Welcome to our newsletter, bringing you the latest findings from the community of researchers who publish in Findings. Findings is an interdisciplinary, independent, community-led, peer-reviewed, open access journal focused on short, clear, and pointed research results.
In this issue:
Social Media
Call for Papers: Energy Findings
Frequently Asked Questions
Recently Published
Social Media
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Call for Papers: Energy Findings
Energy Findings is a new section of the Findings Press journal family, filling an important niche in energy research:
Short articles of no more than 1,000 words, 3 figures, and 3 tables.
Peer review focusing on transparency, replicability, validity, and timeliness.
Open access at a fair, cost-recovery price: $50 USD upon submission, and $100 USD upon publication. (Fees are waived entirely for a limited time at launch.)
With an unprecedented level of public and private investment in energy systems and the urgency of decarbonization, researchers and policymakers need a venue for rapidly sharing research results in an accessible format, with the knowledge that they have been fully vetted through peer review. Energy Findings meets this need following the model successfully pioneered by Transport Findings, Urban Findings, and Resilience Findings.
Energy Findings welcome submissions of articles for its launch. The journal’s scope includes research findings on the production, consumption, conversion, distribution, and associated impacts of energy. Appropriate questions and methods include those from the natural sciences, engineering, and social sciences.
Many empirical papers are a good fit for Energy Findings, as are simulation studies using established tools, and extensions, variations, or updates on prior work. Energy Findings will also publish short reviews, replications, null results, and data set papers, as long as they include a new question, method, data set, and/or result. The key is that articles should address the criteria of transparency, replicability, and validity within the 1,000 word limit.
Submissions
Submissions are open now. Submission deadline for consideration for the launch (and waiver of submission fees) is February 28, 2023. Please email Energy Findings editor Don MacKenzie for details about submission and fee waiver prior to submission. Authors must adhere to the article structure and are strongly encouraged to follow the style guidelines provided in theInformation for Authors page.
Submit your paper
(Fees waived for launch)
Important Dates
Submission Deadline: February 28, 2023 (no submission or publication fees on this date)
Initial Decisions: March 31, 2023
Revisions Due: April 30, 2023
Final Decisions: May 31, 2023
Questions
Questions about this call can be directed to Energy Findings editor Don MacKenzie.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Findings fit into the broader set of journals?
Findings provides full peer review and affordable open access for short research articles related to transport, urban environments, resilience, and energy.
Who exactly is the audience for Findings? Is it aimed at researchers or policymakers?
Findings publishes research papers, some of which may be of interest to policymakers. Each Findings article must meet the bar of scientific validity, replicability, and novelty. The short format, rigorous and efficient peer review, and rapid publishing cycle make Findings a great venue for timely, policy-relevant work. Policymakers can be confident that Findings contains only peer reviewed, scientifically valid work.
How does Findings make publication decisions?
Findings reviewers focus on the following criteria:
Transparency & replicability: Can a reasonably knowledgeable reader understand what you did, and repeat it, and get the same answer?
Validity: Is the paper scientifically sound?
Novelty: Does the paper report a new question, a new method, a new data set, and/or a new result?
Our reviewers do not rewrite your paper, or reject it because they wish you had submitted a different paper or asked a different question.
How can I get my paper down to 1,000 words?
Cutting 90% of the words from an 8,000 word paper leads to a confusing, disjointed mess. Rather than asking what to take out, ask what you really must put in. Build up anew from there. You are also permitted to provide supplemental information (SI) to the paper (as discussed below), which is not counted against the 1000 words. This is not part of the main body, and may include technical details on methods and data. The SI should not be used to skirt the 1000 word limit, and the paper should be fully readable and understandable without the SI.
Is my paper suitable for publication in Findings?
Submissions must include enough detail to enable replication and an assessment of validity. If 1000 words is insufficient to establish replicability and validity, you should consider publishing elsewhere. For example, the details of a new, complex, simulation tool may simply require more than 1000 words. A new module added to an existing, well-documented tool could be a great fit for Findings however.
Does Findings allow online supplemental materials?
The value of Findings is in articles that are quick to review and quick to read. Online supplements are permitted, as long as they
(1) are not necessary to understand the paper,
(2) are not used to circumvent the word limit, and
(3) do not impose substantial additional burdens on reviewers.
Good uses of online supplements include presenting alternative model specifications after presenting the preferred specification in the main paper, or providing a full copy of a survey protocol. Using an online supplement to present a derivation or proof would not be suitable, as this substantive content would entail substantial additional reviewer effort.
Does Findings publish replications?
Yes. Replication is an essential part of the scientific process. The publishing industry’s bias against replications impedes self-correction and slows scientific progress. Findings is happy to publish replications that involve new data or a new analysis of existing data.
