03). Wolters Kluwer Guidelines and Information for Medicine Reviewers. Available online: http:\/\/journals.lww.com\/md-journal\/Pages\/Medicine-Reviewers.aspx."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Beall, J. (2017, January 03). The Decline of Medicine, A Wolters Kluwer Health Megajournal. Available online: https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160906081229\/."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.1108\/JD-06-2016-0082","article-title":"Open-Access mega-journals: The future of scholarly communication or academic dumping ground? A review","volume":"73","author":"Spezi","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Doc."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e981","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.981","article-title":"Have the \u201cmega-journals\u201d reached the limits to growth?","volume":"3","year":"2015","journal-title":"PeerJ"},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Binfield, P. (2017, January 03). Open Access Megajournals\u2014Have They Changed Everything?. Available online: http:\/\/creativecommons.org.nz\/2013\/10\/open-access-megajournals-have-they-changed-everything\/."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Anderson, K. (2016, March 14). PLoS\u2019 Squandered Opportunity\u2014Their Problems with the Path of Least Resistance. Available online: https:\/\/scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org\/2010\/04\/27\/plos-squandered-opportunity-the-problem-with-pursuing-the-path-of-least-resistance\/."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e365","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.365","article-title":"A survey of authors publishing in four megajournals","volume":"2","author":"Solomon","year":"2014","journal-title":"PeerJ"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1065","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1227833","article-title":"Flows of research manuscripts among scientific journals reveal hidden submission patterns","volume":"338","author":"Calcagno","year":"2012","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.1515\/libri-2013-0021","article-title":"Multidimensional journal evaluation of PLOS ONE","volume":"63","author":"Fein","year":"2013","journal-title":"Libri"},{"key":"ref_11","first-page":"16","article-title":"Characteristics of a megajournal: A bibliometric case study","volume":"3","author":"Burns","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Inf. Sci. Theory Pract."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1002\/leap.1007","article-title":"Peer review in megajournals compared with traditional scholarly journals: Does it make a difference?","volume":"29","author":"Catani","year":"2016","journal-title":"Learn. Publ."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wakeling, S., Willett, P., Creaser, C., Fry, J., Pinfield, S., and Spezi, V. (2016). Open-access mega-journals: A bibliometric profile. PLOS ONE, 11.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0165359"},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"93","article-title":"Single journal bibliometric studies: A review","volume":"2","author":"Tiew","year":"1997","journal-title":"Malays. J. Libr. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"17","article-title":"Bibliometric studies on single journals: A review","volume":"14","author":"Wan","year":"2009","journal-title":"Malays. J. Libr. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"543","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.23400","article-title":"Contributions of chinese authors in PLOS ONE","volume":"67","author":"Yan","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"253","DOI":"10.1038\/476253a","article-title":"China\u2019s chemists should avoid the Vanity Fair","volume":"476","author":"Wang","year":"2011","journal-title":"Nature"}],"container-title":["Publications"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-6775\/5\/2\/7\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T18:32:05Z","timestamp":1760207525000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-6775\/5\/2\/7"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,6]]},"references-count":17,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,6]]}},"alternative-id":["publications5020007"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/publications5020007","relation":{},"ISSN":["2304-6775"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2304-6775"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,6]]}}}