What is a Collection?
Springer Nature Collections, also known as Article Collections, Special Issues, or Topical Collections, are curated groups of articles within a journal that explore specific themes or trending topics. Collections cover all disciplines and make it easier for readers to discover and access content. They aim to advance scientific discovery by increasing the visibility and impact of research.
You can explore our current Collections by searching for research articles and books | Springer Nature Link.
How do they work?
Collections’ content is curated by experts in the Collection topic, such as Guest Editors. Every Collection starts with a topic selection, supported by data analysis and expert’s suggestions. After this step, the most relevant researchers are identified from the research community and invited to be Guest Editors on the Collection, defining its scope, title and description. More diversified perspectives will generate a more comprehensive understanding of a certain topic, which will then be more likely to drive interdisciplinary research collaboration.
Before the Collection is ready to launch, Guest Editors are provided with training to ensure the highest standard of ethical and editorial practice. After its launch, Guest Editors of the Collection work with relevant researchers to answer their queries and publish their research.
A Collection can be launched quicker than a journal, making them an effective solution for researchers working in emerging or trending topics. For example, virtual reality in psychological research is a new field, with no journal out there to capture it, so launching a Scientific Reports Collection helped overcome this gap by providing researchers with a space to share their knowledge on this topic.
Why publish to a Collection?
Publishing in a journal Collection offers a unique opportunity to elevate your research within a focused scholarly field. Some of the key advantages include:
- Wider reach and bigger impact: Collections differ from journals because they are designed to bring together research around a specific trending topic. The specialised nature of a Collection attracts an invested, interested audience. This encourages a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues, driving the scientific community forward.
- Maximising collaboration: Collections are designed to facilitate collaboration among researchers, creating a space for authors investigating similar research questions to share and discuss their findings.
- Increasing visibility: research needs to be discoverable and built on a foundation of trust. Collections not only elevate individual contributions, but also ensure that all valid research is recognised, regardless of its popularity. When one paper gains traction, the spotlight expands to the entire collection, including all contributing authors.
Collections are more than a curated set of articles, they are catalysts for connection. By bringing together diverse perspectives on a shared research theme, they offer a panoramic view that no single paper can provide.
Emma Pettengale, Head of Collections Management and Acquisition, CMA
Publishing to a Collection: Early Career Researchers
How can publishing your work in a Springer Nature Collection enhance the visibility of your research and propel your career?
As we have mentioned, Collections allow you to make more connections with people in your field. They may also help you to explain your ideas and increase the visibility of your work.
If you are an Early Career Researcher, publishing in a Collection can help you achieve your career goals by displaying your leadership skills, or showing, for example, your capability of conducting a literature review. It can also help to increase the potential citations linked to your paper – and hence the likelihood of being contacted by other scientists or prospective researchers!
Tips and tricks
Publishing in a Collection is a great opportunity. Below are some points to consider when you first begin to help you get the most out of the experience:
- You will need to select a Collection where you think you might have the most visibility – this will likely be one that is specific to your scientific background.
- It’s important to involve your team, peers, colleagues and other people for their feedback, including those directly and indirectly involved in the research itself.
‘The Bigger Picture’: multidisciplinary research
Multidisciplinary research is powerful and fosters a collaborative mindset in the scientific community. In helping to connect researchers, encourage new partnerships, and contribute to fresh insights, Collections accelerate solutions that might not emerge from a single discipline alone.
Collections ultimately help to speed up the facilitation of ideas and the transfer of knowledge between academic communities by bringing new discoveries to the fore and delivering them to a wide audience. For example, combining experts from biology, biotechnology, engineering and computer science to revolutionise medical technologies.
In a Collection, every piece of research counts and contributes to scientific progress.
We’re excited to share more about Collections on the Research Communities in the coming months. In the meantime, please take a look at the following examples of fantastic Collections blog posts on the Communities!
- Collections Highlight: Pediatric Sexual Medicine and Child Genital Cutting & Surgery
- Collections Newsletter: Scientific Reports Open Collections supporting SDGs
- Call for papers: Photoswitchable materials
Find out more about Collections and how you can make the most of the opportunities they provide.
You can browse the current Springer Nature Collections here.