Research Square is an American technology company that provides services to help researchers succeed in sharing their work and advancing their careers. The company’s main platform connects researchers with journals, conference organizers, and research societies. Research Square aims to make research communication faster, fairer, and more useful.
Some quick answers to common questions about Research Square:
– Research Square was founded in 2004 in North Carolina. The founders wanted to modernize and improve scientific publishing.
– As of 2023, Research Square has over 200 employees. The company is headquartered in Durham, NC.
– Research Square’s services are used by researchers in over 190 countries. Millions of researchers have used the platform.
– Key products and services include journal reviewer platforms, conference management tools, plagiarism checking software, author mentoring, and content sharing communities.
– Research Square works with over 4,000 journals, conferences, and societies. The goal is to provide innovative tools to advance discovery and improve publishing.
– Research Square is led by CEO Shashi Mudunuri. He has extensive experience in tech and research publishing.
Background on Problems in Research Publishing
Before examining Research Square’s solutions, it helps to understand some of the key problems in traditional research publishing:
– Slow pace – It can take months or even years for research to go through peer review and reach publication. This delays sharing discoveries.
– Lack of transparency – The peer review process is opaque in most journals. Reviewer reports and editor decisions happen behind the scenes.
– Unconscious bias – There are issues of gender, institutional, and geographic bias in determining what and who gets published.
– High rejection rates – Top journals can reject over 90% of papers submitted. Good research may not see the light of day.
– Access limitations – Much research sits behind paywalls. This reduces the impact and visibility of discoveries.
– Fraud risk – Without checks, it’s possible for researchers to falsify data, ideas, methods, or peer reviews.
– Inefficient systems – Managing peer review, typesetting, production and archiving remains manual, opaque, and slow.
Research Square aims to address these and other problems holding back the research ecosystem. The company wants to accelerate discovery and give more researchers a fair shot at success.
Solutions for Researchers
Research Square provides online tools, services, and communities for researchers in biology, medicine, technology, social sciences and humanities. The main solutions include:
Journal Submission and Peer Review Platforms
Research Square offers online platforms that journals use to manage submissions, peer review, and publication. The company promises editors faster, fairer methods. Key features and benefits:
– Automated work flows – The system handles tasks like reviewer invites, deadline tracking, and status updates. This removes grunt work for editors.
– Diverse reviewer sourcing – Editors can search Research Square’s global database of 9+ million authors to find qualified reviewers. This expands the pool beyond authors’ personal connections.
– Bias mitigation – Blinding and other tools reduce bias that authors face based on gender, region, institution, etc. All voices have an equal chance.
– Plagiarism detection – Papers are checked against a worldwide database. This prevents fraud and improves integrity.
– Transparent process – Authors can follow submission progress. Reviewers get clear guidelines. Reasons for decisions are communicated.
– Speed and scale – Research Square’s software and 350+ employees rapidly handle millions of submissions per year. More research gets published faster.
Conference Management Solutions
Research Square offers online tools for managing conference abstracts and speaker applications. Organizers maintain quality while reducing hassle. Features include:
– Abstract collection – Save time by gathering and organizing all submissions in one place.
– Blind review process – Mitigate bias by hiding submitter identities from reviewers.
– Plagiarism screening – Automatically scan submissions against global databases to detect copied content.
– Program builder – Easily arrange presentations and schedule speakers once acceptances go out.
– Registration and payment – Collect delegate fees online and track attendance.
– Proceedings publishing – Optionally work with Research Square to publish conference proceedings and share widely.
– Analytics – Gain insights on submissions, reviewers, delegates and more to improve future events.
Journal Selection Tools
Researchers use Research Square’s online tools to target journals where their work has the best chance of publication. Key help includes:
– JournalFinder – Search 12,000+ journals to find the best fit based on topic, methods, impact factor, pace and probability of acceptance.
– JournalGuide – Assess journal quality with real data on visibility, review rigor, discourse, transparency, ethics, and technology adoption.
– JournalAnalyzer – Upload manuscripts to get journal recommendations tailored to the topic, references, language, figures and more.
– Specialty journals – Browse dedicated journal lists in medicine, biology, humanities, social sciences, engineering and other fields.
– Author resources – Use journal choice checklists, decision trees, and other guides to navigate manuscript submission.
Content Sharing and Discussion
Research Square fosters open exchange and feedback between authors through:
– Preprint servers – Share preliminary versions of articles to gather input and establish priority before formal submission.
– Reviewer networking – Connect with peers around shared interests to give and receive informal peer review.
– Research blogs – Comment on and discuss published and unpublished work from around the world.
– Conversations – Initiate or join conversations about trending research topics and news within online communities.
– Workshops – Attend virtual courses, seminars, and mentoring on writing, reviewing, methods, publishing, grants, ethics, and more.
Solutions for Publishers
Research Square also provides technology and services that enable journals, societies, conferences, and publishers to improve efficiency, transparency, and rigour throughout the publishing process. Offerings include:
Peer Review Management
Research Square’s online workflow platforms enhance how publishers coordinate peer review. Benefits include:
– Automated manuscript handling – Platforms robotically identify and invite relevant reviewers based on past activity, keywords, citations, etc. This removes grunt work for editors.
– Larger reviewer pool – Pull from Research Square’s global database of 9+ million authors instead of relying solely on editorial board connections. Broaden perspectives.
– Faster review completion – Reviewer progress dashboards keep the process moving. Automated reminders ensure reviewers complete reviews on time. Reduce review times from months to weeks.
– Bias mitigation – Blind submission and other bias-fighting tools give authors a more equal shot regardless of region, ethnicity, gender, affiliation, etc. Promote diversity.
– More rigorous review – Plagiarism checks verify originality. Reviewer quality controls like mandatory comments ensure thoughtful feedback. Strengthen integrity.
