OA and megajournals top the list
While it’s indisputable that the open access (OA) model has transformed the scholarly publishing landscape, some journals and publishers have benefited from this style more than others. Megajournals, large journals that take a more generalist approach than traditional, niche journals, have experienced some of the largest growth in terms of the numbers of articles published.
In 2022, the top 10 largest journals via publishing volume (we are not including conference proceedings or book series in this list) 1 were largely multidisciplinary, though their exact focus may vary a bit in scope. For example, some might consider IEEE Access multidisciplinary across computer science fields, while others might simply consider it a computer science journal.
|
Journal |
2022 Publications |
Publisher |
|
Scientific Reports |
22040 |
Nature Publishing Group |
|
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
17100 |
MDPI |
|
Sustainability |
16974 |
MDPI |
|
International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
16218 |
MDPI |
|
PLoS ONE |
15886 |
Public Library of Science |
|
Applied Sciences |
13022 |
MDPI |
|
Sensors |
10024 |
MDPI |
|
IEEE Access |
9644 |
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
|
Energies |
9643 |
MDPI |
|
Molecules |
9061 |
MDPI |
If you’re wondering how this compares to the average journal in SJR’s database, we’ve calculated the median number of articles published for journals with both one- and three-year data available. The largest journals are orders of magnitude above these numbers.
The top journal based on the Scientific Journal Rankings (SJR), Scientific Reports, is also frequently the top trending journal in Peeref’s database2. It is interesting to note that most of the journals in this top 10 list also practice a more rolling style of publications, rather than a cyclical style.
If you were to look at the last three years of publication, rather than just 2022, our list would change slightly.
|
Journal |
2019-2021 Publications |
Publisher |
|
Scientific Reports |
64779 |
Nature Publishing Group |
|
PLoS ONE |
48047 |
Public Library of Science |
|
IEEE Access |
46081 |
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
|
Sustainability |
31956 |
MDPI |
|
International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
29804 |
MDPI |
|
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
28186 |
MDPI |
|
Applied Sciences |
26552 |
MDPI |
|
Sensors |
21590 |
MDPI |
|
Science of the Total Environment |
20676 |
Elsevier |
|
Energies |
20104 |
MDPI |
The overall order changes: Molecules falls off the list, and Science of the Total Environment joins it. Interestingly, where the top three journals generally reflect a three-year total that is approximately triple the value of their 2022 publications, the six MPDI journals reflect a different trend. On average, their 2022 publications represent 51.9% of their three-year publication total.
Given that 60.7% of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health’s three-year total occurred in 2022 according to SJR1, it will be interesting to continue to observe what their publication trend looks like after Clarivate’s delisting of the journal. Whether authors prefer high impact journals or begin to favor journals based on their publication processes and ethics will be quite telling when 2023 numbers are released.
References
- https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?order=titem&ord=desc
- https://www.peeref.com/journals
