Research Directions: A journal concept that better reflects the research lifecycle

Despite the freedom that online publishing offers over print, research is still required to fit the format of the traditional journal article. At Cambridge University Press, we tried to reimagine the scientific journal to better accommodate the needs of researchers and society. Research Directions is a new open research publishing concept that has broken free of the limitations of the traditional publication model to reveal, in real-time, the research process. Shaped by expert subject communities, each Research Directions journal is defined through a challenging range of research questions. The resulting research outputs are broken down into discrete parts: Results, Analyses and Impact. Authors are also encouraged to upload early research outputs and other non-peer reviewed literature content onto the Research Directions community space. Readers can navigate the complexity of outputs by a network mapping all the relevant outputs in each area covered. Research Directions provides a dynamic forum for researchers to collaborate, debate and accelerate high-quality research in an accessible and transparent way. Our titles so far include: Biotechnology Design, One Health, Quantum Technologies, Bioelectronics, Cyber-Physical Systems, Mine Closure & Transitions, Sleep Psychology and Depression. Our vision is to continue to work with research communities such as these that are willing to innovate and experiment in the way that they publish their work and in how they collaborate with other researchers to answer specific questions or challenges that will drive their fields forward.