Fifteen years in, what next for PLOS Biology?

As we celebrate our anniversary, the PLOS Biology editors discuss recent initiatives taken by the journal (meta-research, complementary research policy, preprint posting, short reports, methods and resources, data policy, protocols.io) and look ahead to the next fifteen years.

European Commission and the European Research Council, which commits to eliminate paywalls in science; these funders will mandate that after 1 January 2020, access to research publications generated from all research that they fund must be fully and immediately open access [6]. Questions persist about article publication charges, who should cover the costs of publication, and whether there should be a cap on fees. Yet awareness of the value of open access is growing among these EU funders who will (rightly) claim a vested interest in the output of research that they're funding. Such initiatives are a meaningful step in the right direction, making the long-awaited revolution more likely; we hope that globally other funders or coalitions will follow this encouraging lead.

Evaluating the research process
Aside from influencing access to scientific research, publishers have the potential to change the scientific process itself. Much has been made in recent years about rigour and reproducibility in research; some have called this a "reproducibility, or replication crisis" [7], a characterization that some corporate and anti-science forces have weaponized and exploited to downplay evidence that threatens their interests. Science is naturally self-correcting over time with many results garnering support and being built upon by subsequent studies. That said, completing a precise replication is much more complex than may be apparent due to vagaries of experimental details and techniques. Another view is that replication challenges are an almost inevitable outcome given how scientists and their research are assessed; the warped incentive system often places a premium on publishing first, with minimal regard to the soundness of the data and study design. As a result, researchers can be rewarded with tenure and promotions not for the strength of their research but instead according to meaningless proxies for quality, such as the impact factor or title of the journals they publish in.
We knew there had to be a better way. In early 2016, PLOS Biology expanded its scope to publish 'research into research' in the form of Meta-Research Articles [8]. These articles are data-driven and include experimental and meta-analytical research that addresses issues related to the design, methods, reporting, and evaluation of research. We feel strongly that the best way to improve an imperfect situation is first to better understand the nature of the issue, and for this to happen 'research into research' needs a venue for publication and acceptance as a core branch of the scientific process.

Establishing new norms
We've also attempted to address the counter-productive pressure for scientists to publish first by dispelling the negative connotations of being 'scooped'; earlier this year PLOS Biology formalised a 'complementary research' policy that gives authors of a complementary study six months from the publication of the first article to submit their manuscript to PLOS Biology [9]. With this, the intense pressure of the race to publish is alleviated, and researchers-especially early career researchers (whose careers can be severely impacted by one such 'scooping' incident)-still have the opportunity to publish. This policy recognizes the value of independent replication of research findings rather than penalizing authors for lack of perceived novelty.
Alongside this, PLOS Biology, along with most of the other PLOS journals, now offers submitting authors the option of having us facilitate posting a preprint of their manuscript on bioRxiv. This journal-to-preprint model helps achieve much earlier open access to those research results while the manuscript is under review.
In the last year, we've also taken steps to acknowledge the inherent value of research outputs that are often overlooked by adding two new article types: 'Short Reports' and 'Methods and Resources.' The former validates publication of exploratory research without all the mechanistic bells and whistles, and the latter recognizes researchers who focus more on creating tools or datasets for their research community. With a view to better recognising other types of research outputs, PLOS Biology has also embraced and enforced the PLOS data policy [10] and we strongly encourage deposition of experimental protocols in protocols.io [11,12]. PLOS Biology has long distinguished itself by using a unique peer-review model that partners in-house professional editors with trusted advisors in the scientific community on every

Box 1. PLOS's CEO, Alison Mudditt on PLOS Biology.
In its first fifteen years, PLOS Biology has overturned the myth that an open access business model and top-quality science are mutually exclusive. It has also been instrumental in catalysing a range of important transformations in scientific communication from its rigorous implementation of PLOS's data policy to expand the definition of what can and should be shared, to the new complementary research policy that showcases the value of replication. I'm proud that PLOS Biology has achieved all of this while also providing excellent service to its community of authors. As we look to the future, there is plenty more work to be done and PLOS Biology continues to lead the charge with the next wave of change: expanding our definitions of what should be published and how it should be assessed and curated. reviewed manuscript. We remain indebted to our partners on the Editorial Board who ensure an unbiased and expertly guided assessment and review process. Rather than looking for reasons to reject, our goal is to help researchers publish their quality science. When faced with opposing recommendations if appropriate we mediate cross-reviewer commenting, and we sometimes publish even if there are still open questions as long as any caveats are clearly stated in the manuscript or in an Editor's Note [13][14][15][16]. As we have from the beginning, we aspire to work with and for scientists to smooth the path to publication.

Crystal gazing
As we proceed through our teenage years, PLOS Biology is focussing on how we can address other research pain points, and how we fit into the current STM publishing ecosystem while simultaneously working towards open research. We've spent the last five years closely focusing on our editorial processes and improving author service. We're committed to adapting to the needs of the community, innovating and experimenting in the publishing space, and redefining selectivity for publication assessment. In August this year, PLOS signed an open letter committing to publishing peer review reports for all PLOS journals [17]. What the future will bring for open access publishing remains uncertain, but PLOS Biology is poised, ready to adapt and evolve, and remains dedicated to the goal of accelerating progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication.
Meanwhile, to celebrate 15 years of PLOS Biology, we continue to publish high-quality, rigorous science, and we've been showcasing blog posts each month throughout 2018, featuring an article selected by one of our hard-working Editorial Board Members. Each post highlights that editor's favourite article along with their commentary on its importance [18]. Take a look at the Collection [19].
In the first editorial of the inaugural issue, the PLOS Biology editors urged readers to help improve the journal to maximize the benefits derived from the time, money, effort and intellectual capital invested in the scientific process [20]. The editorial staff has changed but the sentiments have not. And we repeat that call now, when the very process and output of science is under attack in the United States and elsewhere. Open access, open science, and open research have the potential to create a powerful scientific and public resource. Working together, we can realize that goal.