Inter-Research: Changing Tack in the Plan-S Open Access World
Inter-Research: Changing Tack in the Plan-S Open Access World
Date
2021-08-26
Authors
Stewart, Ian
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DOI
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Keywords
Inter-Research Science Publisher; Plan S; Science--Periodicals— Publishing; Open access publishing; Science publishing
Abstract
For over 40 years, Inter-Research (IR) has been a small, family-owned publisher,
well-respected for its high-quality science journals. IR commits the majority of its
income to a rigorous peer review process, intensive in-house copy- and sub-editing,
and attention to clarity of presentation in typography and layout. It currently publishes
8 titles—4 Hybrids and 4 Fully Open Access, of which 5 titles directly relate to the
Aquatic Sciences. By far dominant among these is the flagship journal Marine
Ecology Progress Series. While IR embraces change (e.g. online publication was
introduced in 2000 and open (or free) access (OA) publication in 2005), the focus on
traditional production quality means the journals have remained a comfortable and
unchanging constant over the decades. IR’s founder, Prof. Dr. Otto Kinne, believed
strongly in making scientific research widely accessible. However, the cautious
program of transforming the subscription journals towards Fully OA publications that
began in 2013 was suspended in 2015 when article submissions to the journal
Aquatic Biology immediately, significantly and unexpectedly dropped almost
immediately on “OA flipping”, a clear signal that globally financial support for the OA
publication model was not matching the hype promoting its benefits and the degree to
which it was desired. European funder-based “Plan S”, integrated into European
Commission policy and initiated in 2020, promises to provide OA funding and forces
European academic publishers to transform to Fully OA publication by end of 2024. In
addition to introducing IR, its products, its products and its publication philosophy, this
“Vendor Demonstration” describes how one small and not greatly resourced publisher
(compared to the big conglomerates) is cautiously changing tack in the Plan S–Covid-
19 world. IR’s journey to Fully OA publication
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Sponsor presentation