Scientific publishing remains firmly tied to hybrid journals (Update on: "Impact of Plan-S on European Research in 10 scientific disciplines")

Background

Two years ago I posted an item on "Impact of Plan-S on European Research in 10 scientific disciplines" where I had looked at 10 different scientific disciplines, and showed that for those ten fields of science, only 2-4% of the relevant journals[1] in that field were open-access journals[2], and hence compliant with Plan S (the version at that time, which has since then changed and now includes explicitly a route [Subscription venues (repository route)] with pre-print servers or VSNU/IDEA deals to be able to publish in hybrid journals).

Update

Two years onwards it's time for an update. Therefore, this week I have gathered the latest data, for 229 categories in scientific disciplines that cover all areas of Natural Sciences, Engineering, Social Sciences, Economy, Management Studies, Life Sciences, Law, Humanities, Medicine, etc. Unlike 2018, now I took directly the information from Journal Citation Reports to distinguish Open Access journals from non-OA journals. 

Overall, out of the 12838 journals listed in JCR (2019 edition), only 1725 were classified as OA (13.4 %). Among the different categories there are huge differences. TROPICAL MEDICINE tops the list with 13 of its 23 journals (57%) being #OA, followed by 18 categories with >25%. 116 out of the 229 categories have 10% or less of their list of journals in #OA, and there are 17 categories[3] that even have zero(!) of their journals being #OA.

The full list of 229 categories is given below.

