Science Editing

Review

Key trends, challenges, and opportunities in scientific journal management between 2013 and 2023: a systematic review: Muhamad Nur Azmi Wahyudi, Ida Nugroho Saputro, Alhaura Nabighatul Ula, Cahyo Widodo; Sci Ed. 2025;12(1):12-19. Published online February 11, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.359

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material: Purpose
Scientific journals play a pivotal role in disseminating research findings, validating methodologies, and promoting academic discourse. In the past decade, technological advancements, global collaborations, and evolving editorial policies have driven significant transformations in journal management. This systematic literature review investigated the key trends, challenges, and opportunities in scientific journal management between 2013 and 2023.
Methods
Utilizing a PRISMA-guided methodology, 26 peer-reviewed articles from the Scopus database were analyzed.
Results
The findings reveal five primary themes: (1) journal management systems and technological improvements; (2) editorial processes, policies, and best practices; (3) metrics, evaluation, and scientometrics; (4) case studies and implementation; and (5) ethical, social, and equity considerations. Technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence–driven tools, improved plagiarism detection systems, and semantic workflows, have improved operational efficiency. Editorial best practices and evaluation metrics have evolved to promote transparency, accountability, and research integrity. However, persistent challenges include financial sustainability, disparities in gender representation, and maintaining consistency in editorial quality.
Conclusion
This review underscores the importance of adaptive strategies and innovative frameworks in ensuring the long-term sustainability, accessibility, and impact of scholarly journals in a rapidly evolving academic publishing landscape.

Case Study

The promotion of university journals published by Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia, from 2018 to 2024: a descriptive study: Eko Didik Widianto, Hadiyanto, Teddy Mantoro, Raka Sindu Wardoyo; Sci Ed. 2025;12(1):43-49. Published online February 5, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.353

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material: This study explores the promotion of university journals published by Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP), Indonesia, between 2018 and 2024. UNDIP managed 178 active journals spanning various subjects across 13 faculties. The analysis focused on four key indicators: the number of journals accredited by the Akreditasi Jurnal Nasional (ARJUNA), the accreditation grade in the Science and Technology Index (SINTA) database, the number of journals indexed in Scopus, and the number of abstract views and article downloads. Data collection involved searching literature databases, including SINTA and Scopus, and tracking hits and downloads on the web server. The findings indicate that the number of active journals increased from 136 in 2018 to 178 in 2024, with an average annual growth of 7 journals. The mentoring programs at UNDIP led to significant achievements in key performance indicators, with 106.5% of journals becoming accredited and 112.2% being indexed in Scopus. The annual growth rates for accredited and Scopus-indexed journals were 9.33 and 0.83, respectively. Additionally, the cumulative number of abstract views and article downloads increased by 47.14 million annually, attracting visitors from a broad range of countries. The mentoring programs and robust infrastructure at UNDIP have likely played crucial roles in enhancing the promotion and performance of the university’s journals, which are vital for journal promotion and the achievement of key performance indicators.

Original Articles

Changes in the absolute numbers and proportions of open access articles from 2000 to 2021 based on the Web of Science Core Collection: a bibliometric study: Jeong-Wook Seo; Sci Ed. 2023;10(1):45-56. Published online February 16, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.296

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material

Purpose
The ultimate goal of current open access (OA) initiatives is for library services to use OA resources. This study aimed to assess the infrastructure for OA scholarly information services by tabulating the number and proportion of OA articles in a literature database.
Methods
We measured the absolute numbers and proportions of OA articles at different time points across various disciplines based on the Web of Science (WoS) database.
Results
The number (proportion) of available OA articles between 2000 and 2021 in the WoS database was 12 million (32.4%). The number (proportion) of indexed OA articles in 1 year was 0.15 million (14.6%) in 2000 and 1.5 million (48.0%) in 2021. The proportion of OA by subject categories in the cumulative data was the highest in the multidisciplinary category (2000–2021, 79%; 2021, 89%), high in natural sciences (2000–2021, 21%–46%; 2021, 41%–62%) and health and medicine (2000–2021, 37%–40%; 2021, 52%–60%), and low in social sciences and others (2000–2021, 23%–32%; 2021, 36%–44%), engineering (2000–2021, 17%–33%; 2021, 31%–39%) and humanities and arts (2000–2021, 11%–22%; 2021, 28%–38%).
Conclusion
Our study confirmed that increasingly many OA research papers have been published in the last 20 years, and the recent data show considerable promise for better services in the future. The proportions of OA articles differed among scholarly disciplines, and designing library services necessitates several considerations with regard to the customers’ demands, available OA resources, and strategic approaches to encourage the use of scholarly OA articles.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

