Publication Patterns in Engineering: A Quantitative Comparison of Open Access and Subscription-Based Journals[v1] | Preprints.org

Abstract:  This study compares the publication performance of Open-Access (OA) and subscrip-tion-based (SB) journals in Engineering, using bibliometric indicators from Scopus (2023 view). A total of 3012 active Engineering journals were analysed, of which 757 are OA, and 2255 are SB. Four metrics were examined for the period 2020–2023: CiteScore, total citations, number of published documents, and the percentage of cited articles, stratified by CiteScore quartiles (Q1–Q4) and the top 10% CiteScore group. SB journals concentrate most citations and tend to achieve higher mean CiteScores, larger publication volumes, and higher percentages of cited articles in the upper strata, with statistically significant differences on several indicators. At the same time, OA journals display CiteScore medians that are very similar to those of SB journals and lower var-iance for several indicators, particularly within the top 10% group, indicating more consistent performance among well-established OA titles. OA journals represent around one quarter of Engineering journals in Scopus, but remain underrepresented in the most highly cited segment. These findings suggest a hybrid configuration in which SB journals retain dominance at the top of the impact hierarchy. In contrast, OA jour-nals offer competitive and more homogeneous outlets with implications for publication strategies and open-access policies in Engineering.