'World’s first open research publishing platform for HSS' launched

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) publisher Routledge - part of Taylor & Francis Group - will launch the world’s first open research publishing platform specifically for the HSS community, combining books, articles, and other research outputs in one interdisciplinary venue. 

The publishing platform known as Routledge Open Research, will utilise the publishing model, technology and knowledge pioneered by their open research publishing partner F1000 (which Taylor & Francis Group acquired in 2020) to provide HSS scholars with a rapid, accessible and collaborative venue to publish their work.

The company says Routledge Open Research will enable all research outputs to be published open access and will combine the benefits of pre-printing with mechanisms to assure quality and transparency. These include invited and open peer review, article versioning, archiving and indexing. 

The platform will endorse the FAIR Data Principles, allowing authors to share their underlying data and supporting materials, further accelerating the pace of discovery, providing credit and recognition for authors, and ultimately improving public trust in research.  

Ian White, portfolio development specialist at Routledge, said: 'With the drive towards open research gaining momentum amongst the HSS community, we have harnessed our relationship with F1000 to create a credible publishing platform that supports easy, rapid and transparent publishing whilst giving authors the opportunity to increase the discoverability, accessibility and reach of their research.

'A vital element of open research is ‘knowledge mobilisation’. That’s all about bringing as many relevant stakeholders to engage with published content as possible. When you consider that the main aim of a researcher is to make a difference through their work, Routledge Open Research offers a way to maximise contact with multiple audiences. These interactions will undoubtedly inform the author’s work, creating a virtuous cycle towards real impact.'

As well as  research articles,  Routledge Open Research  will feature a variety of peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed content such as books, data notes, software tools, methods articles, policy briefs, case studies, posters, slides and technical reports.