JDIS

Journal of Data and Information Science >

0 20250821

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jdis-2025-0042

Research Papers

Open science indicator compliance by Spanish scientific journals

Expand
  • 1Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (FECYT), Alcobendas, Madrid 28100, Spain;
    2Programa de Doctorado en Documentación: Archivos y Bibliotecas en el Entorno Digital. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Madrid, 126 , Getafe 28903, Spain;
    3Instituto de Filosofía. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IFS/CSIC), Albasanz, 26, 28 , Madrid 28037, Spain;
    4Instituto Interuniversitario de investigación Avanzada sobre Evaluación de la Ciencia y la Universidad (INAECU). Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Madrid, 126 , Getafe 28903, Spain;
    5Depto. de Biblioteconomía y Documentación. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Calle Madrid, 126 , Getafe, Madrid 28903, Spain;
    6Evaluación e impacto social de la ciencia, UC3M, Unidad asociada al CSIC por el IFS, Calle Madrid, 126 , Getafe, Madrid 28903, Spain
†María Ángeles Coslado (Email: mangeles.coslado@fecyt.es; ORCID: 0000-0003-0709-2756).

Received date: 2025-03-03

  Revised date: 2025-05-28

  Accepted date: 2025-07-09

  Online published: 2025-08-21

Fold

Abstract

Purpose: This paper focuses on scientific journals’ policies on open access and open science. The subject has gained increasing relevance, driven by the need for more-democratic access to knowledge and improved research visibility, which require eliminating the financial, legal, and technical barriers that restrict access to scientific output.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses the findings of FECYT’s 2023 Assessment of the Editorial and Scientific Quality of Spanish Scientific Journals, with 254 participating journals, as its case study. Open science indicators assess the transparency of policies on content access, reuse, openness, and reproducibility. Nonparametric tests analyse the relationship between the indicators and the dimensions of publisher type and subject area.
Findings: High compliance rates are found for indicators related to publication licences and intellectual property rights. Only 37% of the journals examined post their editorial policy on Sherpa Romeo. Ninety-four percent publish open access. However, open peer review is rarely applied (0.38% of the journals). Journals in Communication, Information and Scientific Documentation, Fine Arts, Education Science, and Biomedical Sciences have high compliance percentages. Most journals (83%) are institutional, with universities and associations generally exhibiting better results.
Research limitations: This study is based on specific indicators that do not cover all the factors that influence the transition toward open science; for example, editorial culture and technological infrastructure are not envisaged. Furthermore, differences in open science implementation are identified between disciplinary areas and between publisher types, but the underlying causes of these differences are not thoroughly investigated. Future research could address these points for a fuller understanding.
Practical implications: This study highlights the need for journals to improve transparency by adopting open peer review and clear policies. These changes enhance accessibility and credibility, fostering inclusive knowledge dissemination. Institutions and policymakers should support these efforts to boost research impact.
Originality/value: This study offers insights into open science practices in Spanish journals, a growing academic topic. Its originality lies in examining open science indicators across disciplines and publishers. By identifying strengths and gaps, the study helps journals enhance transparency.

Key words： Scientific journals; Assessment; Open access; Open science; Repositories; Policies

Cite this article

María Ángeles Coslado, Daniela De Filippo, Elías Sanz-Casado . Open science indicator compliance by Spanish scientific journals[J]. Journal of Data and Information Science, 0 : 20250821 . DOI: 10.2478/jdis-2025-0042

