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What is PLoS?

• PLoS stands for Public Library of Science, http://www.plos.org

• An online publisher of peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals

• A mission-driven non-profit who want to make the world’s scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource

What is PLoS ONE?

• Peer-reviewed, online journal for all of science and medicine

• Open Access—everything is freely available online for everyone everywhere

• Interactive—encourages community participation• Features Web 2.0 tools such as rating, commenting and

discussion

Basic Facts About PLoS ONE• Launched in December 2006• Published over 14,000 articles (as of Jan ‘10)• Daily coverage in the international media• Articles are published as soon as they are ready—we

publish articles every working day• 1.1 million page views/month

Examples of Highly Downloaded Papers

• Mystery Solved: The Identification of the Two Missing Romanov Children Using DNA Analysis. Coble MD et al.

• First Direct Evidence of Chalcolithic Footwear from the Near Eastern Highlands. Pinhasi R et al.

• Metabolic Fingerprints of Altered Brain Growth, Osmoregulation and Neurotransmission in a Rett Syndrome Model. Viola A et al.

• The Alzheimer’s Disease-Associated Amyloid β-Protein Is an Antimicrobial Peptide. Soscia SJ et al.

• Homocysteine-Lowering by B Vitamins Slows the Rate of Accelerated Brain Atrophy in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Smith AD et al. (Featured in PLoS Hub for Clinical Trials)

Top 3 reasons why authors publish in PLoS ONE

• Open Access—freely available online for everyone• Peer Reviewed—to ensure technical soundness

and scientific merit• Fast—papers are published online quickly

The peer-review process

• Papers are accepted based on technical merit rather than perceived impact or importance

“In many respects PLoS ONE is the most interesting of the PLoS journals in that the role of the peer-reviewer has been focused on assessing the rigor and quality of the science being presented, thereby opening up the discussion of the author's interpretation of their data and their assessment of its significance in the field to the whole scientific community”.

Nigel Raine of Queen Mary School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of London and PLoS ONE author (The Adaptive Significance of Sensory Bias in a Foraging Context: Floral Colour Preferences in the Bumblebee Bombus terrestris)

How does it work?

• Extensive editorial board (over 1,500 experts) who handle the peer review and acceptance process for all submissions

• On average, all submissions are peer reviewed by 2.6 experts

• The community is encouraged to comment on and to rate papers on ‘insight’, ‘style’, and ‘reliability’ after publication

Author experience

Recent survey respondents (2000+authors) rated their experience as:

• Quick (90%)• Hassle-free (90%)• Rigorous (91%)• Professional (95%)• Friendly & Transparent (95%)

Author experience

• 97.2% would publish with PLoS ONE again

“In more than two decades of publishing in peer-reviewed journals, this has been the stand-out experience for editorial communication, clarity and sensitivity. The experience was particularly welcome after the vicissitudes of this manuscript at the prior ‘top tier’ journal. I feel I have now had a genuine ‘top tier’ experience, in any meaningful sense of that phrase”.

Anna Rose Childress, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and PLoS ONE author (Prelude to Passion: Limbic Activation by "Unseen" Drug and Sexual Cues).

How can you get involved?

• Submit your work to PLoS ONE• Register so that you can participate and

receive content alerts via email• Subscribe to RSS feeds in your field• Follow the PLoS ONE Blog (

everyone.plos.org); the PLoS ONE Twitter Feed (twitter.com/plosone ) and the plos.org Facebook page (facebook.com/PLoS.org)

• Tell your colleagues to publish in PLoS ONE