• CATEGORY [total number of journals; number of #OA journals; percentage]
• ACOUSTICS [32; 3; 9.4%]
• AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS & POLICY [21; 5; 23.8%]
• AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING [13; 3; 23.1%]
• AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE [63; 17; 27.0%]
• AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY [58; 15; 25.9%]
• AGRONOMY [91; 23; 25.3%]
• ALLERGY [28; 6; 21.4%]
• ANATOMY & MORPHOLOGY [21; 1; 4.8%]
• ANDROLOGY [8; 3; 37.5%]
• ANESTHESIOLOGY [32; 3; 9.4%]
• ANTHROPOLOGY [90; 5; 5.6%]
• AREA STUDIES [77; 4; 5.2%]
• ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS [68; 9; 13.2%]
• AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY [27; 2; 7.4%]
• AUTOMATION & CONTROL SYSTEMS [63; 6; 9.5%]
• BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES [52; 6; 11.5%]
• BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS [77; 12; 15.6%]
• BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY [297; 39; 13.1%]
• BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION [59; 19; 32.2%]
• BIOLOGY [93; 20; 21.5%]
• BIOPHYSICS [71; 2; 2.8%]
• BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY [156; 25; 16.0%]
• BUSINESS [152; 9; 5.9%]
• BUSINESS, FINANCE [108; 3; 2.8%]
• CARDIAC & CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS [138; 20; 14.5%]
• CELL & TISSUE ENGINEERING [29; 12; 41.4%]
• CELL BIOLOGY [195; 37; 19.0%]
• CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL [86; 8; 9.3%]
• CHEMISTRY, APPLIED [71; 5; 7.0%]
• CHEMISTRY, INORGANIC & NUCLEAR [45; 4; 8.9%]
• CHEMISTRY, MEDICINAL [61; 6; 9.8%]
• CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY [177; 31; 17.5%]
• CHEMISTRY, ORGANIC [57; 5; 8.8%]
• CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL [159; 10; 6.3%]
• CLINICAL NEUROLOGY [204; 23; 11.3%]
• COMMUNICATION [92; 5; 5.4%]
• COMPUTER SCIENCE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE [136; 9; 6.6%]
• COMPUTER SCIENCE, CYBERNETICS [22; 1; 4.5%]
• COMPUTER SCIENCE, HARDWARE & ARCHITECTURE [53; 0; 0.0%]
• COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS [156; 13; 8.3%]
• COMPUTER SCIENCE, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS [109; 5; 4.6%]
• COMPUTER SCIENCE, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING [108; 3; 2.8%]
• COMPUTER SCIENCE, THEORY & METHODS [108; 2; 1.9%]
• CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY [63; 5; 7.9%]
• CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY [69; 0; 0.0%]
• CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE [36; 3; 8.3%]
• CRYSTALLOGRAPHY [26; 3; 11.5%]
• CULTURAL STUDIES [45; 1; 2.2%]
• DEMOGRAPHY [29; 2; 6.9%]
• DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE [91; 9; 9.9%]
• DERMATOLOGY [68; 9; 13.2%]
• DEVELOPMENT STUDIES [41; 0; 0.0%]
• DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY [41; 4; 9.8%]
• ECOLOGY [168; 27; 16.1%]
• ECONOMICS [371; 24; 6.5%]
• EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH [263; 15; 5.7%]
• EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES [41; 3; 7.3%]
• EDUCATION, SPECIAL [42; 0; 0.0%]
• ELECTROCHEMISTRY [27; 2; 7.4%]
• EMERGENCY MEDICINE [31; 6; 19.4%]
• ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM [143; 23; 16.1%]
• ENERGY & FUELS [112; 16; 14.3%]
• ENGINEERING, AEROSPACE [31; 2; 6.5%]
• ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL [87; 11; 12.6%]
• ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL [143; 17; 11.9%]
• ENGINEERING, CIVIL [134; 8; 6.0%]
• ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC [266; 22; 8.3%]
• ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL [53; 1; 1.9%]
• ENGINEERING, GEOLOGICAL [39; 1; 2.6%]
• ENGINEERING, INDUSTRIAL [48; 1; 2.1%]
• ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING [50; 0; 0.0%]
• ENGINEERING, MARINE [14; 2; 14.3%]
• ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL [130; 8; 6.2%]
• ENGINEERING, MULTIDISCIPLINARY [91; 13; 14.3%]
• ENGINEERING, OCEAN [14; 0; 0.0%]
• ENGINEERING, PETROLEUM [19; 2; 10.5%]
• ENTOMOLOGY [101; 13; 12.9%]
• ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES [265; 35; 13.2%]
• ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES [123; 8; 6.5%]
• ERGONOMICS [16; 0; 0.0%]
• ETHICS [55; 7; 12.7%]
• ETHNIC STUDIES [20; 0; 0.0%]
• EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY [50; 8; 16.0%]
• FAMILY STUDIES [47; 0; 0.0%]
• FISHERIES [53; 8; 15.1%]
• FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [139; 21; 15.1%]
• FORESTRY [68; 13; 19.1%]
• GASTROENTEROLOGY & HEPATOLOGY [88; 13; 14.8%]
• GENETICS & HEREDITY [177; 43; 24.3%]
• GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS [85; 8; 9.4%]
• GEOGRAPHY [84; 7; 8.3%]
• GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL [50; 9; 18.0%]
• GEOLOGY [47; 12; 25.5%]
• GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY [200; 42; 21.0%]
• GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY [51; 10; 19.6%]
• GERONTOLOGY [36; 1; 2.8%]
• GREEN & SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [49; 6; 12.2%]
• HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES [102; 22; 21.6%]
• HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES [87; 17; 19.5%]
• HEMATOLOGY [76; 8; 10.5%]
• HISTORY [100; 5; 5.0%]
• HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE [111; 4; 3.6%]
• HISTORY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES [34; 0; 0.0%]
• HORTICULTURE [36; 7; 19.4%]
• HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM [56; 1; 1.8%]
• IMAGING SCIENCE & PHOTOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY [27; 2; 7.4%]
• IMMUNOLOGY [158; 33; 20.9%]
• INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOR [30; 1; 3.3%]
• INFECTIOUS DISEASES [93; 26; 28.0%]
• INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE [87; 6; 6.9%]
• INSTRUMENTS & INSTRUMENTATION [64; 14; 21.9%]
• INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE [28; 5; 17.9%]
• INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS [95; 3; 3.2%]
• LAW [154; 4; 2.6%]
• LIMNOLOGY [22; 3; 13.6%]
• LINGUISTICS [187; 9; 4.8%]
• LOGIC [21; 1; 4.8%]
• MANAGEMENT [226; 9; 4.0%]
• MARINE & FRESHWATER BIOLOGY [106; 13; 12.3%]
• MATERIALS SCIENCE, BIOMATERIALS [38; 4; 10.5%]
• MATERIALS SCIENCE, CERAMICS [28; 6; 21.4%]
• MATERIALS SCIENCE, CHARACTERIZATION & TESTING [33; 0; 0.0%]
• MATERIALS SCIENCE, COATINGS & FILMS [21; 1; 4.8%]
• MATERIALS SCIENCE, COMPOSITES [26; 1; 3.8%]
• MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY [314; 47; 15.0%]
• MATERIALS SCIENCE, PAPER & WOOD [21; 2; 9.5%]
• MATERIALS SCIENCE, TEXTILES [24; 4; 16.7%]
• MATHEMATICAL & COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY [59; 16; 27.1%]
• MATHEMATICS [324; 26; 8.0%]
• MATHEMATICS, APPLIED [260; 19; 7.3%]
• MATHEMATICS, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS [106; 8; 7.5%]
• MECHANICS [136; 8; 5.9%]
• MEDICAL ETHICS [16; 4; 25.0%]
• MEDICAL INFORMATICS [27; 6; 22.2%]
• MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY [29; 4; 13.8%]
• MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL [165; 53; 32.1%]
• MEDICINE, LEGAL [16; 1; 6.2%]
• MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL [138; 38; 27.5%]
• METALLURGY & METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING [79; 10; 12.7%]
• METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES [93; 32; 34.4%]
• MICROBIOLOGY [135; 30; 22.2%]
• MICROSCOPY [10; 1; 10.0%]
• MINERALOGY [30; 1; 3.3%]
• MINING & MINERAL PROCESSING [21; 4; 19.0%]
• MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES [71; 24; 33.8%]
• MYCOLOGY [29; 6; 20.7%]
• NANOSCIENCE & NANOTECHNOLOGY [103; 20; 19.4%]
• NEUROIMAGING [14; 1; 7.1%]
• NEUROSCIENCES [271; 52; 19.2%]
• NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [34; 4; 11.8%]
• NURSING [244; 13; 5.3%]
• NUTRITION & DIETETICS [89; 16; 18.0%]
• OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY [82; 5; 6.1%]
• OCEANOGRAPHY [66; 10; 15.2%]
• ONCOLOGY [244; 54; 22.1%]
• OPERATIONS RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT SCIENCE [83; 0; 0.0%]
• OPHTHALMOLOGY [60; 10; 16.7%]
• OPTICS [97; 20; 20.6%]
• ORNITHOLOGY [28; 3; 10.7%]
• ORTHOPEDICS [82; 18; 22.0%]
• OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGY [42; 6; 14.3%]
• PALEONTOLOGY [55; 7; 12.7%]
• PARASITOLOGY [39; 16; 41.0%]
• PATHOLOGY [78; 11; 14.1%]
• PEDIATRICS [128; 11; 8.6%]
• PERIPHERAL VASCULAR DISEASE [65; 5; 7.7%]
• PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY [270; 41; 15.2%]
• PHYSICS, APPLIED [154; 18; 11.7%]
• PHYSICS, ATOMIC, MOLECULAR & CHEMICAL [37; 5; 13.5%]
• PHYSICS, CONDENSED MATTER [69; 4; 5.8%]
• PHYSICS, FLUIDS & PLASMAS [34; 2; 5.9%]
• PHYSICS, MATHEMATICAL [55; 2; 3.6%]
• PHYSICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY [85; 12; 14.1%]
• PHYSICS, NUCLEAR [19; 3; 15.8%]
• PHYSICS, PARTICLES & FIELDS [29; 9; 31.0%]
• PHYSIOLOGY [81; 7; 8.6%]
• PLANT SCIENCES [234; 50; 21.4%]
• POLITICAL SCIENCE [180; 7; 3.9%]
• POLYMER SCIENCE [89; 8; 9.0%]
• PRIMARY HEALTH CARE [19; 6; 31.6%]
• PSYCHIATRY [296; 38; 12.8%]
• PSYCHOLOGY [77; 3; 3.9%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED [84; 2; 2.4%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, BIOLOGICAL [13; 0; 0.0%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL [131; 7; 5.3%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL [77; 1; 1.3%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATIONAL [60; 1; 1.7%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL [87; 5; 5.7%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, MATHEMATICAL [13; 0; 0.0%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY [138; 18; 13.0%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOANALYSIS [13; 0; 0.0%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL [64; 2; 3.1%]
• PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION [48; 2; 4.2%]
• PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH [363; 96; 26.4%]
• QUANTUM SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [17; 4; 23.5%]
• RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING [133; 20; 15.0%]
• REGIONAL & URBAN PLANNING [39; 0; 0.0%]
• REHABILITATION [139; 10; 7.2%]
• REMOTE SENSING [30; 4; 13.3%]
• REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY [29; 2; 6.9%]
• RESPIRATORY SYSTEM [64; 15; 23.4%]
• RHEUMATOLOGY [32; 7; 21.9%]
• ROBOTICS [28; 4; 14.3%]
• SOCIAL ISSUES [44; 3; 6.8%]
• SOCIAL SCIENCES, BIOMEDICAL [45; 3; 6.7%]
• SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY [108; 11; 10.2%]
• SOCIAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICAL METHODS [51; 3; 5.9%]
• SOCIAL WORK [44; 1; 2.3%]
• SOCIOLOGY [150; 6; 4.0%]
• SOIL SCIENCE [38; 5; 13.2%]
• SPECTROSCOPY [42; 3; 7.1%]
• SPORT SCIENCES [85; 12; 14.1%]
• STATISTICS & PROBABILITY [124; 1; 0.8%]
• SUBSTANCE ABUSE [56; 7; 12.5%]
• SURGERY [210; 15; 7.1%]
• TELECOMMUNICATIONS [90; 9; 10.0%]
• THERMODYNAMICS [61; 5; 8.2%]
• TOXICOLOGY [92; 12; 13.0%]
• TRANSPLANTATION [24; 1; 4.2%]
• TRANSPORTATION [37; 3; 8.1%]
• TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [36; 4; 11.1%]
• TROPICAL MEDICINE [23; 13; 56.5%]
• URBAN STUDIES [42; 1; 2.4%]
• UROLOGY & NEPHROLOGY [85; 17; 20.0%]
• VETERINARY SCIENCES [142; 26; 18.3%]
• VIROLOGY [37; 7; 18.9%]
• WATER RESOURCES [94; 16; 17.0%]
• WOMENS STUDIES [45; 0; 0.0%]
• ZOOLOGY [168; 31; 0.2%]