References

Abadal E., Abad García M. F., Anglada i de Ferrer, L. M., Boté-Vericad J. J., Esteve A., González-Teruel A., .. & Santos-Hermosa G. (2023). Ciencia abierta en España 2023: informe de situación y análisis de la percepción. [Proyecto RTI2018-094360-B-I00]. Accesible en: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/200020
Abadal, E., & Melero, R. (2022). Open peer review: The point of view of scientific journal editors. JLIS.it, 14(1), 60-70. https://doi.org/10.36253/jlis.it-507
Abadal, E. (2021). Ciencia abierta: un modelo con piezas por encajar. Arbor, 197(799), a588. https://doi.org/10.3989/arbor.2021.799003
Abadal E.,Ollé Castellà, C., Abad-García, F., & Melero, R.(2013). Políticas de acceso abierto a la ciencia en las universidades españolas. Revista Española De Documentación Científica, 362013.2.933
Abadal, E. (2012). Acceso abierto a la ciencia. Barcelona: Editorial UOC. http://eprints.rclis.org/16863/1/2012-acceso-abierto-epi-uoc-vfinal-autor.pdf
Ashby, M. P. (2020). The open-access availability of criminological research to practitioners and policy makers.Journal of criminal justice education, 32(1), 1-21.
Banks G.C., Field J.G., Oswald, F.L. et al. Answers to 18 Questions About Open Science Practices. J Bus Psychol 34, 257-270Oswald, F.L. Answers to 18 Questions About Open Science Practices. J Bus Psychol 34, 257-270 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-018-9547-8
Banzato, G., & Rozemblum, C. (2019). Modelo sustentable de gestión editorial en Acceso Abierto en instituciones académicas. Principios y procedimientos. Palabra Clave (La Plata), 8(2), e069. https://doi.org/10.24215/18539912e069
Bornmann, L., & Daniel, H. D. (2010). The usefulness of peer review for selecting manuscripts for publication: A utility analysis of the informative value of peer reviews. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61(5), 115-129. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21238
Bravo G., Grimaldo F., López-Iñesta E., Mehmani B., & Squazzoni F. (2022). The effect of publishing peer review reports on referee behavior in five scholarly journals. Nature Communications, 13, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28802-1
Bravo, B. R. & Nicholas, D. (2021). Investigadores junior españoles y su implicación en la ciencia abierta. Anales De Documentación, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.6018/analesdoc.470671
Budapest Open Access Initiative https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read/
Brun V., Pontille D., & Torny D. (2024). Data from DIAMAS follow-up survey about funding practices (1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10879080
Canales, C. & Melero, R. (2021). Open access editorial policies of Scielo health sciences journals. Journal of Information Science, 49(3), 685-698. https://doi.org/10.1177/01655515211015135
Cantrell, M. & Wipperman, S. (2023). Open access author contracts and alignment with the open ethos: a global study. College & Research Libraries, 84(4). https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.84.4.605
Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment. (2023). National Chapter Spain. https://coara.eu/app/uploads/2023/12/National-Chaptern-Spain.pdf
Claudio-González, M. G. & Villarroya, A. (2015). Desafíos de la edición de revistas científicas en acceso abierto. El Profesional De La Información, 24(5), 517. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2015.sep.02
cOAlition S. (2023). Principles and implementation. https://www.coalition-s.org/addendum-to-the-coalition-s-guidance-on-the-implementation-of-plan-s/principles-and-implementation/
COARA (2022). Agreement on reforming research assessment. https://coara.eu/app/uploads/2022/09/2022_07_19_rra_agreement_final.pdf
Coslado, M. A,De Filippo, D., Ros, G., & Sanz-Casado, E.(2023). Análisis de buenas prácticas editoriales en igualdad de género en España. Revista Española De Documentación Científica, 46(1), e348. https://doi.org/10.3989/redc.2023.1.1952
Coslado, M. A., Báez, J. M., y Lacunza, I.(2010). Descripción y análisis del proceso de evaluación de la calidad de las revistas científicas españolas llevado a cabo por FECYT en el año 2008. Revista Española de Documentación Científica, 33(3), 481-495. https://doi.org/10.3989/redc.2010.3.738
Crosas M., Gautier J., Karcher S., Kirilova D., Otalora G., & Schwartz A. (2018). Data policies of highly-ranked social science journals. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/9h7ay
De Filippo D., Lascurain-Sánchez M. L., & Sánchez F. (2023). Mapping open science at Spanish universities. analysis of higher education systems. El Profesional De La Información. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2023.jul.06
De Filippo, D. & Mañana-Rodriguez, J (2022). The practical implementation of open access policies and mandates in Spanish public universities. Scientometrics 127, 7147-7167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-04261-x
Emery, J., & Stone, G. (2021). Electronic resource management in a post-Plan S world. Insights: The UKSG Journal, 34(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.554
FECYT. (2024). Diamond Open Access Standard (DOAS). Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología. https://doi.org/10.58121/Z15S-JY03
FECYT (2014). Recommendations for the Implementation of Article 37 of the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation Act: Open Access Dissemination. https://recolecta.fecyt.es/sites/default/files/documents/Implantacion_Art37_AccesoAbierto_INGLES.pdf
