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Springer nature completes acquisition of research square company.

Move will increase authors’ access to best-in-class research solutions

London | New York 01st December 2022

RSC comprises American Journal Experts (AJE), which provides best-in-class AI-powered and professionally delivered author solutions, and Research Square, the world’s number one multi-disciplinary preprint platform.

After a long partnership and period of partial ownership, Springer Nature has increased its investment in Research Square Company (RSC) to take full ownership. 

The acquisition reflects the shared ambition of the two companies to provide faster, better, quality-assured author solutions. This includes helping authors improve their manuscripts prior to submission and share their research both before and after publication. 

It will strengthen Springer Nature’s ability to provide solutions designed to better meet the needs of all researchers and bring forward the open science revolution. For example:

• AJE’s best-in-class digital editing tools and leading Research Impact Solutions help authors get published and increase awareness of their research post publication
• Research Square’s multidisciplinary preprint platform allows every author to enjoy the benefits of sharing their research early

Frank Vrancken Peeters,  Chief Executive of Springer Nature, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Research Square as a full member of the Springer Nature family. This allows us to further champion the needs of the research community by providing a full suite of solutions across the publishing value chain for researchers”. 

Shashi Mudunuri, Founder of Research Square Company, said:

“Springer Nature's acquisition of Research Square Company builds on a wonderful partnership developed over many years, based on our common values. It allows our teams to work even more closely together to create a more researcher-centred publishing ecosystem.”

Harsh Jegadeesan, Springer Nature’s Chief Solutions Officer, further commented:

“Combining expertise across both companies enables us to provide best-in-class author solutions, so that all researchers can be assessed fairly and equally on the quality of their work. It puts us on the path to become the number one platform and solutions provider for open science.”

The partnership between the two organisations dates back to 2008 when AJE began providing journal editing services to Nature authors. Springer Nature invested in AJE in 2016, and in 2018, became a minority owner of the Research Square platform. Additional investment in 2020 saw Springer Nature become majority owner of both the Research Square platform and AJE.

Over this time, this partnership has seen:

• More than 180,000 preprints posted on Research Square, making it the fastest growing preprint server
• Launch of In Review, the integrated preprint deposition service, now available on over 700 Springer Nature’s journals, including the Nature titles
• Language barriers eliminated for thousands of international researchers with the AJE team editing more than one million papers across 447 areas of study

About Springer Nature

For over 180 years Springer Nature has been advancing discovery by providing the best possible service to the whole research community. We help researchers uncover new ideas, make sure all the research we publish is significant, robust and stands up to objective scrutiny, that it reaches all relevant audiences in the best possible format, and can be discovered, accessed, used, re-used and shared. We support librarians and institutions with innovations in technology and data; and provide quality publishing support to societies. 

As a research publisher, Springer Nature is home to trusted brands including Springer, Nature Portfolio, BMC, Palgrave Macmillan and Scientific American. For more information, please visit springernature.com and @SpringerNature

Susie Winter | VP External Communications | Springer Nature susie. [email protected]

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Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

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In Review at Nature journals

On this page.

• What is a preprint?
• What is In Review ?
• What do I need to know about opting in to In Review ?

How are preprints screened before posting through the In Review service?

What will happen to my preprint on research square if my manuscript is rejected from the journal i submitted to, how do i opt into in review when i transfer my manuscript to another journal, can i ask for my in review preprint to be removed from the research square platform.

• Is it possible to make peer reviewed versions of the article available through In Review at Nature journals?

What license is applied to the preprint and who holds copyright?

• Can I participate in In Review if I have already posted to a preprint server?
• How can I cite a preprint on the Research Square platform?

Can I discuss an In Review preprint with the media?

Are there any drawbacks to participating in in review , what is a preprint .

Preprints are defined as an author’s version of a research manuscript prior to formal peer review at a journal, which they deposit on a public server (as this article, “Preprints for the life sciences”, Science 352, 899-901; 2016, describes). 

For more information about Nature Portfolio policies on preprint sharing please see here . 

Many journals and publishers support sharing of preprints and do not consider preprints to be prior publication. You can find more information about journals’ policies on this Wikipedia page . 

Top of page ⤴

What is In Review ? 

In Review is a free preprint service from Research Square (of which Springer Nature is an investor) developed in partnership with Springer Nature (since October 2018) providing journal-integrated preprint sharing (for direct submissions of primary research manuscripts) and transparency into the peer review process for authors. By depositing a citable preprint on the Research Square platform, In Review allows authors to benefit from early sharing, including potential earlier citations, visibility and collaboration opportunities. Authors can demonstrate research progress to funders and others, and engage the wider community for comment and collaboration while their manuscript is under review. The wider research community will be able to discover new research with fully indexed search, comment on and help improve emerging science and gain insight into work currently under review at participating journals.

