Publishing MaterialsMethodological Innovations Online

http://www.methodologicalinnovations.org/

ESRC Research Methods Festival 2010

Carole Sutton (University of Plymouth) &Malcolm Williams (Cardiff University)

Content

• Overview & History• Management

– Editorial Team & Editorial Board– Working arrangements– Layout/format for the site– Refereeing policy– Special or Themed Issues

• Professional Presentation• Readership• What didn’t / doesn’t work or work well• Sustainability • Questions and Discussion

Overview: History & Rationale• Methodological Innovations Research group and Methods@Plymouth

conference

• Methodological Innovations Online is an international peer reviewed social research journal. It publishes high quality papers in research methods and methodology from all social science disciplines. Papers which focus on new methodological approaches, or using traditional methodologies in new ways or methodologies which cross disciplines are especially welcome. The journal publishes both peer reviewed papers and short discussion pieces.

• The journal aims to be progressive both in access and the means by which it encourages those near the beginning of their careers to publish. Nevertheless each issue will contain papers by leading international social science researchers.

Overview: History & Rationale

• Gap in the journal market – methodological innovations

• Open Source journal software

• First Issue – 2006

• To date:

– 54 papers, 9 issues including 4 themed issues

• First bilingual issue due mid July 2010

• Funding support – start up monies from the School

• ISSN and DOI

Management: Editors

Ross Coomber

Andy Phippen

John Scott Carole Sutton

Malcolm Williams*

All University of Plymouth except * University of Cardiff

Management: Editorial BoardKees Aarts (Twente)Jane Barrett (Food Standards Agency)Julian Beer (Plymouth)David Best (Birmingham)Raoul Bianchi (London Met)Louisa Blackwell (ONS)Alan Bryman (Leicester) Suzanne Chamberlain (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance)Tony Champion (Newcastle)Louise Corti (Essex)Debby Cotton (Plymouth)Matthew David (Brunel)Tia DeNora (Exeter)Elizabeth Ettorre (University of Liverpool)

Rob Evans (Cardiff)Christine Hine (Surrey)Geoffrey Hunt (Institute for Scientific Analysis)Harold Kincaid (Alabama)Frank Land (LSE)Tony Lawson (Cambridge)Gayle Letherby (Plymouth)Tim May (Centre for Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures SURF)Jeffrey Roberts (ISR)Barbara Katz Rothman (CUNY)Andy Sparks (Exeter)Liz Stanley (Newcastle)Geoff Wilson (Plymouth) Alison Wylie (Washington)

Working arrangements

• Collective approach– Email distribution & bimonthly meetings– SPOC for submissions– Development of clear lines of communication– Faculty technical support and host server for Open Source

Software. Upload and troubleshoot– Publicity – established email distribution list– Minimum funding supported by the School

Layout/ format of the site

• Standardised in Open Source

Refereeing Policy

• Papers• Anonymised– 2 editorial board members (selected according to

substantive/methodological research interests)– 1 editor– Standard reviewers comments; accepted; revise and

resubmit; reject.

• Early stage papers and abstracts welcome– Commented on by one or more of the editors

Special or Themed Issues

• Vol. 1, No. 2 (2006)Making qualitative data more re-usable: issues of context and representation

• Vol. 2, No. 2 (2007)Critical Realist Explorations in Methodology

• Vol. 4, No1 (2009) Social Network Analysis

• Vol. 4, No 3 (2009) Security, Trust and Privacy in Online Systems

• Vol. 5. No. 2 (mid July 2010) Researching Hard to Reach Populations (English/ French issue)

Future themed editions

• 2011 Case-based approaches to the Analysis of Quantitative Data

• December 2010 Impact in Research

• The Editors welcome approaches to host a themed edition from contributors/editors

Professional Presentation

• Started with html - unsatisfactory

• Moved to .pdf format link

• Layout and house style of ‘journal quality’ form including DOI– Link to an example

• In the process of revisiting past issues to reformat

• Proof reading

Readership

• Latest website hits

• ‘think pieces’ (people seem to prefer to submit more traditional papers)

• ‘rapid response’ (idea taken from the BMJ)

• Editorial board profiles

• Editorial board consultations

• Aspects of technical interface

What didn’t/doesn’t work/doesn’t work well

Sustainability

• Build/raise the profile – Advertising– Develop email distribution– Interface with other initiatives

• Develop an longer term income stream– Sell web space – cash for logos/links!– ‘Friends’ of MIO: Individuals and/or individuals

• Link with a publisher• Impact Measures• Copyright

Questions and Discussion

• To get the discussion started we would welcome a discussion around the following areas:

1. Viability of the ‘Friends of ‘ idea?

2. The future of open source journal and interfacing with publishers journal lists

3. Other income streams

4. ‘Ownership’ of the journal