Screenshot of a prototype for Elsevier's Article of the Future project.
What is Elsevier’s “Article of the Future”?
Elsevier’s “Article of the Future” project is part of an ongoing collaboration with the scientific community to redefine how a scientific article is presented online. In January 2010, Cell Press began publishing all online research articles in the new Article of the Future format, a linked navigation scheme allowing readers to create a personalized path through the article’s content, based on their needs and interests. The format is available exclusively on www.cell.com
After launching the prototypes, in July 2009, we sought user feedback and adapted and enhanced the prototypes based on the comments received. For example, supplementary information, including multimedia content, is now fully integrated into the article, facilitating more fluid navigation between the two.
Emilie Marcus, Editor-in-Chief of Cell Press, said: “The genesis of the ‘Article of the Future’ project came from a challenge to redesign from scratch how to most effectively structure and present the content of a traditional scientific article in an online environment. The rapid pace of technological advancements means this will undoubtedly be an evolving design, but we’re happy to be able to address some key reader and author pain points, such as the integration of supplemental data with these initial prototypes.”
Content Innovation
“Together with the Elsevier Grand Challenge, the ‘Article of the Future’ project forms part of Elsevier’s commitment to collaborating with our scientific community on content innovation. We’re confident these tools will enhance the presentation of scientific results and improve the interpretation and speed of results analysis,” said IJsbrand Jan Aalbersberg, VP of Content Innovation for S&T Journal Publishing.
“These initiatives are central to driving innovation in scientific publishing,” he added. “They represent our investment in the future of research, enabling scientists all over the world to access and interpret results more efficiently and create better science.”
What users think
In a reader response survey about the Article of the Future on cell.com, more than two-thirds of respondents reported that the project’s new presentation of a scientific article is “a significant improvement.”
A hierarchical presentation of text and figures so readers can elect to drill down through the layers based on their current task in the scientific workflow and their level of expertise and interest. This organizational structure is a significant departure from the linear-based organization of a traditional print-based article in incorporating the core text and supplemental material within a single unified structure.
Bulleted article highlights and a graphical abstract. This allows readers to quickly gain an understanding of the paper’s main “take away” message and serves as a navigation mechanism to directly access specific sub-sections of the results and figures. The graphical abstract is intended to encourage browsing, promote interdisciplinary scholarship and help readers identify more quickly which papers are most relevant to their research interests.
Adapted from Ylann Schemm, “Experience the ‘Article of the Future’”, Elsevier Editors’ Update 28, November 2009. (Reprinted with permission from Publishing Connect, Issue 658, 29 July 2009) for publication in Reviewers’ Update Issue 4
Ylann Schemm, Corporate Relations Manager develops Elsevier’s science communications partnerships with nonprofits such as Sense About Science, helping to raise the public, policymakers’, and journalists’ understanding of “sound science” through peer review discussions, panels, articles and science festivals. Ylann also manages Elsevier’s corporate responsibility programs including the Elsevier Foundation, Research4Life, BookAid International and Sabre