FECYT (2023). Guía de evaluación de la octava edición del procedimiento de participación en la evaluación de la calidad editorial y científica de revistas de científicas españolas. https://calidadrevistas.fecyt.es/sites/default/files/noticias/report_2020_12_10guiaeval7conv_def_2.pdf
Ford, E. (2013). Defining and characterizing open peer review: A review of the literature. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 44(4), 311-326. https://doi.org/10.3138/jsp.44-4-001
Fradkin C.& Mugnaini, R. (2024). The promotion and implementation of open science measures among high‐performing journals from Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain. Learned Publishing, 37(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1616
Galindo F. J. M., Rubio F., Miguel H. S., & Burguete S. F. (2019). Plan S: Challenges and opportunities in Spain. Insights: The UKSG Journal, 32(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.467
Gill, T. G. (2008). Metadata standards: What, who, why, and how? Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(2), 306-320. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.20701
Greenberg, J. (2009). Metadata and digital information. Journal of Documentation, 65(6), 872-890. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410910998906
Gustafsson, L. (2022). Journal‐based or article‐based metrics: what should be applied to assess a researcher’s performance? Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 69(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12789
Hallo M., Hallo, F.Hallo & Luján-Mora, S. (2017) Web accessibility problems on Latin American open access scientific journals. 2017 12th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), Lisbon, Portugal, 2017, pp. 1-6, https://doi.org/10.23919/CISTI.2017.7975842.
Hrynaszkiewicz I., Simons N., Hussain A., Grant R., & Goudie S. (2020). Developing a research data policy framework for all journals and publishers. Data Science Journal, 19(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-005
Huh, S. (2018). Journal metrics of clinical and molecular hepatology based on the web of science core collection. Clinical and Molecular Hepatology, 24(2), 137-143. https://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2018.0018
Hübner, A. (2020). Earth science and biodiversity journals can improve support for data sharing. Data Science Journal, 19. https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-037
Jefatura de Estado (2022). Ley 17/2022, de 5 de septiembre, por la que se modifica la Ley 14/2011, de 1 de junio, de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 214, 123852-123922.
Jefatura de Estado. (2023). Ley Orgánica 2/2023, de 22 de marzo, del Sistema Universitario. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 70, 32100-32150.
Jeong, G. (2020). Status of the data sharing policies of scholarly journals published in brazil, france, and korea and listed in both the 2018 Scimago journal and country ranking and the web of science. Science Editing, 7(2), 136-141. https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.208
Kamat P., Meyer G., Wu H., Ganesh K., Zhang D., & Soares D. (2021). Energy research at ACS in the age of open access. ACS Omega. 6(12), 7967-7969. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c01222
Kim, J. & Bai, S. (2022). Status and factors associated with the adoption of data sharing policies in Asian journals. Science Editing, 9(2), 97-104. https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.274
Laner, B. (2021). Open access transition: a view through the lens of a librarian. Österreichische Zeitschrift Für Politikwissenschaft, 49(4), 15. https://doi.org/10.15203/ozp.3552.vol49iss4
Martínez Cantón, C. I. (2021). A quantitative analysis of open access in digital humanities journals. Revista General de Información y Documentación, 31(1), 331-348. https://doi.org/10.5209/rgid.76948
Manzano-Patrón J. P., López-Neira I., & Izquierdo P. (2021). Open science in spain: towards a coordinated strategy. Journal of Science Policy & Governance. 18(01). https://doi.org/10.38126/jspg180108
Melero R.,Boté-Vericad, J.-J., & López-Borrull, A. (2022). Perceptions regarding open science appraised by editors of scholarly publications published in Spain. Learned Publishing, 36(2), 178-193. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1511
Melero, R. & Abad García, M (2008). Revistas open access: características, modelos económicos y tendencias. BiD: textos universitaris de biblioteconomia i documentación, 20 (juny). https://bid.ub.edu/20meler2.htm
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. (2023). Estrategia Nacional de Ciencia Abierta 2023-2027. Secretaría General Técnica del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Disponible en: https://www.ciencia.gob.es/Estrategias-y-Planes/Estrategias/ENCA.html
Naudet F., Sakarovitch C., Janiaud P., Cristea I., Fanelli D., Moher D., & Ioannidis J. P. (2018). Data sharing and reanalysis of randomized controlled trials in leading biomedical journals with a full data sharing policy: survey of studies published in The BMJ and PLOS Medicine. Bmj, 360. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k400
Park J. R.,& Tosaka, Y.(2010). Metadata Quality Control in Digital Repositories and Collections: Criteria, Semantics, and Mechanisms. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 48(8), 696-715. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639374.2010.508711
