BioMed Central: The future Matthew Cockerill BioMed Central Editors Day 5 th May 2011.
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Transcript of BioMed Central: The future Matthew Cockerill BioMed Central Editors Day 5 th May 2011.
BioMed Central: The future
Matthew CockerillBioMed Central Editors Day
5th May 2011
A growing portfolio
BioMed Central’s growing journal portfolio
More than 90,000 peer-reviewed OA articles published to date
215 open access journals Existing titles are growing ~20%/year Growth via new launches and acquisition
of existing titles is also accelerating 11 titles added in 2010 >20 journals will launch during 2011 Publishing team responsible for journal
development has been hugely expanded
Strengthening of portfolio helps existing titles too...
Veterinary titles at BioMed Central
2005
2006
2011
Trend in submissions to BioMed Central’s existing veterinary
titles
20062007
20082009
2010
2011(projecte
d)0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
BMC Veterinary ResearchActa Veterinaria Scandinavica
Addition of new titles in 2011 has coincided with record submissions to existing titles
Impact Factors etc…
BioMed Central journals with official impact factors
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20110
20
40
60
80
100
120
Impact factor tracking
23 first impact factors expected in June 2011 Latest journals to be accepted for tracking
– BMC International Health and Human Rights– Diabetology and Metabolic Syndrome– Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine– Journal of Nanobiotechnology– Journal of Ovarian Research
Journals expecting first Impact Factors in 2011
BMC Biochemistry BMC Cardiovascular Disorders BMC Complementary and
Alternative Medicine BMC Medical Education BMC Nephrology BMC Ophthalmology BMC Pediatrics BMC Veterinary Research Cardiovascular Ultrasound Cell Communication and
Signaling Cell Division Epigenetics & Chromatin
Frontiers in Zoology Harm Reduction Journal Human Resources for Health International Journal for Equity
in Health Journal of Inflammation Journal of the International
Society for Sports Nutrition Nutrition Journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology Scandinavian Journal of Trauma,
Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine
Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling
World Journal of Surgical Oncology
Thomson Reuters - SCI vs SCIE All BioMed Central journals to date have been tracked in SCIE
rather than SCI Thomson Reuters initially denied it was meaningful But many countries including South Korea deem SCI inclusion
is deemed vital Thomson has agreed to move the following journals to the SCI:
– BMC Evolutionary Biology– BMC Systems Biology– Breast Cancer Research– Genome Biology
Further decisions pending…
– Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
– Malaria Journal– Neural Development– Retrovirology
Manuscript transfer tools
Manuscript transfers
Ability to efficiently transfer manuscripts and reviews between journals
Avoiding wasting reviewer and author time/effort
Solves dilemma for editors seeking to improve impact factor of journal, but also wanting to deliver good service to authors
Allows publishable research to be redirected to a more suitable outlet
Manuscript transfers (contd...)
Model plays an important role at BioMed Central
Especially valuable for high-end titles Several hundred authors offered
transfers each month (over half accept) PLoS One has brought model to wider
attention Many other publishers now operating
similar systems
Manuscript transfers (contd…)
Possible uses Transfer less interesting research to
BMC Research Notes Transfer case reports to Journal of
Medical Case Reports Transfer out of scope research to
another independent title, or to a BMC series journal
Manuscript transfers (contd...)
