TDR

The TDR strategy focuses on research to address infectious diseases of poverty, and building the capacity of institutions, individuals and communities in disease-affected countries to generate the evidence and put in place the innovations needed to improve health. The TDR Gateway supports this focus and offers our researchers an additional option for publishing their work in a transparent and open access manner. The independent editorial services provided by F1000Research ensure that articles are of high scientific quality, peer reviewed and indexed in PubMed to maximize the impact of TDR-funded research. This is done without restrictions on word limits or the content bias that can be found when publishing in a journal that has specific focus. This ensures that it is the scientific integrity of the work that is the main criteria for publication. Independent oversight of the TDR Gateway is provided by the TDR Scientific Working Groups.

The TDR Gateway enables innovation in scientific publishing through the use of an open peer review system post-publication. This ensures greater transparency in the review process and speeds up research dissemination with articles and data shared publically within days of submission. This is extremely beneficial for research and data generated under public health emergencies as the information is available for use much quicker than traditional publishing models.

The TDR Gateway provides our researchers from low- and middle-income countries with greater choice when publishing their articles, data and other outputs. This supports the development of their careers and increases the capacity to undertake research at different levels and in different systems in disease-affected countries.

There are many benefits to publishing on the TDR Gateway:

• Fast: Immediate publication means new findings can be shared without delay. This is particularly relevant in public health emergencies.
• Transparent: Peer reviewer reports are published alongside the research, supporting recognition of reviewers as well as improving transparency.
• Open access: The TDR Gateway allows for the publication of peer-reviewed articles, indexed by PubMed that are fully compliant with the WHO open access policy.
• ORCID compliant – the platform is linked with ORCID registration to support information exchange, simplifying reporting and compliant with TDR grant conditions.
• Flexible: TDR Gateway will accept for publication the full range of article types as well as allowing for the publications of short papers describing a data set.
• No journal bias: The decision to publish is done without restrictions on word limits or the content bias found when publishing in journals that have a specific focus. This ensures that it is the scientific integrity of the work that is the main criteria for publication.
• Reproducible findings: The inclusion of supporting data facilitates reanalysis, replication and reuse of the research.
• Impact-focused: The use of research indicators that allow authors and users to gauge the interest, reach, access and use of their research outputs.
• Efficient: TDR researchers will be able to easily combine their work with others to create supplements and special editions.

The costs of publishing on the TDR Gateway are covered by TDR through its grants and awards.

1. Article processing charges (APCs) are included in the award made to a TDR researcher. TDR researchers should use these funds to cover their APCs, if possible. Payment is made directly to F1000Research by the TDR researcher.
2. If TDR researchers do not have sufficient funds to cover the APCs they should contact TDR and receive explicit permission in writing before publishing on the TDR Gateway.
3. For all approved APCs and charges covering non-peer reviewed documents F1000Research will invoice TDR directly, as set out in the TDR-F1000Research agreement.

The costs of publishing an article can found here.

The TDR Gateway publishes articles, posters, slides and documents from authors in our global programme of scientific collaboration to facilitate, support and influence efforts to combat diseases of poverty. The TDR Gateway allows for the publication of peer-reviewed articles, indexed by PubMed and that are fully compliant with the WHO open access policy. The use of the TDR Gateway to publish is entirely voluntary. We have created the resource to offer greater choice to our researchers.

The TDR gateway operates in the same way as other academic publishing resources. Submission is made online and all editorial processes and decisions are handled by F1000Research and the peer reviewers who are entirely independent of TDR. The TDR Gateway will accept the following article types in line with the F1000Research Article Guidelines:

• Research Articles
• Method Articles
• Study Protocols
• Reviews
• Systematic Reviews
• Software Tool Articles
• Clinical Practice Articles
• Opinion Articles
• Research Notes
• Case Reports
• Correspondence
• Editorials

Please note that the TDR Gateway also accepts Data Notes. Data Notes are brief descriptions of scientific datasets that include details of why and how the data were created; they do not include any analyses or conclusions. They are an efficient mechanism for sharing a data set that can be reviewed and cited alongside other peer reviewed articles. F1000Research assists researchers deposit their data in the most appropriate data repository and facilitates rigorous peer review.

All articles should include links to the underlying raw data. F1000Research-approved repositories support an extensive range of data types such as spreadsheet, images, software source code, imaging and sequence and omics data (see the data guidelines).

Videos cannot be uploaded to the TDR Gateway but F1000Research will help to identify the most appropriate data repository in which to deposit the video.

