Springer's new open access journal SpringerPlus is a further addition to the publishing company's SpringerOpen portfolio, underlining its flexible publication strategy. It is the publisher's first open access journal with a broad interdisciplinary approach covering the entire scientific spectrum. Papers from emerging areas of research are welcome.
A transparent and fast publication process is the hallmark of SpringerPlus. If a manuscript meets the necessary scientific criteria as determined by peer review, the paper will be accepted immediately and without major revision. The only thing that counts is the high quality of research described. The peer review process is organized efficiently so that authors can count on a very short time to publication. SpringerPlus is published as an online-only journal.
SpringerPlus will feature interdisciplinary manuscripts describing original research, case studies and methods. The journal guarantees a high standard of scientific quality while extending the range of data formats, accepting audiovisual formats, data reports, and extensive tables either as complete articles or part of the paper. There will be no restrictions on the number of words or figures, and articles detailing statistically negative correlation will be considered.
"SpringerPlus follows an interdisciplinary approach that allows us to bridge the gap for all those authors unable to find an open access journal at the interface with adjoining disciplines for their research topic," explained Peter Hendriks, President STM Global Publishing & Marketing at Springer.
Springer ensures distribution to the widest possible audience, maximizing visibility and citations. Like all other SpringerOpen journals, SpringerPlus will be published under the Creative Commons Attribution License. This means that authors retain copyright and all content is freely available in full to everyone immediately. Authors will be assessed a standard open access fee.
Springer began publishing individual open access papers through its Springer Open Choice model in 2004. Since then, the publishing group has refined and extended this publication model. In summer 2010, Springer launched a new open access portfolio which now contains more than 60 purely open access journals focusing on specific research areas. The interdisciplinary approach of SpringerPlus supplements this open access portfolio. Anyone with an internet connection can access the articles in these journals without a subscription.