FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2023 — Medwave, a bilingual, open-access, MEDLINE-included medical journal, and Kriyadocs, an ecosystem for scholarly publishers, are proud to announce that their collaborative project has been honored with the prestigious ALPSP Award for Innovation in Publishing 2023. This recognition highlights their work in establishing a fully bilingual peer review and production platform capable of handling submissions in both Spanish and English.
This collaboration has yielded an innovative, technology-led solution that enhances scholarly workflows and promotes cross-cultural exchange and understanding within the scientific community.
Project Highlights and Key Features
The fully bilingual journal workflow is seamless and efficient, featuring an online submission system for peer review in the source language. This transitions smoothly into production with a focus on XML, utilizing AI tools like DeepL and Grammarly for cost-effective, error-free translations. Automation extends to PDF and JATS XML file generation and deposits in preservation platforms. Recycled non-translatable sections minimize discrepancies. The result is simultaneous publication of Spanish and English versions, epitomizing our commitment to accessibility and global dissemination.
This solution effectively reduces inconsistencies between original and translated versions of articles and has streamlined the publication process, leading to shorter review rounds, fewer errors, and the elimination of any time gap between the publication of original and translated articles.
Innovation at its Core
A bilingual journal enables the dissemination of research to a larger audience while preserving the local language and locally-generated knowledge, as Dr. Vivienne C. Bachelet, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Medwave, presented at the Ninth International Congress on Peer Review and Scientific Publication. However, this can be a cost- and resource-intensive endeavor.
This collaboration is significant and innovative because it has established a fully bilingual peer review and production platform capable of handling submissions in both Spanish and English. This solution not only empowers authors to submit their articles in their native language but also broadens the pool of potential reviewers by enabling peer review to be conducted in the same language.
This solution offers numerous advantages to enhance Medwave’s publication process:
- Automated recycling reduces inconsistencies between original and translated articles, easing the burden on translators.
- Increased publication efficiencies mean shorter review rounds, fewer errors, and full automation of PDF typesetting and XML JATS files.
- A 31-day gap between Spanish and translated articles was eliminated with the bilingual workflow, enabling the simultaneous publication of both versions of the article.
- As a result of the streamlined journal publication setup, Medwave has been able to remain financially sustainable.
“The success of this bilingual model, exemplified by the ALPSP Award for Innovation in Publishing 2023, underscores our commitment to operational autonomy, self-sufficiency, and a reliance on Global South expertise.” remarked Dr. Vivienne C. Bachelet, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Medwave. “We believe true 'glocalism' is about bridging linguistic gaps to connect with a broader, more inclusive readership, and we hope that our success serves as a beacon, encouraging other journals to embrace bilingualism.”
"We are thrilled that Medwave and Kriyadocs have received the ALPSP Award for Innovation in Publishing 2023,” said Ravi Venkataramani, CEO of Kriyadocs. “Our collaboration with Medwave represents a significant step forward in advancing scholarly publishing. This innovative approach not only streamlines the publication process but also ensures that research is accessible to a wider, more diverse audience, which is pivotal in today's interconnected world."
The Future of Multilingual Journal Workflows
The success of this collaboration has opened the door to future possibilities. With the world becoming increasingly interconnected, there is a growing demand for research to be accessible in multiple languages. The vision for the future includes expanding this bilingual journal workflow to include more languages, such as Chinese, Arabic, and French.
Medwave and Kriyadocs are dedicated to furthering the cause of promoting diversity, inclusivity, and innovation in the realm of scholarly publishing and academic research dissemination.
About Medwave
Medwave is a bilingual, open access biomedical and public health journal established by Dr. Vivienne C. Bachelet in 2001 to close the gap in medical education for Spanish-speaking clinicians, researchers, and academics in Chile. The journal adheres to a rigorous evidence-based approach and methodological soundness while actively encouraging contributions that cover a wide array of critical healthcare topics, including ethics, public health, and health policy; clinical, social, and economic health determinants; as well as clinical and health research findings from diverse medical and public health disciplines.
Contact Dr. Vivienne C. Bachelet, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Medwave | vbachelet@medwave.cl
About Kriyadocs
Kriyadocs was created by Exeter Premedia Services to realize its mission of providing a fantastic experience for authors and content publishers. It is an ecosystem for scholarly publishers that streamlines publishing workflows from submission to review to distribution. With an ethos of bringing agility into publishing, the Kriyadocs ecosystem provides an array of technology solutions and services to a global clientele of leading academic, professional, and scholarly publishers.
Contact Ravi Venkataramani, CEO, Kriyadocs | ravi@kriyadocs.com
References
Bachelet, V., & Rousseau-Portalis, M. (2023). A technology-based, financially sustainable, quality improvement intervention in a medical journal for bilingualism from submission to publication. Learned Publishing, 36(1), 73-80. 10.1002/leap.1533
ALPSP (2023). Winners announced for the ALPSP Awards 2023. https://alpsp.org/News/winners-announced-for-the-alpsp-awards-2023
Medwave and Kriyadocs (2023). Bilingualism from submission to publication from Medwave and Kriyadocs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy9QFDQ7XRY&list=PLYB4k71cVIeUTwWWyV5RXyl3sPdWub4S6