References

[1] The Journal Citation Reports of Clarivate (previously Thompson-Reuters) keeps track of the most relevant journals for >200 categories in scientific disciplines, which typically have between 40 and 100 journals for each category (minimum 13, maximum 363).

[2] In 2018, the definition of OA-journals was based on whether they were listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

[3] The 17 categories with 0 of their journals being #OA:

• COMPUTER SCIENCE, HARDWARE & ARCHITECTURE [53; 0; 0.0%]
• CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY [69; 0; 0.0%]
• DEVELOPMENT STUDIES [41; 0; 0.0%]
• EDUCATION, SPECIAL [42; 0; 0.0%]
• ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING [50; 0; 0.0%]
• ENGINEERING, OCEAN [14; 0; 0.0%]
• ERGONOMICS [16; 0; 0.0%]
• ETHNIC STUDIES [20; 0; 0.0%]
• FAMILY STUDIES [47; 0; 0.0%]
• HISTORY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES [34; 0; 0.0%]
• MATERIALS SCIENCE, CHARACTERIZATION & TESTING [33; 0; 0.0%]
• OPERATIONS RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT SCIENCE [83; 0; 0.0%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, BIOLOGICAL [13; 0; 0.0%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, MATHEMATICAL [13; 0; 0.0%]
• PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOANALYSIS [13; 0; 0.0%]
• REGIONAL & URBAN PLANNING [39; 0; 0.0%]
• WOMENS STUDIES [45; 0; 0.0%]