We recently welcomed Iberoamerican Journal of Medicine as an OASPA member in the Scholar Publisher category. The Iberoamerican Journal of Medicine joins over 190 OASPA members and 60 others in the Scholar Publisher category.
We asked Eduardo Esteban-Zubero, Editor in Chief, a few questions so we could learn more about the Journal and its connection to open scholarship and decision to become an OASPA member.
Tell us a bit about Iberoamerican Journal of Medicine and the service it provides
Iberoamerican Journal of Medicine started in 2019 as a project of Moises Alatorre Jiménez (Mexico) and Eduardo Esteban Zubero (Spain). During our collaboration in UTHSCSA (The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio), in Dr. Reiter’s Lab in 2016, we thought of initiating a journal to try to increase the impact of our institutions’ published manuscripts. Our aim was to develop a journal without fees during the review and publication process, to make it easier for researchers with few grants to publish their manuscripts.
Joining OASPA is very important to us and a reward for our efforts during these years. Our membership indicates that the editorial processes of the journal achieve a position of ethical and adequate practices. Nowadays there are several predatory journals and inadequate editorial processes. As a consequence, being differentiated from these journals is an obligation. In addition, joining OASPA helps small and big publishing groups to improve their knowledge.
Why did you decide to join OASPA and what do you hope to get out of your OASPA membership?
OASPA provides the opportunity for editors and publishers from different countries to share their Open Access experiences. Membership is not limited to large publishers, making it possible for small publishers like us to learn from those with more experience.
As a consequence, we hope to acquire experience and knowledge from the different meetings, discussions and events as well as increase our network. We would also like to provide our experience to our colleagues to improve the Open Access model – the best way to publish.
What are the short and medium-term priorities for your organisation/publication in relation to open scholarship?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our funds are very limited, making it necessary to prioritize areas of work. First of all we would like to increase our relationship with preprints. In the last year, researchers increased the use of this model to share knowledge. The most important limitation is not having a critical review of the manuscript, making it necessary to read the source carefully. As a consequence, our goal is to commit to sharing preprints for the open and rapid dissemination of work creating an online model to be reviewed by readers. In addition, we would like to make sure that all of the supporting code, data, and other relevant information are available alongside any papers published. Finally, we would like to continue to build and empower local open scholarship communities, including newer researchers and students.
What do you think are the main challenges for the communication of scholarship generally in the near future?
In our opinion, the main challenge is to avoid predatory practices. There are a large number of journals online without scholarship criteria. We think that all publishers must collaborate to mitigate the researchers’ practice of submitting articles to these journals. These predatory ways of sharing decrease the credibility of journal publishing overall.
How do you think OASPA can help mitigate those challenges?
Meeting OASPA’s standards indicates robust sharing of knowledge. As a result of the investigation of membership applications submitted, the non-adherence to predatory practices is guaranteed. As a member, we think that it is necessary to invite publishers non related with the organization to join us. It would help the Open Access model greatly in the future.
Iberoamerican Journal of Medicine www.iberoamericanjm.periodikos.com.br
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