醫學領域開放取用期刊文章處理費之研究

Open Access Journal Article Process Charges in the Felid of Medicine

隨著開放取用期刊日益普遍，其複雜的運作方式與可能向作者收取高額出版費的做法，逐漸受到學術社群的關注。本研究以2017 JCR-SCIE所收錄的47個醫學次領域中，扣除重複後2,665種開放取用期刊為研究對象，探討醫學領域開放取用期刊文章處理費機制及其金額分布。研究結果顯示，47個醫學領域的完全與複合式開放取用期刊比率皆已超過七成，文章處理費計價方式可歸納為六種模式，其中以收取固定文章處理費金額的期刊為最多（79.95％）。而各期刊費用差異大，金額介於113至6,000美元，以收取3,000美元的期刊為最多（32.25％）。過敏學的文章處理費中位數達3,295美元，為各學科中最高。本研究建議未來可擴增研究領域，探討不同領域的APC計價方式，找出對作者及其所屬機構最有利之收費組合。

As the number of open access (OA) journals gradually increases, their complex operation and high publication fees have attracted the attention of the academic community. This study explored the differences in article processing charge (APC) mechanism and price distribution of OA journals in the medical field. The research objects were journals in the medical field of the 2017 Journal Citation Reports (JCR) Science Citation Index Expanded. In total, 47 medical disciplines were analyzed. 2,665 journals were included after excluding duplicates included in related disciplines. Results showed that the proportion of journals with OA publishing for various medical disciplines was more than 70%. APC pricing in the medical field could be divided into six major methods, with most journals (79.95%) charging a fixed price. APCs varied greatly between journals, ranging from US$113 to US$6,000, journals charging US$3,000 were most (32.25%). Median APCs were highest (US$3,295) in the ALLERGY category. This study suggests that future expansion of research disciplines, explore the APC and pricing mechanisms in different fields, and find out the most favorable fee combination of the manuscript, hoping to have a more comprehensive understanding of APC operations.