Peraut, R. P. (2016). Estrategias para mejorar la visibilidad y difusión de la revista científica de acceso abierto Fotocinema: Creación de un vocabulario controlado multilingüe. Scire: Representación Y organización Del Conocimiento, 22(2), 47-56. https://doi.org/10.54886/scire.v22i2.4281
Raya Díez, E. (2023). Ciencia ciudadana: ciudadanía en la ciencia. Revista Electrónica De Derecho De La Universidad De La Rioja (REDUR),(21), 47-54. https://doi.org/10.18172/redur.5952
Rej A., Menic N., Nyamali I., Punnamkuzhy J. M., Whelpdale P., Sanders D. S., & Kurien M. (2019). Open access publishing in gastroenterology: good for the researcher and good for the public! Frontline gastroenterology, 11(2), 170-171. https://doi.org/10.1136/flgastro-2018-101166
Resnik D. B., Morales M., Landrum R., Shi M., Minnier J., Vasilevsky N. A.,& Champieux, R. E.(2019). Effect of impact factor and discipline on journal data sharing policies. Accountability in research, 262019.1591277
Reyes M. I. C., Martínez M. D. B., Casaldàliga A., Castaño J. G., Guijarro C. J., Uceta E. O., … & Pascual I. (2013). El acceso abierto en las universidades españolas: estado de la cuestión y propuestas de mejora. Métodos De Informacion, 4(6), 55-90. https://doi.org/10.5557/iimei4-n6-055090
Martyn, R. (2018). Sustainability in Publishing: An Open Access Publisher’s View. ELPUB 2018, Jun 2018, Toronto, Canada. https://hal.science/hal-01816816v1
Ross-Hellauer, T. (2017). What is open peer review? A systematic review. F1000Research, 6, 588. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.11369.2
Ruiz, A. (2020). La potencia de las revistas científicas electrónicas para la producción y la circulación del conocimiento en las ciencias sociales y humanas. Question/Cuestión, 1(junio), e376. https://doi.org/10.24215/16696581e376
Sánchez-Tarragó N., Caballero-Rivero A., Trzesniak P., Domínguez D. D., Santos R. N., & Fernández-Molina J. (2016). Las revistas científicas en América Latina hacia el camino del acceso abierto: un diagnóstico de políticas y estrategias editoriales. Transinformação, 28(2), 159-172. https://doi.org/10.1590/2318-08892016000200003
Schneider, J. (2022). Applicability of open science practices to completed research projects from different disciplines and research. F1000Research, 11, 408. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.111383.2
Schiltz M (2018). Science Without Publication Paywalls: cOAlition S for the Realisation of Full and Immediate Open Access. PLoS Med 15(9): e1002663. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002663 .
Sanz-Casado E., Aleixandre-Benavent R., De Filippo D. (et al.) (2023). Metodología de Clasificación de Revistas de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales con Sello de Calidad FECYT. https://calidadrevistas.fecyt.es/sites/default/files/informes/2024_guia_clasificacion_revistas_sello_fecyt_def.pdf
Sanz-Casado E., De Filippo D., Benavent R.A.et al. (2021). Impact and visibility of Norwegian, Finnish and Spanish journals in the fields of humanities.Scientometrics 126, 9031-9049. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-04169-6
Spain. (2023). Ley Orgánica 2/2023, de 22 de marzo, del Sistema Universitario. Boletín Oficial del Estado, núm. 70, de 23 de marzo de 2023, pp. 37130-37236. https://www.boe.es/eli/es/lo/2023/03/22/2
Spain. (2022). Ley 17/2022, de 5 de septiembre, por la que se modifica la Ley 14/2011, de 1 de junio, de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación. Boletín Oficial del Estado, núm. 213, de 6 de septiembre de 2022, pp. 123928-123966. https://www.boe.es/eli/es/l/2022/09/05/17
Thu-Mai Christian T., Gooch A., Vision T., & Hull E. (2020). Journal data policies: exploring how the understanding of editors and authors corresponds to the policies themselves. Plos One, 15(3), e0230281. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230281
UNE. (2023). Spanish university presses publish one thousand open access journals, two-thirds of those published in Spain. https://www.une.es/las-editoriales-une-publican-un-millar-de-revistas-en-acceso-abierto-dos-tercios-de-las-que-se-publican-en-espana?utm_source=chatgpt.com
UNESCO (2021) Recomendaciones https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381148/PDF/381148eng.pdf.multi.page=40
Wang Y., Chen B., Zhao L.& Zeng, Y. (2022), Research data policies of journals in the Chinese Science Citation Database based on the language, publisher, discipline, access model and metrics. Learned Publishing, 35: 30-45. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1437
Wolfram D., Wang P., Hembree, A. et al.Hembree, A. (2020). Open peer review: promoting transparency in open science. Scientometrics, 125, 1033-1051. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03488-4
Zhang L., Rousseau R., & Sivertsen G. (2017) Science deserves to be judged by its contents, not by its wrapping: Revisiting Seglen’s work on journal impact and research evaluation. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0174205. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174205
Options
Outlines

/

〈 〉

京ICP备05002861号-43

Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved Journal of Data and Information Science

E-mail: jdis@mail.las.ac.cn　Add:No.33, Beisihuan Xilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, China

Support by Beijing Magtech Co.ltd　E-mail: support@magtech.com.cn