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.
