A Qualitative Inquiry on Indian Biomedical Journals: Situation Analysis and the Way Forward

"Indian Biomedical Journals" (IBMJs), despite a long-standing, lack the metrics and global visibility that a researcher would assume. Lately, there is a growing awareness regarding the issues faced by the IBMJs.

To inform actionable solutions for intended consequences (pragmatism), a situation assessment was conducted by engaging the IBMJs publishing in English. Toward engaging a sustainable debate to help increase their global impact was the primary objective of this study.

In March 2024, editors of IBMJs on varied subjects were invited to participate in a qualitative inquiry. Following journal landscaping (through a self-administered questionnaire), the editor-participants identified the broad domains of inquiry based on their lived experiences. These domains, among many, captured the quality of submitted research manuscripts, time to decision (TTD), financing challenges, etc. Finally, a group discussion with reflections on strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities helped triangulate the study findings.

A total of 357 IBMJs were screened from the Journal Citation Reports 2023 list. Of these, 20 Science Citation Index Expanded Journals with ≥1000 citations and consistently attaining an impact factor of ≥1 over the five preceding years were invited. Of them, Editors of 13 Journals (three monthly, five bimonthly, and five quarterly) consented and participated. The oldest Journal of this cohort was over 110 years old, and the youngest was 16 years old. All Journals were published in hybrid mode, and only three levied article processing charges. The major strengths of the IBMJs were free access to published content irrespective of subscription status, low-cost publishing, and the ability to cater to research from a wide pool of non-native English-speaking investigators, mainly from the South Asian region. The weaknesses comprised receiving poor-quality manuscripts, lack of novelty, longer TTD, and voluntarism of editors and reviewers. Predominantly published in English, it was observed that IBMJs can promote multiregional collaborations in the Global South and beyond. Other identified opportunities were translating Indian research into multiple local languages (which could help increase visibility), enhancing capacity on "how to write and publish quality manuscripts," "promoting journals through social media and discussions in Journal consortia," and "walking science to the common mass."

This qualitative inquiry identified a few elements to build a future roadmap and revealed some opportunities to increase IBMJs' global footprint. Quality rather than quantity of research publications and innovative dissemination of regional research outputs appear critical in this direction.