Steve McConnell’s white paper summarises “Technical Debt” as the delayed technical work that is incurred when shortcuts are taken in software development, often to meet delivery deadlines. McConnell recognises that debt can result from both intentional and unintentional actions. In today’s fast-moving world, where every organisation is a technology organisation, the debt parallels can now […]
Book strategy in 2025: What gets discovered gets read
In 2025, academic books are experiencing a shift that mirrors, and in some ways exceeds, the transformation journals went through in the last decade. While the shift away from perpetual purchasing is not entirely unexpected, the scale and strategic alignment of this new model signal a redefinition of how book performance is assessed and how […]
From CNCI to Collab-CNCI: A smarter way to assess research impact
Measuring the true impact of academic research has always been a challenge. While citations are the most commonly used metric, do they really tell us which research is the most valuable? That’s where bibliometric analysis comes in, evolving over time to give us more precise insights. A recent advancement is changing the way we assess […]
Highlights from R2R 2025
Jayne Marks, Maverick’s Head of EMEA Business Development and a member of R2R’s 2025 advisory board, provides her thoughts on the recently completed R2R conference. The 2025 Researcher to Reader Conference was a lively event as usual offering an opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers across the scholarly publishing community. The event kicked […]
New survey assesses the technology needs of small and medium-sized publishers
Maverick and Scholastica have partnered on a global survey, Technology Needs of Small and Medium Journal Publishers. The survey runs through June 5th and can be completed at the link below. The survey takes only a few minutes to complete, and the results will be compiled into an openly available report (no download form required). Its […]
Licensing content to generative AI platforms: a publisher’s perspective
As AI-driven applications continue to grow, publishers have a unique opportunity to license their valuable content to large language model (LLM) platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and others. This partnership not only fuels technological innovation but also contributes to research, expands global reach, and creates new revenue streams. This article explores the benefits, procedures, […]
Journal Performance Analysis – Redefining journal success in a competitive era
The academic publishing landscape is experiencing rapid and significant changes, driven by shifting global trends and evolving challenges. While the pandemic temporarily inflated Journal Impact Factors (JIF) due to a surge in COVID-related research, the 2024 Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation Report reveals a stark reversal, with an average 14% decline in JIFs across publishers. The […]
Beyond the horizon: Challenges and opportunities of tomorrow
In Maverick’s 2024 trends report, we identified several factors shaping the industry’s evolution. These included the continued growth of OA adoption, the lack of resilience in the financial framework, and emerging challenges to the credibility and integrity of the scholarly record. These foundational dynamics remain influential and continue to underpin many of the key trends […]
Peer review success through editor training and workshops
Engaging with editorial board members is a key element to running a successful journal. Providing initial onboarding training to new members supports their understanding of how the journal operates, provides guidance on what constitutes a productive review, and highlights the journal’s aims for future publications. Alongside this, editors may also receive technical support around operating […]
Is your magazine working hard enough for you?
Society magazines—print and digital—can be an effective tool for reaching out to members, for recruitment, showcasing meeting highlights, and driving traffic to content. They can be a source of revenue, both directly through advertising, and indirectly, through building a member base and promoting usage of content in other publications. However, many societies are not taking […]