Journal of Research on Research to research research
The Research-on-Research Association (RORATION) and Taylor & Francis have launched the Journal of Research on Research (J·ROR), dedicated to the study of how research is funded, organised, conducted, communicated and evaluated.
Positioned as both a publishing venue and an experimental platform, J·ROR aims to support evidence-informed improvements across research systems, policies and practices while serving as a focal point for the growing field of research-on-research.
Its founders say the journal will occupy a unique dual role: publishing research on research while also conducting research on its own publishing processes. As part of the initiative, Taylor & Francis will provide access to publishing data from across its portfolio, enabling the journal to host experiments examining areas such as peer review, editorial workflows and publishing practices.
The editors explain in an editorial: “We believe that a field committed to producing robust evidence for the enhancement of research practices and culture must also be willing to apply that evidence to its own operations. Accordingly, J·ROR is committed to integrating emerging insights into its editorial practices as they become available.”
A key feature of the journal is its transparent peer review model. Review reports will be published alongside articles, while reviewers will have the option to sign their reviews. The editorial team says the approach is designed to foster dialogue between authors, reviewers and editors, helping to strengthen submissions before publication.
J·ROR has also partnered from launch with MetaROR, a publish-review-curate platform, allowing works reviewed through the platform to be considered for publication in the journal.
The journal’s founders argue that research-on-research remains fragmented across multiple disciplines and communities, creating barriers to knowledge sharing and potentially duplicating effort. “Our primary motivation for this journal was the desire to serve our scattered field and our community,” said the editors. “In its current disparate state, our multidisciplinary field risks contributing to recreating its own research waste, which many in the field feel we should be working to reduce.”
While published by Taylor & Francis, ownership of the journal will sit with the research community through RORATION, an independent scholarly society established to oversee its development and long-term direction.
Gemma Derrick, Editor-in-Chief of J·ROR and Professor (Research Policy & Culture) at the University of Bristol, said: “The Journal of Research on Research represents a shared achievement, shaped by years of mutual learning between our editors, RORATION, Taylor & Francis, and a global community committed to improving how research is conducted, evaluated, and supported. We look forward to continuing these discussions as the journal develops.”
Amanda Ward, Senior Vice President of Journals Publishing at Taylor & Francis, added: “It has been wonderful for Taylor & Francis to collaborate with a group of editors with such a clear and ambitious vision for their new journal. We’re excited to partner with this community-led initiative and look forward to seeing evidence produced by J·ROR experimentation helping to inform how other Taylor & Francis journals develop.”