– Author satisfaction – Transparent workflows let authors follow submission progress. Clear decision reasons help keep authors engaged.
Editorial Management
Research Square works with journal editors and societies behind the scenes to:
– Consult on policies and practices – Recommend approaches to enhance rigor, transparency, speed, author experience, and other goals publishers want to achieve.
– Provide HR support – Assist with recruiting, onboarding, training, and retaining editorial staff. Access top talent globally.
– Design and update journal websites – Build intuitive websites that reflect brand, enhance reader experience, and integrate seamlessly with submission systems.
– Manage production – Handle typesetting, XML conversion, quality checks, and preparing files for publication quickly and accurately.
– Maintain online archives – Preserve journal content in easily searchable online archives.
– Create impact – Advise on optimizing journals for discoverability and readership via search, social media, and strategic partnerships. Boost influence.
– Plan long-term strategy – Help journals evolve aims, scope, processes, and business models to stay relevant amid constant changes in research publishing.
Research Integrity Services
Research Square provides technology and experts that safeguard research quality:
– Similarity checking – Catch attempts to pass off others’ work. Submit papers to Check for Plagiarism, powered by Turnitin.
– Data falsification screening – Flag manipulated or fabricated images in manuscripts during peer review using specialized forensic tools.
– Author identity verification – Confirm author identities and credentials to prevent fraud and fake peer reviews.
– Ethics consulting – Get guidance on cases involving plagiarism, fabrication, authorship disputes and other issues. Develop integrity policies.
– Retraction management – Handle difficult cases of retraction in accordance with industry best practices.
– Ethics education – Ensure authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers complete mandatory online courses on ethics, bias, plagiarism, peer review, etc.
Author Development
Research Square prepares authors to successfully navigate scholarly publishing:
– English editing – Non-native speakers can polish drafts to publish in English through partnerships with Editage and other English editing brands.
– Mentoring – Publishing mentors provide one-on-one guidance on targeting journals, navigating peer review, interpreting decisions, and more.
– Education – Interactive online courses cover writing research papers, responding to peer reviews, research best practices, ethics, and more.
– Grants support – Specialists assist with preparing applications, clarifying funder requirements, documenting impacts, and measuring success.
Conference Management
Research societies work with Research Square to:
– Collect abstracts and speaker applications online. Automate reminders and status updates.
– Recruit qualified reviewers. Blind submissions to reduce bias. Check for plagiarism across global databases.
– Select presentations using online programs. Schedule presentations, reserve rooms, coordinate speakers.
– Register attendees online, process payments, communicate with delegates.
– Publish proceedings to preserve and disseminate conference content.
– Gain analytics to make data-driven improvements for future conferences.
How Research Square Aims to Improve Research Communication
Research Square seeks to accelerate how researchers share discoveries by transforming key steps in the research journey:
Before Manuscript Submission
Traditionally researchers prepare papers in isolation before eventually submitting to a journal. Research Square facilitates:
– Early feedback by sharing preprints in online communities
– More input through virtual seminars and mentoring
– Targeting the best-fit journals using online tools
– Enhancing writing/formatting through convenient English editing services
During Peer Review
Peer review often suffered from delays, bias, opacity, and inconsistency issues. Research Square promotes:
– Faster review by automating workflows and monitoring progress
– Fairer review through blinded submissions and qualified reviewers from everywhere (not just editorial boards)
– More constructive feedback via plagiarism checks, mandatory comments, and quality checks
– More transparent process where authors see reviewer identities and all communications post-decision
After Manuscript Acceptance
Too often research sat behind paywalls or was hard to find pre-internet. Research Square expands access through:
– Facilitating open access publishing models
– Providing article summaries and graphics to share findings
– Creating researcher profiles that highlight publications, citations, h-index, and altmetrics
– Offering article-level usage metrics so authors can track impact
– Integrating with public preprint archives to continue gathering feedback post-publication
Throughout Research Careers
Research publishing operated through journal silos and closed circles before Research Square:
– Researchers can now build international profiles and connections via online communities
– Virtual seminars and courses open learning opportunities globally
– Mentoring helps authors navigate journal selection and publishing hurdles
– Reviewer profiles provide recognition and allow editors to identify qualified new reviewers
– English editing services help non-native speakers publish confidently in English
– Grants assistance removes obstacles for funded research and collecting evidence on research impacts
Research Square’s Vision for the Future
Research Square aims to continue modernizing research communication in line with its core values of transparency, diversity, integrity, innovation and independence.
Some potential areas of focus highlighted by CEO Shashi Mudunuri include:
– Expanding services for societies to improve member engagement through publishing and events
– Helping funders streamline evaluating applicants and monitoring grant impacts
– Supporting institutions in tracking faculty outputs and benchmarking against peers
– Building new formats and forums for sharing data, code, methods, materials, reviews, and conversations around published research
– Advancing alternative modes of assessment like open peer review and post-publication review
– Continuing to develop anti-bias technologies to mitigate systemic inequities
– Exploring uses of artificial intelligence like automated checks for methods and statistics errors during peer review
– Integrating multimedia formats to enrich scholarly communication
– Advocating for and modeling open science practices as the default wherever possible
– Strategically partnering with players across academia, industry, societies, libraries, and funders that share Research Square’s drive to learn from the past but look to the future.
Conclusion
In summary, Research Square aims to improve research communication by leveraging technology, services, and community to optimize discovery and collaboration around scholarly output. By focusing on modernizing how research knowledge is shared at each step, Research Square empowers more researchers to advance science and their careers. The company has already impacted millions of researchers across thousands of journals and aims to scale these benefits globally. With a vision centered on transparency, diversity, integrity and innovation, Research Square looks to transform future practices across scholarly communication.
