Beyond the journal: a Microbiology Society open research platform

This project aims to convert one of our journals, Access Microbiology, into an Open Research Platform (ORP), offering greater peer review transparency and fast-tracking the communication of valuable research, maximising potential for impact and influence.

At submission, articles will be made available on microbiologyresearch.org with a DOI, with clear links to open data, methods, and code, and accompanied by the reports from the machine learning review tools (e.g. Statcheck). Peer review will be transparent, and a version history maintained from preprint to Version of Record.

Many societies are seeking new ways to serve their communities but are reluctant to adopt the pre-existing F1000 ORP software. This may be because they wish to maintain a single portal for access to all the work they publish; they are reluctant to enter into a publishing agreement with a commercial player; or they are concerned that the concept may not be embraced by their communities. Through this project, we hope to prove that an ORP can be provided using software in common use by publishers of all types, and that self-publishing societies can set up such a platform independently. We also hope to provide a financial model that proves ORPs can be financially self-sustaining.