Does Findings publish null results?
Yes. Knowing what doesn’t work is as important as knowing what does. The publishing bias against null results discourages risk taking and slows the creation of knowledge. It also slows the spread of knowledge and contributes to duplicative work.
Does Findings publish data set papers?
Yes, as long as the data set has not been reported previously.
Does Findings publish review articles?
Yes. A review can be understood as a finding about what the literature says on a topic. Reviews must fit within the Findingsword limit.
Does Findings publish policy briefs?
Yes, as long as it is structured around a question, method, data set, and/or result that has not been previously published. Like a review article this may include an evenhanded synthesis of results in the scientific literature.
Does Findings publish OpEd, opinion, or perspective pieces?
In general, no. Published articles must answer a scientific question, and must be replicable. Articles that objectively report the totality of what the research literature says on a topic are a good fit. Those that rely on the opinions or subjective judgments of the authors are not.
Does Findings publish short summaries of longer papers published elsewhere?
No. Each Findings paper must report a new question, method, data, and/or result. We do not republish other papers in a shorter format. We are happy to publish extensions or tangents (new analysis) or updates (new data) on prior papers.
Recently Published
Resilience Findings
David Milesi-Gaches
The Covid-19 pandemic brought with it the essential question of the future of transportation: are pre-pandemic transport scenarios and guidance documents still relevant?
Urban Findings
An Online Interactive Dashboard to Explore Personal Exposure to Air Pollution
Won Do Lee, Kayla Schulte, Tim Schwanen
Individual-level exposure profiles can be shared ethically through different combinations of visualisation method, spatial and temporal resolution of data representation and Geomasking techniques for different dashboard user groups.
Transport Findings
Validity, Reliability, and Usability of a Smartphone App to Measure Bicycling Location
Anna Porter, Kelly Evenson, Greg Griffin
This field test with volunteer bicyclists shows that a popular smartphone fitness app is a reliable and valid tool for measuring bicyclist location, as compared with a standard GPS.
Analysis of Modality and Trip Chaining Patterns in Dhaka
Hossain Mohiuddin, Md. Hamidur Rahman, Fajle Rabbi Ashik, Md. Musfiqur Rahman Bhuiya
Personal vehicle modes such as cars, cycles, and motorcycles are present at a higher proportion in the super complex trip chain than other types of chains.
Jean Ryan, Magnus Zingmark
People 65-69, with higher self-rated health, and cohabiting were less likely to use Special Transport Services. Those using STS stay home more.
Computational Desire Line Analysis of Cyclists on the Dybbølsbro Intersection in Copenhagen
Simon Martin Breum, Bojan Kostic, Michael Szell
Computational analysis of video footage of cyclists compares actual human behavior to designed paths, revealing design flaws in a busy intersection in Copenhagen.
Oded Cats, Baiba Pudāne, Johanan van der Poel, Maarten Kroesen
Respondents are willing to buy a € 5 more expensive ticket or extend their travel by train by 30 seconds to reduce 1 kg of CO2.
Effect of Social Vulnerability on Taxi Trip Times during Hurricane Sandy
Avipsa Roy, Bandana Kar
We explore the variation in trip times in New York City (NYC) during Hurricane Sandy (2012) to determine the change in mobility patterns before and after the hurricane.
Exploring Key Correlates of Trail Satisfaction and their Nonlinear Relationships in Suburban Areas
Jasmine Cao, Chun Yin
Scenery, personal safety, and connection are the most important contributors to overall satisfaction with trails.
Electric On Demand Transit Expands Network Coverage in Auckland
Benjamin Kaufman, Ainsley Hughes, Elena Pihera, Srishti Lal
AT Local is an electric On Demand transit service operating in South Auckland, New Zealand that enable new trip patterns in areas not previously served by public transport.
Wenbo Guo, Tim Schwanen, Christian Brand, Yanwei Chai
Normative rules outperform the heuristic rules and are best used to create day-level indicators of satisfaction with activities and trips.
Erik Vargas, Okan Gurbuz, Ipek N. Sener, Rafael M. Aldrete
Crowdsourced data showed that although some patterns remained similar, overall mobility across the second-busiest border region between the United States and Mexico decreased significantly due to COVID-19.
Mickey Edwards
The race/ethnicity and gender of motor vehicle crash victims during the 2020 Illinois stay at home order are compared to previous years.
Tara Goddard, Anthony McDonald, Ran Wei, Divij Batra
Driver assistance technologies are not uniformly available and safety features are less likely to occur on less-expensive trim packages, particularly for larger vehicles and among US versus automakers.