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Journal packing density across subject disciplines at the global level: a study

Ramesh Pandita (Central Library, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, India)
Shivendra Singh (Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, India)

Information and Learning Sciences

ISSN: 2398-5348

Article publication date: 13 November 2017

189

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to assess the journal packing density (JPD) of the research journals published across different subject discipline at the global level. The concept of JPD is aimed to compute the average number of research articles published per volume or per issue of a research journal in any given subject discipline. The study also discusses about the leading research journals publishing countries and continents across the world and their average JPD. An attempt has also been made to identify the leading research counties having maximum JPD in any given subject discipline.

Design/methodology/approach

The study covers 27 major research subject disciplines widely popular all across the globe. To undertake the present study, data were retrieved from SCImago Journal and Country Ranking.

Findings

In all, 36,081 research journals were indexed by Scopus across 27 major subject disciplines at the global level till 2015. During the period 2013-2015, 11,023,122 research articles were published in 36,081 research journals across 27 major subject disciplines at the global level at an average of 101.84 research articles per journal per volume. This means the average JPD of the research journals at the global level is 101.84 research articles per journal per volume. Chemistry, physics and astronomy and multidisciplinary journals are the three leading subject disciplines to have the maximum JPD, namely, 266.66, 253.92 and 242.53 research articles per journal per volume. JPD of research journals published in the sciences is higher than the JPD of research journals published in the social sciences and humanities. Business, management and accounting, social sciences and arts and humanities are three subject disciplines having lowest JPD, namely, 44.26, 35.68 and 32.66 research articles per journal per volume, respectively. China, Ireland and The Netherlands recorded the highest average JPD in the research journals published from these counties, namely, 213.39, 178.44 and 135.31 research articles per journal per volume, respectively.

Research limitations/implications

Countries from where a lesser number of research journals are indexed by the popular indexes, such as Scopus, Web of Science, etc., face greater pressure of publishing. To ooze out this pressure, there is need to index more and more research journals from these countries and that can be done only by improving and maintaining the research standard over a period.

Originality/value

The study is original and the first of its kind undertaken at the global level across all the major subject disciplines.

Keywords

Citation

Pandita, R. and Singh, S. (2017), "Journal packing density across subject disciplines at the global level: a study", Information and Learning Sciences, Vol. 118 No. 11/12, pp. 642-659. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-07-2017-0077

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

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