A guide for structured literature reviews in business research: The state-of-the-art and how to integrate generative artificial intelligence
Fabian Tingelhoff, Micha Brugger, Jan Marco Leimeister
Journal of Information Technology.2025; 40(1): 77. CrossRef

Charting variety, scope, and impact of open access diamond journals in various disciplines and regions: a survey-based observational study: Korean Council of Science Editors; Sci Ed. 2022;9(2):120-135. Published online August 19, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.277

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material

Purpose
The variety, scope, and impact of open access (OA) diamond journals across disciplines and regions from July 22 to September 11, 2020 were charted to characterize the current OA diamond landscape.
Methods
The total number of diamond journals was estimated, including those outside the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The distribution across regions, disciplines, and publisher types was described. The scope of journals in terms of authorship and readership was investigated. Information was collected on linguistic diversity, journal dynamics and life cycle, and their visibility in scholarly databases.
Results
The number of OA diamond journals is estimated to be 29,000. OA diamond journals are estimated to publish 356,000 articles per year. The OA diamond sector is diverse in terms of regions (45% in Europe, 25% in Latin America, 16% in Asia, and 5% in the United States/Canada) and disciplines (60% humanities and social sciences, 22% sciences, and 17% medicine). More than 70% of OA diamond journals are published by university-owned publishers, including university presses. The majority of OA diamond journals are small, publishing fewer than 25 articles a year. English (1,210), Spanish (492), and French (342) are the most common languages of the main texts. Out of 1,619 journals, 1,025 (63.3%) are indexed in DOAJ, 492 (30.4%) in Scopus, and 321 (19.8%) in Web of Science.
Conclusion
The patterns and trends reported herein provide insights into the diversity and importance of the OA diamond journal landscape and the accompanying opportunities and challenges in supporting this publishing model.

Citations

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Awareness and perception of Diamond Open Access among university professors in Iran
A. Subaveerapandiyan, Leili Seifi, Somipam R Shimray, Naved Ahmad
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Journal metrics, document network, and conceptual and social structures of the Korean Journal of Anesthesiology from 2017 to July 2022: a bibliometric study
Sun Huh
Korean Journal of Anesthesiology.2023; 76(1): 3. CrossRef
How open access diamond journals comply with industry standards exemplified by Plan S technical requirements

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Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions received the Journal Impact Factor, 4.4 for the first time on June 28, 2023
Sun Huh
Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions.2023; 20: 21. CrossRef
Plan S: estimating future developments
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Science Editing.2022; 9(2): 149. CrossRef

Five clusters of flood management articles in Scopus from 2000 to 2019 using social network analysis: Rosy Riani Kusuma, Ida Widianingsih, Sinta Ningrum, Rita Myrna; Sci Ed. 2021;8(1):85-92. Published online February 20, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.234

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315 Download
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Abstract PDF

