Rubriq, a for-benefit organisation offering peer review and journal matching services, has completed the first phase of beta testing for its independent peer review system, and the second phase is now underway. During all three planned beta phases, publishers are helping to validate Rubriq's patent-pending scorecard, and to explore how it can help facilitate the publishing process.
As of the second phase, a total of eight publishers are providing feedback on all aspects of the Rubriq report and system, and will help develop the features and options designed for journal editors.
This second phase of the Rubriq beta launch introduces two new services for authors in addition to the Rubriq scorecard. The first is a plagiarism check. Rubriq has selected iThenticate to provide a complete plagiarism report, as it is stated to be widely recognised as the industry standard. This will not only help authors resolve any issues prior to submission, but can also be attached to a manuscript for use by any journal.
The second new service is the journal recommendation report. After the scorecard is completed, a list of journals is compiled that most closely matches the paper's scores and content. These data-driven suggestions are then checked for accuracy and relevance by a Rubriq team member who is experienced in journal selection, and who is also a published researcher. Authors will be able to filter and sort all of these journal recommendations by their own preferences, and therefore can make a well-informed decision about the best place to submit for a higher likelihood of success.
Rubriq is also expanding from its initial three areas of study to cover over 200 biological and medical fields. Information about journals in these fields has been compiled into a proprietary database, which is used in the journal recommendation process. Selected journals will soon receive invitations to claim their profiles, update their data, and become active in the Rubriq network. There is no cost for journals to join or participate in the Rubriq network. Journals that do not receive invitations can request membership on the Rubriq website.
Rubriq is actively accepting manuscript submissions as well as reviewer applications. Visitors to the website can sign up to participate as an author, reviewer and journal editor with a single account.
Engineers and technical experts association SAE International has launched the 'SAE Global Technology Library-Alternative Fuels' packed with more than 3,100 technical papers, 60 technical standards and six e-books.
The searchable online database seeks to enable mobility engineering professionals to stay up-to-date and compete in a rapidly changing environment by accessing the most timely, relevant information related to alternative fuels. The library is the second in a series of new products developed by SAE International over the past year to address the changing needs of the industries it serves. The 'SAE Global Technology Library-Electric Vehicle,' launched in June of 2012, covers the latest developments in vehicle electrification worldwide.
In addition to the SAE International technical papers and standards and e-books, the database includes convenient access to public and private research from the US National Laboratories; global production data from Lux Research's seminal Alternative Fuels Data Tracker; global magazine issues and articles; current news and in-depth analysis; and webzine covering a range of topics from world-renowned journalists and publishers.
Open access publisher BioMed Central has announced the launch of a new open access peer-reviewed journal, Animal Biotelemetry. The journal joins the publisher's growing portfolio in ecology and conservation and marks a significant development in the area of Animal Biotelemetry research.
Animal Biotelemetry publishes the results of studies utilizing telemetric techniques (including biologgers) to understand physiological, behavioural, and ecological mechanisms in a broad range of environments (e.g. terrestrial, freshwater and marine) and taxa. The journal also welcomes descriptions and validations of newly developed tagging techniques and tracking technologies, as well as methods for analyzing telemetric data.
Dr A. Peter Klimley will be the Editor-in-Chief of the journal. He will supported by an editorial board of prominent experts.
Academic publisher Oxford University Press (OUP), UK, has announced the launch of a new journal - Gastroenterology Report. The journal launched its first content on March 26, 2013.
Gastroenterology research has developed quickly in China in the last decade, and as a result there is a gap between the current status of clinical journals in gastroenterology, and the increased demands for international communication in the field. This new journal, Gastroenterology Report (GR), aims to be a pioneer in this regard.
Gastroenterology Report will be a high profile peer-reviewed online-only open access (OA) journal, co-owned by OUP and Digestive Science Publishing Company Ltd. It will cover all areas related to gastrointestinal sciences, including studies of alimentary tract, liver, biliary, pancreas, enteral nutrition, and related fields. The journal aims to publish high quality research articles on both basic and clinical gastroenterology, authoritative reviews that bring together new advances in the field, as well as commentaries and highlight pieces that provide expert analysis of topical issues.
Open Access publisher PeerJ has launched 'PeerJ PrePrints' an entirely new 'preprint server' for the Biological and Medical Sciences. With the launch of PeerJ PrePrints, the publication ecosystem of PeerJ is now complete.
For an academic article, publication in a peer reviewed journal is simply the end point in what has typically been a lengthy process of drafts, comments from colleagues, and revisions. The physical sciences have, for a long time, circulated these drafts (or 'preprints') amongst their colleagues in a community-wide practice which culminated in the creation of the successful arXiv preprint server. However, despite the apparent benefits of gaining early feedback, preprint servers have not taken off in the Biological or Medical sciences. Although there have been several experiments, for example by Nature Preceedings or the BMJ's NetPrints.org, the biological and medical fields have so far failed to embrace preprints in the same way that their physical sciences colleagues have done.
Despite this history, it is the belief of PeerJ that an increased awareness of the benefits of early and open sharing, combined with advances in the ease of online publishing, means that the time is right for the biological and medical sciences to finally take advantage of a preprint server dedicated to their fields. By doing so, authors can establish their priority, seek wider feedback, distribute their work in advance of formal publication and develop a stronger narrative before submitting that work to a formal peer-reviewed journal.
Other than passing a basic vetting process, PeerJ PrePrints are not peer reviewed, and so should not be viewed as a formal publication. However, all PeerJ PrePrints receive a permanent, stable identifier (a Digital Object Identifier) and are formally archived for long term preservation.
All PeerJ PrePrints publications are issued under a Creative Commons CC-BY license and publication in PeerJ PrePrints is free for all PeerJ Members. Authors wishing to experience the future of publishing can now submit PeerJ PrePrint articles at https://peerj.com/preprints and they can submit PeerJ journal articles, for formal peer review, at https://peerj.com/.