In Review at Nature journals – launched in June 2020 – provides journal-integrated preprint deposition on the Research Square platform and is currently available at Nature , the Nature research journals,  Nature Communications and the Communications journals. More information about what an author can expect when opting into In Review is provided below.

More information about In Review at Springer Nature can be found here .

What do I need to know about opting in to In Review ? 

• You must ensure that your co-authors agree to post a preprint and participate in In Review
• Whether you opt into In Review or not will have no effect on the editorial decisions and whether your manuscript is accepted.
• If your manuscript is sent out to review, it will be posted, after undergoing a set of quality control checks (see below for more information about screening), as a preprint “Under Review at Nature Portfolio” to In Review and with a DOI; it will now become a public and permanent part of the scholarly record. The community will be able to comment on, read, or cite your preprint.
• If your manuscript is not sent out to review, you will be given an opportunity to share your work as a preprint on the Research Square platform with a DOI (but not as part of the In Review initiative); it will now become a public and permanent part of the scholarly record. The community will be able to comment on, read, or cite your preprint.
• The peer review process including all editorial communications will continue through the peer review submission and manuscript tracking system. All queries about your manuscript’s peer review process should be directed to the journal.
• You will receive real time updates on the progress of your manuscript through a private peer review timeline in the Author Dashboard feature of In Review (eg, number of reviewers invited, reviewers agreed, receipt of reports). 
• If your manuscript is published, the preprint will be updated with a link to the published version.
• If your manuscript is rejected, all information corresponding to Nature Portfolio is removed from the preprint (see more information below).
• If your manuscript is rejected and transferred to another Nature journal, you can opt-in to In Review at the new journal by choosing to modify your manuscript on transfer.
• Springer Nature does not have a formal policy of incorporating comments received on preprints into a journal-mediated review process. Editors may, at their discretion, choose to take commenting through the Research Square platform into consideration. As with traditional review, they will rely on reviewers with field expertise in forming their decision.

All preprints that are posted through In Review undergo a set of quality control checks carried out by Research Square. These checks include affirming the presence of the following disclosures, where relevant. Authors submitting to Nature journals should include the ethics disclosures described below in their manuscript if they intend to opt-into In Review ; competing interests statements are collected upon submission through the manuscript submission system.

• Ethics approval for studies with human participants (consent to participate, and consent to publish)
• Ethics approval for animal studies
• Competing interest statements

In addition to these checks, our partner Research Square screens all preprints for pseudoscientific claims, biosecurity/dual use risk, unethical research practice, or other potential risks to human health, personal identifiers.

If you have opted into In Review and your article is rejected after peer review, all information corresponding to the Nature Portfolio imprint will be removed from the preprint, leaving only the original preprint on the Research Square platform. If you transfer to another Nature journal and opt-in to In Review again at the receiving journal, the Nature Portfolio imprint will be restored to the original preprint if the manuscript is sent out to review.

Many journal policies require declaration of posted preprints upon submission; you are free to send the link or share the DOI to the Research Square preprint of your manuscript to other journals as part of a future submission.

Any decision to opt into In Review at the original journal is not transferred to the receiving journal on transfer. You can opt into In Review at the receiving journal by choosing to modify your manuscript on transfer. You will receive a confirmation email with a link allowing you to access your submission at the new journal where you can opt into In Review prior to formally submitting to the new journal. If an In Review preprint was not posted following your submission to the original journal, your preprint will be posted as normal through the In Review service if your manuscript is sent out to review at the receiving journal. If your preprint was already posted as a result of opting into In Review at the original journal, the Nature Portfolio imprint and "Under Review" status will be restored to that preprint if your manuscript is sent out to review at the receiving journal.

No, preprints are a permanent part of the scholarly record and cannot be removed. By opting in to In Review an author agrees to their article being posted permanently and publicly as a preprint on the Research Square platform after submission. Information about Research Square policies can be found here .

Is it possible to make peer reviewed versions of the article available through In Review at Nature journals? 

No, only the author-submitted original version is made available as a preprint.

Authors retain full copyright for their work. Preprints posted on the Research Square platform via In Review receive a CC-BY 4.0 license which means that readers can reuse with appropriate attribution. More information about CC licenses can be found in these resource documents developed by an ASAPbio licensing taskforce .

Can I participate in In Review if I have already posted to a preprint server? 

