The information explosion has had a profound effect on research. A 2019 article in GigaScience estimates that in “recent years there has been a surge in the number of published academic papers, with >7 million new papers each year and >1.8 million papers with ≥5 references”.
A 2018 article in University World News estimates that there are approximately 30 000 scientific journals in production. The article even suggests that too much research is being published, with “too much pressure on top journals, too many books of marginal quality, the rise of predatory journals and publishers that publish low or marginal quality research and tremendous pressure on academics worldwide to publish”.
With so much research out there, keeping track of it is becoming increasingly difficult. This is where Open Journal Systems brought to you by Sabinet and ORCID come in.
Open Journal Systems (OJS) allows for the effortless submission and peer review management of scholarly journals. OJS can support the operation of multiple journals, seamlessly integrates with Sabinet African Journals for optimised content discovery across search engines, and provides an environment for the preservation and sustainable management of scholarly content. What’s more, the publishing of peer-reviewed journals is made seamless with faculty and researchers enjoying journal management across every stage of the peer-review and editorial process, from submission to final publication. Academic professionals, research institutions, universities and independent publishers all benefit from OJS. OJS is also an Certified ORCID provider and is fully integrated with the system, effortlessly updating the reviewer and author activities on the ORCID database.
ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) was created to help researchers retain control of their identity and information. According to the ThinkScience, “an ORCID iD is a unique, persistent identifier that makes it easier to link your identity and publications, ensuring that you are credited properly for your work”. A researcher might need an ORCID iD because they have a common name, their name has changed after marriage, or their name is displayed differently across various publications, websites, and other systems.
ORCID iD already has more than 9.7 million users and is used by more than 7000 journals. These days, it is practically considered an international accreditation standard for journals. Interestingly, many funders now recommend or require the use of ORCID iDs in their grant application systems and is now the adopted standard for authorisation amongst South African journals.
ORCID integrates with Sabinet’s journals and systems, providing a useful value-add to publishers. Not only this, but in conjunction with Sabinet Online Publishing, ORCID serves to amplify one’s research.