Purpose
This study aimed to analyze the bibliographic characteristics and content of articles on flood management published in journals indexed by Scopus written by researchers from throughout the world from 2000 to 2019.
Methods
We obtained data from the Scopus database on October 2, 2020. “Flood management” was used to search across several categories, including article title, abstract, and keywords, filtered by subject area (social science; environmental science; and business, management, and accounting). We only retrieved articles written in English. We conducted content analysis using the VOSviewer software and visualized the co-occurrence of keywords and bibliographic coupling of sources and countries.
Results
Following the study protocol, we found 984 articles on flood management over the past 20 years. Among the three subject areas, environmental science was the most productive field for publishing flood management articles. Flood control, flood management, and risk assessment were the top three most popular topics. Flood management publications were published in 266 journals. In total, 86 countries collaborated to produce research related to flood management. Natural Hazard Journal and Journal of Flood Risk Management were the most prominent journals. Institutions from Europe ominated the top 10 institutions with the most publications by affiliated researchers.
Conclusion
From a global perspective, flood management research in the past two decades has increased significantly. There were five major topic clusters, and European-published journals ominated publications. Thus, Asian institutions need to conduct more active research on this topic.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Behind the scenes of COVID-19 response: a social network analysis of policy actors in Bandung City
Ahmad Zaini Miftah, Ida Widianingsih, Entang Adhy Muhtar, Ridwan Sutriadi
Cogent Social Sciences.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Yabancı diller bölümlerinde görev yapan öğretim üyelerinin Scopus veri tabanındaki yayın performanslarının değerlendirilmesi
Özge Nazlı DALGIÇ, Merve GELDİ, Erdoğan KARTAL
RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi.2022; (30): 991. CrossRef

COVID-19 research trends in the fields of economics and business in the Scopus database in November 2020: Luqman Hakim Handoko; Sci Ed. 2021;8(1):64-71. Published online February 20, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.231

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230 Download
5 Web of Science
6 Crossref

Abstract PDF

Purpose
This study explored the state of the literature on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in two subject areas: (1) economics, econometrics, and finance, and (2) business, management, and accounting. The study focused on the most productive and influential journals, countries, institutions, documents, and clusters of keywords.
Methods
Data were retrieved from Scopus on November 21, 2020. The search term was the keyword “COVID-19” in the title, abstract, and author’s keywords, and the articles were limited to two subject areas. The data were analyzed using VOSviewer and Excel.
Results
In the analysis of 1,719 articles on COVID-19, the most productive journal that published these articles was Gender, Work, and Organization (n=49). The most productive country and institutions were the United States (n=526) and Universiteit van Pretoria (n=16) and the University of Oxford (n=16), respectively. Based on citations, the most influential authors, countries, and journals were Dmitry Ivanov (n=233), the United States (n=1,027), and Finance Research Letters (n=326), respectively. The most cited article was authored by Stefan Gossling (n=157) on the impact of COVID-19 on society, the economy, and tourism. The articles were from 111 countries, of which 85.6% had collaborations. The keywords of research on COVID-19 formed 14 clusters (e.g., small and medium enterprises, aviation, tourism, banking and finance, supply chain, economic growth, and the digital economy).
Conclusion
The number of COVID-19 articles related to economics and business is fairly large and is continuing to grow significantly. The keyword analysis showed that COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on all economic sectors.

Citations

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Women's participation in the research development of a country
Gricelda Herrera-Franco, Gina Peña-Villacreses, Lady Bravo-Montero
International Journal of Educational Research Open.2025; 8: 100413. CrossRef
A Bibliometric and Co-Occurrence Analysis of Work-Life Balance
Soumi Majumder, Debasish Biswas
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Selçuk İletişim.2021; 14(4): 1578. CrossRef

Comparative analysis of manuscript management systems for scholarly publishing: Soon Kim, Hyungwook Choi, Nayon Kim, EunKyung Chung, Jae Yun Lee; Sci Ed. 2018;5(2):124-134. Published online August 20, 2018; DOI: https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.137

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416 Download
9 Web of Science
8 Crossref