Yes, you may participate if you have already posted to a preprint server. You should however be aware that having more than one version in different servers will fragment the usage counts and metrics provided on In Review and on other sites. It may also cause confusion for some readers about which version to use and cite.

How can I cite a preprint on the Research Square platform? 

You may cite your preprint (or another researchers’ preprint) in a Nature Portfolio journal using the citation format specified in the Nature Portfolio preprint policy . Once the preprint has been published in a journal, you may use the journal details in the citation.

For specific information about citing preprints posted on the Research Square platform, see Research Square policies here .

Per Nature Portfolio preprint policy , authors may provide clarification and context in response to inquiries from the media about their preprints, whether posted via In Review on the Research Square platform or on another platform. We advise authors to emphasize in these communications that the study has not been peer reviewed, and that the findings are provisional and could change. We also recommend that reporters indicate that the study is a preprint that has not been peer reviewed. 

While we encourage deposition of preprints, please note that it may not be possible for us to undertake media promotion of your work at publication as it may not be possible for us to apply a press embargo to your article. Further information on our pre-publicity policy is available here . This may also affect your institution’s press office. 

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

The future of scholarly publishing is happening now.

At Research Square Company, we're committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team of researchers and industry professionals works together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing.

Driven by a shared vision. United by one mission.

Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, Research Square Company consists of two divisions, AJE and Research Square. Across all sides of our business, our team of former researchers and publishing industry professionals truly understand the importance of sharing research results with the world. By helping researchers communicate their work more effectively, we accelerate the pace of global discovery and advancement.

We also provide innovative services, software, and solutions for publishers, societies, universities, and other research institutions. Learn how we partner with publishers and scientific societies, as well as universities and other research institutions to make research communication faster, fairer, and more useful for their customers, clients, faculty, and staff.

Responsibility

As a company that is constantly seeking to improve the world around us, we are relentless in our pursuit of societal advancement. Whether it is scholarly publishing on the global stage, in our local community, or in the lives of our individual customers and employees, we strive to make a difference every day.

Join our team

We're recognized as a "best place to work" for three key reasons: our people, our culture, and our work environment. Our people are passionate about our company's mission and dedicated to delivering the highest quality services and tools in the industry. Our culture is dynamic, while adhering to our core values. Our results-focused work environment is not only remote and flexible, but also family-friendly.

Company News

THE AJE DIGITAL EDITING TOOL IMPROVES PAPERS AND SAVES HOURS OF TIME

Just nine months after reaching its 100,000 preprint milestone, Research Square now hosts more than 150,000 preprints thanks to the expansion of its In Review journal integrations and a continual rise in preprinting.

Research Square Company and the Medical Agency for Research and Statistics (MARS) have signed a collaboration agreement to support clinical and regulatory scientists in the Middle East and North Africa. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a preprint? 

Preprints are defined as an author’s version of a research manuscript prior to formal peer review at a journal, which they deposit on a public server (as this article, “Preprints for the life sciences”,  Science  352, 899-901; 2016, describes). 

For more information about Springer Nature’s policies on preprint sharing please see  here . 

Many journals and publishers support sharing of preprints and do not consider preprints to be prior publication. You can find more information about journals’ policies  on this Wikipedia page.

What is  In Review ? 

In Review  is a free preprint service from Research Square (of which Springer Nature is an investor) developed in partnership with Springer Nature (since October 2018) providing journal-integrated preprint sharing (for direct submissions of primary research manuscripts)  and transparency into the peer review process for authors.  By depositing a citable preprint  on the Research Square platform,  In Review  allows authors to benefit from early sharing , including potential earlier citations, visibility and collaboration opportunities.  Authors can demonstrate research progress to funders and others, and engage the wider community for comment and collaboration all while their manuscript is being reviewed.  The wider research community will be able to discover new research with fully indexed search, comment on and help improve emerging science and gain insight into work currently under review at participating journals.

At BMC and Springer open access journals,  In Review  provides a public peer review timeline and supports public release of peer reviewed versions. For more information about what authors can expect if they opt-in at BMC and Springer open access journals, see   here .

In Review  at  Nature  journals provides journal-integrated preprint sharing on the Research Square preprint platform; for more information about  In Review  at Nature journals, see here ( https://www.nature.com/nature-research/for-authors/in-review .)

You can find the complete list of journals with  In Review  available here . We are constantly adding more journals so check back often.

What are the benefits of  In Review  to authors and the wider community?

Through  In Review  we aim to support early sharing of research through preprints for every Springer Nature author, to encourage community engagement and feedback and to give added visibility to potentially significant science that is being considered for publication.  The wider research community will be able to discover new research with fully indexed search, comment on and help improve emerging science and gain insight into work currently under review at participating journals.

