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Executive summary

This report describes research undertaken by LISU at Loughborough University on behalf of

Oxford Journals, to investigate trends in the prices of biomedical and social science journals

between 2000 and 2006 for a selection of eight commercial publishers and three university

presses. The methodology used was developed from that used for a previous report (White &

Creaser, 2004). Prices were examined in conjunction with the number of pages and impact

factor of each journal. It is appreciated that these are not the only determinants of journal price,

and that further research may be desirable to investigate the effects of the various pricing

models in use.

The detail of the methodology, in particular the application of the criteria for including titles in the

analysis, differed from that adopted in the 2004 work, as a result of the discussion and comment

which followed its publication. It is therefore not possible to make any detailed comparisons

between the two sets of results, which differ in their detail although not in their overall patterns.

There is little consistent evidence of associations between price, impact factor and number of

pages. Data relating to some publishers for some subject areas show significant correlations,

most frequently between price and number of pages. There are also some significant

associations between price and price per page, and between price and impact factor, but this is

not widespread, and can generally be attributed to a small number of titles with exceptional

pricing.

Some of the key statistics relating to price and price increases are:

Biomedical titles

•

Median journal prices ranged from £198 (Cambridge University Press) to £859 (Elsevier)

in 2006

•

Increases in the median journal price between 2000 and 2006 varied from 42% (Oxford

Journals) to 104% (Sage).

•

Median price per page ranged from 31p (Oxford Journals) to £1.06 (Wiley) in 2006

•

Increases in the median price per page between 2000 and 2006 varied from 8% (Wiley)

to 75% (Taylor & Francis).

•

The proportions of titles identified without an impact factor in 2005 varied from 16%

(Elsevier) to 74% (Sage)

•

Median price per point of impact factor ranged from £186 (Oxford Journals) to £552

(Springer) in 2006

•

Changes in the median price per point of impact factor between 2000 and 2006 varied

from a fall of 25% (Wiley) to an increase of 79% (Cambridge University Press).

Trends in scholarly journal prices 2000-2006

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Executive summary

Executive Summary - Loughborough University