The ORCID iD provides a persistent digital identifier (an ORCID iD) that distinguishes researchers from each other. It is a record that supports automatic links among all professional activities for each researcher. The ORCID iD and connections are stored in the ORCID Registry, in an account that each researcher owns and manages.

TDR requires all its research partners to obtain their free unique ORCID ID for use in all grant and publication activities. This will enable the researcher and their funders, including TDR, to link all the grants, posters and publications produced over a career to the right person. It is an excellent way to record all your academic outputs.

A variety of qualitative and quantitative metrics are available for all articles. Outputs published on the gateway allow a view of interest, access, use and re-use of the research (including Altmetrics Attention Score and the citation record measured Scopus and Web of Science).

Transparent refereeing of all articles will provide an important additional assessment at the article level, as well as the more traditional measures such as views, downloads and citations.

No, as part of F1000Research the TDR Gateway does have an Impact Factor. An increasing number of funders and institutions strongly support a move away from a focus on journal-based metrics. TDR believes in the intrinsic value of important research and not in the venue of publication. However, once articles have passed peer review, all articles are indexed by PubMed and are entered into academic records for use by the researcher to build their portfolio.

The use of the TDR Gateway to publish is voluntary. We have created the resource to offer greater choice to our researchers. However, we believe TDR Gateway supports early-career researchers as it provides an outlet for researchers to publish all types of findings (even if small) quickly and without significant barriers. This would be especially beneficial in for early-career researchers as they try to build a portfolio of peer reviewed, citeable work. In addition, the open and constructive peer review approach, which is integral to the gateway, can be especially helpful to early-career researchers.

The TDR Gateway operates a formal invited post-publication peer review model, which is fully transparent and open, and is led by the article authors. Referees, following certain referee criteria, are usually suggested by the authors.

Peer review reports are published alongside the referees’ full names and affiliations as soon as they are submitted, and they remain attached to the article if it is indexed with sites such as PubMed and Scopus. Peer review directly determines whether an article will be indexed, via the referee approval status that referees select when reviewing the article.

For more information on the model or how to review an article, please visit the How it Works page.

There are many good reasons for being open about referee identities and comments.

First: We believe that secret refereeing, when authors do not know who has reviewed their work and referees do not have to publicly stand by their comments, opens up the possibility of bias. Referees who review work that competes with their own may be tempted to unfairly criticize or delay its publication.

Second: Referee reports can be interesting and informative, and we believe that everyone should have a chance to see them. They can offer an objective critique that adds real value to the article for authors and readers alike. It is also interesting to see the range of positive, negative and neutral reviews some papers receive, which often reflects the breadth of expert opinion in controversial and cutting-edge areas of science.

Third: If referee reports are kept secret, referees get no credit for their contributions. They devote an immense amount of time and effort to reviewing other scientists' work and advising them on how to improve it. It is fair that this should be recognized and acknowledged.

Finally: Publicly accessible, signed reports tend to be better written and more constructive than anonymous, behind-the-scenes reviews. This has been shown in randomised controlled trials. The act of publishing the reports actually improves the quality of advice the authors receive.

Constructive criticism is a core part of a referee's job, so referee reports often contain suggestions for improvements or insights into a paper's weaknesses. Our referees' reports are no different in this regard. What makes the TDR Gateway different is that researchers can respond to referees, to clarify and explain. And if a referee points out errors or omissions in a paper, or suggests ways to improve it, the author can publish a revised version that addresses these issues. One of the benefits of the TDR Gateway is that the researcher can see other people's reviews, and that constructive criticism is common in many peer review reports.

Unsolicited, open scientific discussion on all articles is encouraged. Such contributions are published through the Comment system. According to F1000Research policies anyone who wishes to comment on an article will be asked to declare any competing interests, along with their full name and affiliation.

While open scientific debate and discussion is welcomed, abusive behaviour towards authors and reviewers via the Comment system or via social media will not be tolerated. In extreme cases, contacting the affiliated institution to report the abusive behaviour of individuals will be considered.

All the editorial processes are managed by F1000Research. The peer-review is undertaken by other researchers without a conflict of interest connection to the authors. The TDR Gateway is advised by the TDR Scientific Working Groups as part of the overall TDR system of consultations and horizon scanning to assess needs and bring in the highest level of scientific oversight and input. The members of the Scientific Working Groups are prominent researchers that represent the disease and geographic areas where TDR researchers work. The Scientific Working Groups are managed to ensure we maintain a gender balance.

Yes – there are a number of other Gateways supported by F1000Research created by a wide range of bio-medical and life science research groups. Wellcome and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation both offer this type of publishing opportunity to their researchers.