Manuscript submission systems and metadata completeness in Crossref: Patterns and associations

Area of Science:

• Scholarly communication
• Bibliometrics
• Information science

Background:

• Open research information and publication metadata are crucial for discoverability and impact.
• Crossref is a key infrastructure for registering metadata associated with Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs).
• Incomplete metadata registration by publishers limits the openness of research information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between publishers' manuscript submission systems and the level of metadata they deposit with Crossref.
• To identify if specific submission systems are associated with more comprehensive metadata registration.
• To explore factors beyond technology influencing metadata completeness.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of metadata deposited with Crossref by the 153 publishers with the largest publication volumes.
• Focus on four major manuscript submission systems: Editorial Manager, ScholarOne, Open Journal Systems (OJS), and eJournalPress.
• Comparative analysis of metadata completeness across different submission systems.

Main Results:

• Certain manuscript submission systems demonstrate a greater capacity for capturing specific metadata elements.
• Significant variation exists in metadata registration levels among publishers using the same submission system.
• Technology (submission system) is not the sole determinant of metadata completeness.

Conclusions:

• Manuscript submission systems play a role in the extent of metadata made available through Crossref.
• Publisher workflows and internal policies are critical factors influencing metadata registration.
• A multifaceted approach considering both technology and publisher practices is needed to improve open research information.