Authors are also able to track peer review progress on their preprint under review through an author dashboard.

What do I need to know about opting in to  In Review ?

• You must ensure that your co-authors agree to post a preprint and participate in  In Review
• Whether you opt into  In Review  or not will have no effect on the editorial decisions and whether your manuscript is accepted.
• Your manuscript will also be posted after undergoing a set of quality control checks as a preprint to  In Review;  and will receive a DOI; it will now become a public and permanent part of the scholarly record. The community will be able to comment on, read, or cite your preprint.
• The peer review process including all editorial communications will continue through the peer review submission and manuscript tracking system.  
• All queries about your manuscript’s peer review process should be directed to the journal.You will receive real time updates on the progress of your manuscript through a private peer review timeline in the Author Dashboard feature of  In Review  (eg, number of reviewers invited, reviewers agreed, receipt of reports). 
• If your manuscript is published, the preprint will be updated with a link to the published version.
• If your manuscript is rejected, all information corresponding to journal and peer review status is removed from the preprint (see more information below).
• If your manuscript is rejected and transferred to another Springer Nature journal, opting into  In Review  is not currently available for transferred manuscripts.
• Springer Nature does not have a formal policy of incorporating comments received on preprints into a journal-mediated review process. Editors may, at their discretion, choose to take commenting through the Research Square platform into consideration. As with traditional peer review, they will rely on reviewers with field expertise in forming their decision.

How are preprints screened before being posted through the  In Review  service ?

All preprints that are posted through  In Review  undergo a set of quality control checks. These checks include affirming the presence of the following disclosures, where relevant. Authors should include the disclosures described below in their manuscript if they intend to opt-into In Review.

• Ethics approval for studies with human participants (consent to participate, and consent to publish)
• Ethics approval for animal studies
• Competing interest statements

In addition to these checks, our partner Research Square screens all preprints for pseudoscientific claims, biosecurity/dual use risk, unethical research practice, or other potential risks to human health, personal identifiers.

What will happen to my preprint on Research Square if my manuscript is rejected from the journal I submitted to?

If your article is rejected, all information corresponding to the journal and the peer review process (including journal name, public peer review timeline) will be removed from the preprint, leaving only the original preprint and if applicable, any peer reviewed versions that have been released during a journal peer review process. 

Many journal policies require declaration of posted preprints upon submission; you are free to send the link or share the DOI to the Research Square preprint of your manuscript to other journals as part of a future submission.

Is it possible to make peer reviewed versions of the article available through  In Review ? 

For open access journals, when authors have submitted a revision at the journal, they can ask Research Square to post this as the latest version of their preprint.

What license is applied to the preprint and who holds copyright?

Authors retain full copyright for their work. Preprints posted on the Research Square platform via  In Review  receive a CC-BY 4.0 license which means that readers can reuse with appropriate attribution. More information about CC licenses can be found in these resource documents developed by an  ASAPbio licensing taskforce .

Can I ask for my  In Review  preprint to be removed from the Research Square platform?

No, preprints cannot be removed.  By opting in to  In Review  an author agrees to their article being posted permanently and publicly as a preprint on the Research Square platform after submission.  Information about Research Square policies can be found  here .

Can I participate in  In Review  if I have already posted to a preprint server? 

Yes, you may participate if you have already posted to a preprint server. You should however be aware that having more than one version in different servers will fragment the usage counts and metrics provided on  In Review  and on other sites. It may also cause confusion for some readers about which version to use and cite.

How can I cite a preprint on the Research Square platform?

You may cite your preprint (or another researchers’ preprint), in a Springer Nature journal using the citation format specified in the Springer Nature’s preprint policy; see  here  for details. Once the preprint has been published in a journal, you may use the journal details in the citation.

For specific information about citing preprints posted on the Research Square platform, see Research Square policies  here .

Can I discuss an  In Review  preprint with the media?

Per Springer Nature’s preprint  policy , authors may provide clarification and context in response to inquiries from the media about their preprints, whether posted via  In Review  on the Research Square platform or on another platform.  We advise authors to emphasize in these communications that the study has not been peer reviewed, and that the findings are provisional and could change. We also recommend that reporters indicate that the study is a preprint that has not been peer reviewed. 

Are there any drawbacks to participating in  In Review ?

While we encourage deposition of preprints, please note that it may not be possible for us to undertake media promotion of your work at publication as it may not be possible for us to apply an embargo to your article. Further information on our pre-publicity policy is available  here . This may also affect your institution’s press office.  

For further information, please contact Research Square at [email protected] . 

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