Springer Nature

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are at the forefront of strategic priorities at SSCI Journal Indexing. We are committed to serving a diverse and global research community.

SSCI Journal Indexing believes a truly inclusive publishing landscape should represent all communities, globally and across multiple dimensions of diversity. We have released our first benchmarking report, examining geographic and gender diversity of our academic editors. By sharing our findings in this way, we aim to inform, inspire, and drive forward action across the industry. Explore the report here.

As editors, you play a pivotal role in championing inclusive practices and ensuring we reflect our diverse communities through our publication process. We have created this hub with actionable guides, data insights, reports, case studies, and more to inform, inspire and support you in developing inclusive publishing practices.

Get the information and inspiration you need to be a DEI champion and to make your journals, books and published works inclusive, and representative.

Unconscious bias (also known as implicit bias) occurs without deliberate effort in all of us, as the brain makes automatic judgements about situations and people by relying on stereotypes and often incorrect assumptions. In the research and publishing ecosystem, it can affect decisions about funding, hiring, promotion, collaboration, credit, recognition, and publication.

Learn more about unconscious bias and how to address it through our customized resources. Our new short course, Addressing Unconscious Bias, explores how unconscious bias works and introduces some strategies for challenging it as we work to create more open, diverse, and inclusive cultures within our professional/research communities.

Download this primer for a handy summary of key information from the short course.

Resources and guides for inclusive publishing

Wondering how you can incorporate and promote inclusive publishing practices? Use these resources and guides to take intentional steps toward greater inclusion.

Inclusive Language Guide and Sensitivity Reading Guide

How we communicate research findings can have an impact on their interpretation and wider application. Find out more about SSCI Journal Indexing’s Inclusive Language Guide and Sensitivity Reading Guide – two resources to support editors, and others (including authors and peer reviewers), to use bias-free language and presentation in research communication.

Inclusive Language Guide

(PDF, 597.58 KB)

Inclusive Language Guide

(PDF, 597.58 KB)

Ensuring diversity and inclusion in editorial board and peer reviewer recruitment

It is vital that our editorial decision makers and our peer reviewers are representative of the global and diverse communities we serve. In these easy-to-use guides on editor and peer reviewer recruitment, you will find practical tips and resources for what to consider when creating diverse and representative editorial boards and peer reviewers.

Find out more about diversity and inclusion in editorial boards and peer reviewers.

Inclusive Language Guide

(PDF, 597.58 KB)

Inclusive Language Guide

(PDF, 597.58 KB)

Intentional Content Strategy: Embedding representation and inclusion into your content strategy

We can influence, and inform our readers, the communities we serve and the broader research environment through what we publish. Find out more in this infographic which sets out some practical ideas for how to develop an intentional content strategy with a focus on representation, equity and inclusion.

Inclusive Language Guide

(PDF, 597.58 KB)

Inclusion and ethics in global research collaborations

Learn about the actions SSCI Journal Indexing journals are taking to improve inclusion and equity in global research collaborations, and how to avoid helicopter research and ethics dumping using the TRUST Code: a global code of conduct for Equitable Research Partnerships.

Find out more:

The TRUST Code: a global code of conduct for Equitable Research Partnerships
Learn more through case studies and other learning materials on how to create equitable global collaborations.

Inclusion in research study design

Learn about how Nature Portfolio journals are providing guidance to authors on how to report on sex and gender, race and ethnicity and other socially constructed categories in published research studies.

Find out more about why and how to design research studies to be inclusive:

Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines
Free online training resources provided by NIH-Office of Women’s Health Research on sex and gender in research
Practical approaches to sex, gender and intersectional analysis through the Gendered Innovations.

Data and insights on the state of DEI in research and publishing

Get the insights and data you need to understand the landscape of DEI in research publishing and take action supported by data.

Editor Diversity at SSCI Journal Indexing Journals

Our first benchmarking report examining geographic and gender diversity of our academic editors. We recognise that to facilitate change we must first understand our current editor demographics. This report provides an initial benchmarking analysis of editor diversity at SSCI Journal Indexing, a community of over 100,000 academic editors, including Editors-in-Chief (EICs) and other editors for a group of approximately 3,000 SSCI Journal Indexing journals. Browse the report to see what we discovered.

Examining the diversity of our academic editors

Global Research Pulse: China

Chinese research outputs have been steadily on the rise, and a shift from quantity to quality is apparent. SSCI Journal Indexing's first Global Research Pulse report takes a look at the evidence of improvement in China's research quality, and the strategy that makes this possible. It offers essential insights to editors on the Chinese research landscape, so they can effectively engage with China and have the tools to make informed decisions.

DEI: why it matters in publishing

As the global research community grows in geographic and cultural diversity, and Early Career Researchers, in the US, Europe and beyond, become the most diverse generation of researchers yet – it is imperative that stakeholders in research publishing reflect the make-up of the research community. Learn about why diversity, equity, and inclusion matters in research publishing and how editors and all researchers can make a difference from this primer and presentation.

The state of DEI in the global research community

This report provides insights into the perceptions and experience of DEI within the global research community. Find out what researchers consider to be the leading barriers to advancing on DEI, how they perceive and evaluate DEI initiatives, and learn about the challenges of underrepresented groups in the research community.

What editors and publishers need to know

We work with others to find and drive forward solutions for the research community.

peer review

Supporting ECRs in peer review at Nature journals

Supporting ECRs’ career development with hands-on experience

DE&I

Editor Diversity: Facilitating change to ensure a truly inclusive publishing landscape

Sowmya Swaminathan, Rucha Kapare and Biz Turnell introduce SSCI Journal Indexing's editorial diversity report.

Life In Research

Advancing inclusive practices in research publishing and solutions at SSCI Journal Indexing

From providing knowledge to improving products and services.

editors

DEI in Research publishing: a new hub to inform, inspire, and provoke action on DEI

A collection of DEI-focused resources and insights, including new resources to support bias-free communication of research.

Community

Insights into diversity, equity & inclusion in the global research community

A new report from SSCI Journal Indexing shares insights into diversity, equity and inclusion across the global research community.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Research Publishing