It’s not always easy for citizen scientists to see what happens with the data they collect. Not all projects are published, and those that are may not be open access and often only include a summary of the findings.
I work at F1000Research, and one of the key points of this open access journal is that all papers include all original data. It makes it easier for others to reproduce the work, and it makes science more transparent. In the context of citizen science projects, it lets all participants see their data in the context of the overall study.
No fee for ecology papers until 2014
At the moment, F1000Research is waiving the article processing charge on ecology papers, as long as that’s the first paper you’ve ever submitted to the journal, and you submit it before the end of the year, using code ECOL17. This would be a perfect opportunity for citizen science projects in ecology to try out the journal.
Observation articles
We’re also launching a new type of paper, which might also be useful for citizen science projects. Observation articles are papers that describe serendipitous observations that researchers have not been able to study systematically, but that offer a starting point for further exploration. With many people taking part in data collection for citizen science projects, you’re bound to come across something interesting! A famous example from astronomy is Hanny’s Voorwerp, but we suspect that a lot of ecology projects also bring up some interesting observations.
Ecology-themed observation articles are also free until the end of the year. Normally, publishing an observation article in publication in F1000Research costs $500, compared to $1000 for a full-length article).
Rapid publication and transparent peer review
Besides including all data, F1000Resesarch also includes all referee names and referee reports, and anyone who has an account can leave a comment on the article itself, or in response to a referee report. Like the articles themselves, the referee reports are all open access.
Articles on F1000Research are published online before peer review, after a quick in-house editorial check. That means that we can publish papers within a matter of days. F1000Research publishes all valid science.
This is a guest post from Eva Amsen of F1000 Research.
For any questions about our peer review model or the journal in general, please see our FAQ page.
For more info about this opportunity, see this blog post.
To submit a free ecology paper before the end of the year, use code ECOL17.
For any other questions, find us on Twitter at @F1000Research
Photo: F1000 Resaerch
