Bridging the Metadata Gap: Open Science Readiness in Pakistan’s Scholarly Publishing Landscape

The global movement toward open science has raised expectations for journals to implement persistent identifiers, structured metadata, and preservation systems that enhance interoperability, discoverability, and research impact. However, the extent to which journals in developing regions meet these standards remains unclear. This study provides the first systematic assessment of metadata infrastructure and open science readiness across 728 scholarly journals published in Pakistan. Using a descriptive, cross-sectional design, journals were evaluated against five core indicators: DOI assignment, ORCID integration, JATS/XML metadata, archiving services, and online submission systems, along with open access policies, APC transparency, and geographic orientation. The assessment reveals substantial infrastructural limitations. While over 95% of journals provide online submission systems and 96% operate as open access, fewer than 7% require ORCID identifiers and under 3% supply JATS/XML metadata. DOI adoption is inconsistent (about 60%), and only one-third of journals with DOIs report an archiving service, raising concerns about long-term preservation. A composite readiness score shows that only 0.4% of journals meet all five indicators, whereas most journals (64%) demonstrate only moderate compliance. Additionally, authorship and readership patterns indicate a predominantly national focus, reflecting limited international visibility. These findings underscore the structural and policy constraints affecting Pakistan’s scholarly publishing ecosystem. Targeted measures such as mandatory DOI and ORCID policies, incentives for metadata standardization, national preservation infrastructure, and greater editorial internationalization are essential to bridge existing gaps. Strengthening these foundational components will improve the global visibility, interoperability, and credibility of Pakistan’s scholarly output and facilitate its integration into the global research ecosystem.