Current model BMC staff use in house tool to offer transfers, and to
action the transfer if the author accepts the offer Correspondence with independent journal editors re:
transfer recommendations is ad hoc, via emailFuture model Manuscript decision page used by editors will include
option to highlight a rejected manuscript as suitable for transfer (and optionally to recommend a possible title for the transfer)
Increased convenience for independent journals which choose to offer or receive transfers
Being part of Springer
Timeline
Oct 2008 BioMed Central acquired by Springer
Mar 2009 BioMed Central moves to new offices on Gray’s Inn Road
Oct-Dec 2009 Springer UK and Springer Healthcare join BMC at Gray’s Inn Road
Dec 2009 Springer acquired by EQT
Springer’s strategy for growth
Open Access Growth in emerging markets eBooks
Open Access at Springer
+
Operates on BioMed Central platform Launched mid-2010 Portfolio already includes 45 journals
– New launches– Conversion of existing Springer titles– 11 titles acquired from Hindawi
Reflects Springer’s strategic commitment– to open access model– to ongoing development and improvement
of BioMed Central platform
Technical development: new journal websites
More than 100 BioMed Central journals and 45 SpringerOpen titles are now on new journal platform
Remaining journals and BioMed Central / Chemistry Central portals are in final stages of testing
Additional performance tuning being done to ensure optimal site performance
Technical challenges
Complex technical projects are tough to manage
Also note easy to recruit/retain developers in UK
Timezones/language barriers can make it difficult to work with remote development teams
Two key new hires
Chief Technical OfficerMike Nuttall (doctors.net)
Head of Publishing TechnologyDuncan Fraser (IHS,Elsevier)
Reliability and performance
Just as important as developing new features, is to ensure existing sites are– Reliable– Fast– Scale to cope with major increase in volume
Dedicated IT Ops team focused on these goals
Automated tests and metrics give good data on progress in this area
Improving performance for international downloads
0,000ms
2,000ms
4,000ms
6,000ms
8,000ms
10,000ms
12,000ms
14,000ms
16,000ms
18,000ms
20,000ms
Download time for 8MB PDF file, measured from New York
Improved config rolled out on May 3rd 2011
Workflow 2.0 project
Major improvements to the back end tools used by BioMed Central and its editors to manage journals
Workflow 2.0 - Why? Reduce the need for training
– make systems more intuitive Simplify user journeys
– information presented on fewer pages– multiple entry points to the same information
Improve efficiency of tools to cope with growing journals– more manuscripts, more journals, more people
Highlight manuscripts needing attention Incorporate suggestions from editors
– Including both independent journal editors, BMC series section editors, and in house editors
Workflow 2.0 - How?
Draw on internal expertise and with the external design agency with expertise in “information architecture”
Use a single point of contact, Product Manager
Look at information architecture and design/usability of entire system, from the ground up
Invite feedback from Editors early and often
Workflow 2.0 - Who?
Agency – Mark Boulton Design Workflow design group Technical implementation group Internal stakeholders External Editors
New functionality
• Editor’s dashboard• Flexible task lists• Watched manuscript lists• Improved handling of notes• Email authors / editors directly from Workflow• Editor’s reports• Editor’s administration area• Enhanced peer-reviewer database
Workflow 2.0Preview of design mockups
Timeframe
Design phase– Due to be complete by end of Q2 2011
Implementation phase– Planning has already commenced– Implementation to commence at end of Q2– Iterative approach to development and user testing– Define phased implementation plan, to realize key
benefits as early as possible– Initial release early 2012
Emerging markets
Making the most of Springer’s global presence
China/Hong Kong Three BioMed Central staff focused on
marketing/advocacy Additional editorial acquisitions/development editor
position now being recruitedJapan Newly hired BioMed Central staff member focused on
marketing/advocacyAdditional hiring planned: India South Korea
Singapore (new Springer office) USA
Manuscript submissions from China
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Other countries 91 1177 1441 3246 6765 10507 14649 17149 21326 26876 33149 38794.86144398
64
China 0 8 12 27 103 241 532 807 1428 2432 4181 5565
2500
7500
12500
17500
22500
27500
32500
37500
42500
47500
China top journalsTop journals 2009 2010 %ge
BMC Cancer 226 349 +54%
Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research
185 320 +73%
Virology Journal 46 203 +341%
BMC Genomics 144 168 +17%
Molecular Cancer 84 146 +74%
BMC Bioinformatics 103 124 +20%
Journal of Biomedical Science 80 116 +45%
BMC Plant Biology 74 111 +50%
BMC Public Health 71 106 +49%
Genome Biology 75 99 +32%
Journal projects in China
Cell and Bioscience(Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America)www.cellandbioscience.com
Cell Regeneration (Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health) www.cellregenerationjournal.com
Gigascience (BGI data-driven journal) And more in discussion…
India top journals
Top journals 2009 2010 %ge
Journal of Biomedical Science 65 105 +62%
Journal of Medical Case Reports 61 60 -2%
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research
27 58 +115%
Italian Journal of Pediatrics 11 43 +291%
Malaria Journal 20 36 +80%
BMC Bioinformatics 30 33 +10%
BMC Genomics 34 31 -9%
BMC Plant Biology 20 31 +55%
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
22 29 +32%
Molecular Cancer 13 28 +115%
Open Access Africa
African internet connectivity is improving dramatically
Open Data
Open Data
Open Data journal projects
Gigasciencein collaboration with BGI
Journal of Network Biology in collaboration with SAGE
Open Research Computation BMC Research Notes
Publishing Open Data Working Group