Redefining impact: how inclusive publishing builds value beyond journal rankings

Author: Gurpreet Gill-Bains

We believe that trust and reliability are the true cornerstones of good research. Across our portfolio, Springer Nature publishes many inclusive journals, whose editorial mission focuses on rigour, transparency, and relevance over selectivity. An example of this is AIDS Research and Therapy, which features as a case study in a new white paper exploring the value of all validated research.

Why citations don’t show the full impact of inclusive journals

Journal citation reports (JCR) and journal impact factors (JIFs) are frequently used in academic publishing as a measure of impact. Yet many inclusive journals are categorised in the JCR as lower quartiles (Quartile 3 or Quartile 4). This positioning can lead to a misconception about quality: while not attracting high citations, these journals offer a crucial space for foundational and descriptive studies, methodological innovation, and emerging voices from underrepresented regions or early career researchers. They publish more articles, serve niche communities, and prioritise technically sound science over selectivity.

Our white paper explores journals in Q3 and Q4 of the JCR and the value they play in their communities. That includes journals like AIDS Research and Therapy, currently a Q3 journal. As editors-in-chief Patricia Price and Barbara Castelnuovo explain, many of AIDS Research and Therapy’s authors are early-career researchers or clinicians working with constrained resources, especially across Africa and Southeast Asia. These researchers are tackling region-specific challenges with limited datasets or single-site studies which would often fall outside the scope of highly selective, high-impact journals.

“A lot of data that comes out from Africa will be a single case study, with limited population sizes based on funding,” explains Barbara Castelnuovo. These are papers that inform local clinical guidelines, shape public health decisions, and fill critical gaps in the global evidence base, even if they don’t meet the novelty threshold of a Q1 journal. She notes: “when there are 20 published papers showing differentiated service delivery is working well, then you can have countries or organisations adopting these practices.”

These studies often have particular interest beyond academia, offering direct benefits for practitioners or policymakers working in these regions. Price emphasises the importance of actionable, context-specific work in these journals, adding, “I always emphasise the need for people to describe the population that they're treating.” By addressing local and actionable issues, lower-ranked journals like AIDS Research and Therapy contribute to solving real-world challenges faced by specific communities.  This kind of impact is not captured when looking solely at the JCR.

Usage tells another story

Usage data showcases the strong interest in these titles. Our white paper analysed the usage of Springer journals and found that engagement with Q3 and Q4 titles is both high and growing. Specifically:

• Across more than 80 disciplines, Q3 and Q4 quartile journals account for over 50% of our usage, with 60 disciplines exclusively supported by these titles.
• Q3 and Q4 journals accounted for 22% of all item requests in 2023 (including both downloads and access denials).
• Engagement with lower-quartile journals is growing faster than for Q1/Q2 journals: 27% year-on-year growth vs. 17%.
• The top users of this content represent high research output countries, including China, the United States, India, Germany, and the UK.

This reinforces that these journals are delivering content that researchers rely on. These journals are homes for foundational research, detailed methodologies, null results, and protocols, all which form an essential part of open science. Inclusive journals are, therefore, advancing more transparent, reproducible, trusted research.

Publishing in an open access (OA) journal (such as AIDS and Research Therapy) can further boost impact by reaching practitioners working in lower-middle-income countries, where many institutions and individuals cannot afford subscription-based journals. Barbara Castelnuovo says, “If you publish in a journal that only three people can read in Africa, then you're not going to have any impact.” OA makes it possible for local and contextual research to influence practice.

Why an inclusive approach matters 

Inclusive journals don’t just create space for diverse research outputs, they support the development of diverse researchers. Editors play a crucial role in determining whose voices are represented in our journals. Journals like AIDS Research and Therapy exemplify this role. The journal receives a significant proportion of its submissions from inexperienced researchers with limited resources and funding. The editorial team provides tailored support to these authors, helping them refine their manuscripts and ensuring their research is both accessible and impactful. Patricia Price says, “About 50% of the papers that come to me I send straight back with a set of instructions as to how to reduce it to a brief communication […] which is readable by people for whom English is not their first language. It serves both the author and the potential reader that they are concise and precise.”

This commitment to mentorship and guidance is also highly valued by AIDs Research and Therapy’s community. In Springer Nature’s annual editorial excellence survey, over 90% of authors agreed that the editorial advice helped improve their papers and that the peer review process was well managed.

By creating an inclusive and supportive environment, Q3 and Q4 journals empower researchers from diverse backgrounds to contribute to their fields, develop their skills, and grow as researchers.  

Opportunities for editors

While there remains a role for the JCR in academic publishing, journal value cannot be defined solely by the impact factor. Inclusive journals are undervalued by ranking systems, masking their true value in delivering a home for diverse voices and content types.

It’s important that our journals reflect the radically different publishing landscape and changed realities of global research. Here are some considerations for editors:

• Authors need different types of journals. Inclusive journals play a much-needed role in advancing foundational, negative, or methodologically-focused results.
• These journals offer much-needed support for emerging researchers: they offer a platform to build confidence, receive feedback, and learn to publish.
• Inclusive journals foster global knowledge sharing: they support researchers in resource-constrained environments without the means to meet the thresholds of selective journals.
• A diverse content portfolio, representative of your broader community, signals editorial interest to authors.

Join the Conversation

To dig deeper into our findings about inclusive journals and to consider how your own editorial practices support all validated research, read the white paper.