PeerJ has announced the launch of PeerJ Open Advances in Zoology, a new Open Access journal dedicated to publishing research and commentary that addresses the most pressing challenges in the field of zoology. With a focus on equity, collaboration, and openness, the journal will eliminate financial barriers to publication and dissemination, making high-impact research and commentary accessible to all by being free to read and free to publish.
Editors-in-Chief Professors Lesley Rogers and Michael Wink lead the journal, supported by a global Editorial Board. The journal will publish impactful work that responds to one of the journal’s Global Challenges, which are owned by dedicated Associate Editors. Articles and contributors will be grouped by Global Challenge, building a corpus of research – and a community – that contributes to answering key questions and overcoming obstacles to completing that Challenge. Every research article will be accompanied by comprehensive peer-review reports and Impact Statements highlighting how the research addresses the journal’s Global Challenges.
Emphasizing the journal’s importance, Prof. Rogers said: “Amidst the rising costs and competition for Open Access publication of scientific papers, this new journal offers free and equitable publication of excellent science to researchers in all countries. This is an exciting new venture aimed at cutting-edge research and discussion of ideas addressing the pressing challenges to animal life now and into the future.”
Prof. Wink adds: “This novel series opens up a new era of Open Access publishing. We hope to attract excellent reviews and original contributions that provide new data, new syntheses, and that tackles the challenges set by the Editorial Board.”
The journal is now open for submissions and invites contributions from researchers who wish to address critical questions in the field of zoology. Eliminating author fees will ensure that financial barriers don’t hinder the dissemination of critical research, meaning research with the potential to impact the world is available to everyone.
“The journal’s aim is to provide a collaborative forum for new ideas, and to generate networks of researchers working on the most pressing questions in the field of animal research, to address challenges concerning zoological topics of a global scale,” said Stephen Johnson, Publishing Editor of the Open Advances series.
For more information, visit https://peerj.com/journals/openadv-zoology
