With the digital turn and embracing of open science, there are changing expectations among researchers working today. These expectations are perhaps most evident with emerging scholars.

This next generation of academics don’t just want their research to be published openly and efficiently; they also want lines of communication with journals to be open and efficient too.

On top of that, emerging scholars expect journals to take advantage of the digital turn at every turn, utilizing digital-first experiences and social media engagement to increase the reach of their research.

Changing expectations around speed, transparency, and communication

The rise of the internet has changed author expectations dramatically. In an age of instant communication, it’s no surprise that authors expect much faster and more frequent updates on numerous situations.

In turn, this heightened sense of connection may have translated to authors feeling closer to journals, with authors retaining the impression that less barriers exist between themselves and these organizations. As a result, authors may have found themselves expecting more transparent, honest communication over time.

Generally, these changing expectations include faster review and publication processes; extensive and open reporting of data for reproducibility; and consistent, clear communication with editors and reviewers.

The principles of open science have a large part to play in contributing to these changing expectations. Let’s look at how open science practices have shaped expectations surrounding publishing for emerging scholars.

Open science principles and practices

Open science is a movement that facilitates free access to research publications as well as data, methods, and educational resources. The rise of open access in the early 2000s led to a consensus among the scientific community that important research and findings should be free and accessible online to all.

The three main principles of open science are transparency, sharing, and inclusivity. Emerging scholars expect journals to employ open science practices that uphold these values in many contexts.

Publishing

Emerging scholars want to get their research careers off the ground while having agency over their publications. They expect journals to immediately and freely publish their research by using Creative Common licenses which allow the author to retain control over how their work is shared and built upon.

Transparent peer review

When it comes to peer review, emerging scholars expect transparency. They expect journals to be clear about the length of peer review. But they might also be interested in journals adopting certain types of peer review.

For example, an increasingly common type of peer review used by journals is open peer review. In this model, both the authors and reviewers are known. Furthermore, peer reviewers’ comments are published along with the final manuscript so that the reader can be aware of what the peer reviewers noted about the work, and what the authors did to address them (or not).

This transparency builds credibility between a researcher and the public. Emerging scholars may see this as an opportunity to demonstrate how they integrate feedback and improve their research.

Preprint usage

The promotion of preprints, or early versions of academic articles, is also important to emerging scholars. Preprints give emerging scholars the opportunity to establish research priority, bypassing review delays to communicate findings to the academic community quickly. Preprints are also useful for development as they allow emerging scholars to receive early feedback on their work.

Digital-first experiences and social media engagement

Journals have a range of digital tools at their disposal, as well as active readerships. Emerging scholars expect journals to utilize these to increase exposure surrounding their research in inventive, exciting ways.

Digital-first experiences are strategies that put technology at the forefront of interactions between an organization and its stakeholders. In the case of journals, this might look like prioritizing open access issues before print versions, developing exclusive author-centric content in the form of videos and blogs, or creating marketing campaigns around certain publications.

Social media engagement is also something emerging scholars hope to benefit from. Social media increases research visibility for emerging scholars by disseminating their work to a global audience, including other academics, the public, and media. Furthermore, it allows emerging scholars to convey their findings in a way the general audience will understand. This is crucial to raising your author profile beyond the boundaries of academia.

Emerging scholars would expect journals to generate engagement surrounding their research via social media. For example, journals could take advantage of topical discussions or the celebration of UNESCO days to promote certain publications creatively.

Supporting the next generation of scholars

Whatever methods journals use these days, emerging scholars want to be seen and heard. Whether that’s by journals adopting open principles across their practices, or journals going the extra mile to promote an author’s research online, supporting the next generation of scholars is vital to the preservation of our culture and society.

To support emerging scholars, it’s necessary to know how to promote your journal. Check out our other posts on marketing tips for journals and how small journals can compete with established publishers for more help on growing your journal.