The development status and countermeasures of Chinese Gold OA and Diamond OA journals

Abstract: Purposes To analyze the characteristics of domestic and abroad Gold OA journals and Diamond OA journals indexed in the DOAJ database, and provide reference for the development of OA in academic journals in China. Methods This study retrieved and analyzed the subject classification, language, CC license, peer review strategy, publication status, and other characteristics of global and domestic Gold OA journals and Diamond OA journals indexed in DOAJ for statistical analysis. Besides, this study analyzed the publication status and awareness of OA in domestic journals through a questionnaire survey. Finally, summarized the OA development strategies. Findings Among the 20015 OA journals indexed in DOAJ, English journals accounted for the vast majority (16111 journals). Among them, 66.26% were Diamond OA journals that mainly focused on social science. The distribution of CC license types is mainly concentrated in CC BY, followed by CC BY-NC and CC BY-NC-ND, and the types of peer review strategy were relatively scattered. DOAJ only indexed 318 Chinese journals up to now, which was different from the global journals index in DOAJ: English journals slightly outnumbered Chinese journals, with a higher proportion of Gold OA (65.41%), which were mainly focused on scientific, technical and medical (STM) journals. The most commonly used CC license was CC BY-NC-ND (accounting for 72.32%), with single blind and double-blind peer review as the main peer review methods. The questionnaire survey results showed that many domestic journals were not very familiar with the DOAJ database at present, and the proportion of Chinese journals included in the DOAJ database is still relatively small among the journals with the actual publication mode of OA. The OA models adopted by domestic journals mainly on Bronze OA; The journals selected for the "Excellent Action Plan for Chinese STM Journals" and newly established English journals mostly adopt the Diamond OA model. Conclusions At present, the proportion of Gold OA and Diamond OA journals in China is relatively small, while, the Bronze OA journals account for the highest proportion in China along with insufficient clear OA declarations and copyright agreements compared with Gold OA and Diamond OA journals. Clear regulations on the retention and transfer of copyright, as well as strict implementation of the CC agreement could help OA journals regulate the scope of rights and obligations of all users. The Golden OA and Diamond OA models are the development directions of OA journals in China. Referring to the inclusion evaluation criteria of the DOAJ database would be helpful for the OA development of STM journals in China.