In the ever-evolving landscape of scientific research, the twin pillars of data credibility and reproducibility serve as the cornerstone for scientific advancement. For science to flourish and continually progress, it is imperative that researchers adhere to rigorous standards of credibility, ensuring that their work can be readily verified, built upon, and reproduced by their peers.
Central to this mission are open access protocols, which not only assure the accuracy of results, but also broaden the accessibility of scientific knowledge.
In alignment with BMC Methods’ commitment to enhancing the reproducibility, transparency, and accessibility of scientific research, we are excited to announce our strategic partnership with protocols.io, following its integration into the Springer Nature family. Through this collaboration, BMC Methods is pleased to offer authors the opportunity to publish their step-by-step protocols from protocols.io in an open-access, peer-reviewed journal while harnessing the functionalities offered by protocols.io for sharing and presenting their protocols in practical ways. To maximise the benefits of both platforms, we encourage authors to share their step-by-step protocols on protocols.io before submitting their manuscripts to BMC Methods.
Protocols published in BMC Methods will then consist of two integrated components:
- protocols.io will host the step-by-step protocol (published protocols will receive a permanent DOI), containing technical details, such as reagents, measurements, and formulae. protocols.io’s dynamic nature will allow authors to easily modify and share updated protocol versions in the future.
- BMC Methods will publish a companion open access peer-reviewed article that contextualises the protocol. This article will include sections discussing background, applications, limitations, expected results, and sample datasets.
As an additional benefit, authors publishing Protocols in BMC Methods can receive complimentary assistance from the protocols.io editorial team to upload and format their protocols as an integral part of the BMC Methods publication process, following previous agreement with the BMC Methods in-house Editor.
The outcome of this comprehensive approach is transparent, easily reproducible, and more accessible research, ultimately contributing to scientific advancement. More details about our submission guidelines can be found here.
