The Center for Open Science has launched Lifecycle Journal, an innovative platform designed to revolutionize scholarly publishing by fostering transparency and community-driven evaluations throughout the research lifecycle.
The Center for Open Science (COS) has unveiled Lifecycle Journal, a new pilot project poised to transform the world of scholarly publishing. Now open for submissions, Lifecycle Journal aspires to align publishing more closely with the scholarly values of rigor, transparency, community engagement and continuous evaluation — addressing widespread concerns about the traditional academic publishing model.
Lifecycle Journal champions a dynamic, community-driven approach, allowing scholars to share research progress, receive ongoing feedback and make revisions accessible to the entire academic community. This marks a stark departure from the status quo, where research is typically reviewed and published in isolation, often preventing transparent collaboration and iterative improvements.
“Lifecycle Journal aims to reimagine scholarly publishing by creating a model where transparency, collaboration and community-driven evaluation are at the forefront,” Brian Nosek, executive director of COS, said in a news release. “By enabling researchers to share and refine their work throughout the entire research lifecycle, it addresses critical challenges in trust, rigor and accountability.”
The journal invites researchers to publish various outputs throughout their projects, fostering interactions at every stage of research. Authors can expect a thoughtful blend of human-led assessments and machine-learning tools to enhance reliability and quality.
This model promotes a diversified and meaningful evaluation system that rewards quality and innovation over mere volume, addressing critical flaws in traditional publication metrics.
“There are well-acknowledged problems with current publishing practices, such as placing those with potential conflicts in gatekeeping roles and failing to address reproducibility across laboratories,” added Christopher Moore, a professor of neuroscience at Brown University and an editorial advisor for Lifecycle Journal. “Lifecycle Journal provides direct remedies to these challenges by aligning rewards with quality, ensuring transparency and embracing a learn-by-doing approach that meets the diverse needs of the research community.”
Besides tackling systemic publication issues, the journal is designed to cultivate a community of practice for innovators to experiment with and refine new assessment methods, positioning it at the forefront of scholarly publishing innovation.
The initiative comes at a time when improving the reproducibility and credibility of scientific research is more critical than ever. Lifecycle Journal’s model offers a promising solution to persistent problems like publication bias, lack of transparency and barriers to sharing intermediate findings.
By incorporating metascience and embracing cutting-edge evaluation techniques from the outset, Lifecycle Journal is expected to set a new standard in the academic community. The COS’s commitment to openness means that both successes and challenges encountered during this pilot will be shared, paving the way for continuous improvement and broader adoption.
Anyone interested in submitting their research or learning more about this innovative journal can visit its official website here.