Abstract PDF

To improve scholarly communications with scientists throughout the world, an international-level manuscript management system is indispensable. We analyzed the manuscript management systems currently in use in Korea and suggested ways to improve these domestic systems through benchmarking with representative overseas systems. Drawing information from the manufacturer’s documentation, we compared the functionalities of the major manuscript management systems available in Korea to international systems. Based on this analysis, we identified the essential elements necessary to meet international standards. The representative international systems provide an intuitive interface and an efficient communication channel for authors, editors, and reviewers, enabling them to save time. The two domestic paid systems are almost at the international level; however, the free systems developed in Korea need to be upgraded. In particular, more advanced visualization tools, more efficient tools for communication between stakeholders, and convenient linking to external content are needed. Studies of these manuscript management systems, which are essential for the internationalization of domestic journals, can be utilized as primary materials to improve the level of Korean academic journals in response to the rapid changes in modern scholarly communication.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Key trends, challenges, and opportunities in scientific journal management between 2013 and 2023: a systematic review
Muhamad Nur Azmi Wahyudi, Ida Nugroho Saputro, Alhaura Nabighatul Ula, Cahyo Widodo
Science Editing.2025; 12(1): 12. CrossRef
Artificial intelligence to support publishing and peer review: A summary and review
Kayvan Kousha, Mike Thelwall
Learned Publishing.2024; 37(1): 4. CrossRef
Procesos editoriales en revistas científicas: Un análisis bibliométrico a partir de artículos en acceso abierto
Elí Vicente Raudales-García , Wileidys Artigas, Benjamín Barón Velandia, Nicolás Sumba Nacipucha , Jorge Cueva Estrada
Biblios Journal of Librarianship and Information Science.2024; (87): e008. CrossRef
Should publishers use online submission systems to harvest authors’ responses to diversity, equity and inclusion?
J. A. Teixeira da Silva
Science Editor and Publisher.2023; 7(2): 210. CrossRef
An Exploratory Study into Professional Scholarly Journals Publishing Software Adoption in Lithuania
Vincas Grigas, Arūnas Gudinavičius, Tomas Petreikis, Andrius Šuminas
Information & Media.2023; 96: 179. CrossRef
A Blockchain-Based Editorial Management System
Eman-Yaser Daraghmi, Mamoun Abu Helou, Yousef-Awwad Daraghmi, omar cheikhrouhou
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Artificial intelligence-assisted tools for redefining the communication landscape of the scholarly world
Habeeb Ibrahim Abdul Razack, Sam T. Mathew, Fathinul Fikri Ahmad Saad, Saleh A. Alqahtani
Science Editing.2021; 8(2): 134. CrossRef
The “invisible hand” of peer review: The implications of author-referee networks on peer review in a scholarly journal
Pierpaolo Dondio, Niccolò Casnici, Francisco Grimaldo, Nigel Gilbert, Flaminio Squazzoni
Journal of Informetrics.2019; 13(2): 708. CrossRef

Case Study

Reviving a scientific journal: challenges and strategies: Jose Isagani Janairo; Sci Ed. 2018;5(1):59-61. Published online February 19, 2018; DOI: https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.120

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239 Download
4 Web of Science
3 Crossref

Abstract PDF

The revival of a scientific journal presents unique challenges in comparison with starting a new journal. In this case study, the experiences encountered in the recent revival of the Manila Journal of Science are outlined and discussed. The Manila Journal of Science is a general science journal published by De La Salle University, Philippines. The challenges faced during the revival of the journal included competition for submissions, restricted budget allocations, peer review, and improving the journal’s reputation. Several strategies were adopted to address these challenges, and the journal’s performance thus far is promising.

Citations

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Key trends, challenges, and opportunities in scientific journal management between 2013 and 2023: a systematic review
Muhamad Nur Azmi Wahyudi, Ida Nugroho Saputro, Alhaura Nabighatul Ula, Cahyo Widodo
Science Editing.2025; 12(1): 12. CrossRef
Internal affairs: the fate of authors from the University of the Philippines accused of plagiarism, 1990s to 2010s
Miguel Paolo P. Reyes, Joel F. Ariate
Science Editing.2019; 6(2): 128. CrossRef
Why and how do we keep editing local medical journals in an era of information overload?
Viera Wardhani, Sam Mathew, Jeong-Wook Seo, Komang G. Wiryawan, Vivi Setiawaty, Burmaajav Badrakh
Science Editing.2018; 5(2): 150. CrossRef

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