SPI-Hub TM TM Scholarly Publishing Information Hub Scholarly Publishing Information Hub

SPI-Hub™: Scholarly Publishing Information Hub
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

SPI-Hub™ Scholarly Publishing Information Hub
Thank you for using our scholarly publishing information hub. To help us provide you with quality information, please answer a few questions.
  • Overview
  • Search
  • Resources
  • Tutorials
  • Contact Us
  • Journal
  • Topic
  • Author
  • My Citations
  • Training Request
  • Recommend a Journal
  • Send Feedback
  • FAQ
SPI-Hub™ Disclaimer: SPI-Hub™ attempts to provide prospective authors with the available information on quality, rigor, and transparency of the journal publishing industry to aid with informed decision making for the purpose of identifying a publishing avenue. Although the Center for Knowledge Management (CKM) makes reasonable efforts to provide accurate information for each journal title, the information provided is not a substitute for a prospective author's best judgement and research, as SPI-Hub™ journal records may, in some instances, not identify information needed by the author.

Developed by the Center for Knowledge Management at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, SPI-Hub™ enables you to:

  1. Search journals by:
      I. "Journal title" -- retrieves an individual title and identifies 26 scholarly criteria for quality assessment
      II. "Topic" -- identifies journals in which to publish based on users' research topics; results are ranked based on an algorithm weighted by quality factors and the number of articles the journal has published on the research topic
      III. "Author" -- allows users to identify scholarly journals in which colleagues in their field of interest/research publish
      IV. "My Citations" -- retrieves journals from both a personal citation library and a curriculum vitae

      Options I., II., III., and IV. retain the capability of reviewing the 26 scholarly criteria described in Question 1 on the FAQ.

  2. Browse preprint servers by eligibility for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Preprint Pilot Program and subject content area; clicking on a preprint server name displays 38 criteria to inform decision-making on prepublication venues.

  3. Discover generalist and domain-specific data repositories and view 38 descriptive data fields for each repository. These descriptive metadata cover the NIH desirable characteristics for data repositories and other attributes to make it easier for researchers to select the data repository that best meets their needs as they comply with the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy.

  4. Explore other free "Resources" available to prospective authors

  5. View Tutorials
    • Systematic Reviews: A Comprehensive Overview
    • Scholarly Publishing Information Hub (SPI-Hub™) User Guide
    • Creating Your ORCID Profile
      • Starting Your ORCID Profile: Creating an ID, Entering Basic Profile Information, Adding Publications
      • Enhancing Your ORCID Profile and Establishing Delegate Access
    • Creating an NIH Biosketch using SciENcv

  6. "Contact Us" -- allows users to request training, recommend journals to add to our database, send us feedback, and view users' frequently asked questions

  7. View SPI-Hub™ news and new features on the "What's New" page

SPI-Hub™ provides indicators of journal scholarship expressed through metadata in 26 fields (e.g., indexing status in biomedical databases, stated adherence to publishing policies/best practices, reporting of open access policies such as fees and licensing options), which can be viewed and compared throughout SPI-Hub™ by simply selecting one or more journal title(s). Comprehensive information on the practices and policies of preprint servers and data repositories is also provided through SPI-Hub™ to aid researchers in deciding where to share their work throughout the research and publication lifecycle.

Note: Informational icons and hover over text are used throughout the SPI-Hub™ site to provide additional needed details.

A yellow Help button SPI-Hub™ feature allows prospective authors to identify journals that may require a more careful review of the information reported in either key SPI-Hub™ data fields or official journal publication site(s). The team's plan is to regularly review these journals for any change of status, as new journals may take years to fully implement all SPI-Hub™ data fields represented.

  • Koonce TY, Blasingame MN, Williams AM, Zhao J, Su J, Epelbaum MI, Clark JD, Naylor HN, Kusnoor SV, DesAutels SJ, Giuse NB. Using SPI-Hub™ to Promote the Key Role of Prepublishing in Healthcare. Medinfo '21 [virtual], October 2021. Presentation available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIDjU54FOPc
  • Blasingame MN (presenter), Giuse NB. The Scholarly Publishing Information Hub (SPI-Hub™): Offering Solutions to Researchers' Publishing Challenges. Special Library Association (SLA) 2020 Annual Conference Solutions Showcase [virtual]. October 2020.
  • Blasingame MN, Koonce TY, Su J, Williams AM, Zhao J, DesAutels SJ, Giuse DA, Clark JD, Giuse NB. Engaging Colleagues for Feedback on a Journal Identification Decision Support Tool. Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, August 2020. Based on information gleaned from CKM's attendance as exhibitors where team members provided promotional materials and information about and live demonstrations of SPI-Hub™.
  • Koonce TY, Blasingame MN, Zhao J, Williams AM, Su J, DesAutels SJ, Giuse DA, Clark JD, Fox ZE, Giuse NB. SPI-Hub™: A Gateway to Scholarly Publishing Information. J Med Libr Assoc. 2020 Apr;108(2):286-294. doi:dx.doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2020.815

Site Acknowledgements

The SPI-Hub: Scholarly Publishing Information Hub™ is authored and managed by the Center for Knowledge Management (CKM)
at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. © 2023 Vanderbilt University, All Rights Reserved