Working Toward Standards for Plain Language Summaries

Adeline Rosenberg

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Academic Publishing and Open Access Publishing and Scholarly Communication Academic Writing and Publishing

Abstract

Scientific publishing is evolving, and if the spike in interest about plain language summaries over the past several years is any sign of the appetite for adding open science principles to our publishing practices, then the future of accessible research is looking bright. What Are Plain Language Summaries? Plain language summaries (PLS) are typically short synopses of peer-reviewed journal publications that simplify the complex. PLS concisely summarize technical content in simple, jargon-free language for ease of reading and improved understanding. These summaries are intended for a broad and inclusive audience that encompasses anyone who may wish to engage with a piece of published research. This may include researchers from other specialties or of other native languages, science communicators, educators, policymakers, and the media, as well as the general public. This multistakeholder audience is essentially anyone seeking an accessible route to the scientific literature. In biomedical research, this list expands to include the likes of patients, patient advocates, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. As a practice that is still growing and maturing, standardization is limited, and PLS currently come in many different formats (including multimedia) depending on individual journal requirements and author preferences.1 The location in which PLS can be found also varies, with journals hosting these within the main manuscript PDF and web page, in supplementary materials, or on third-party websites such as figshare.com. Some authors and research sponsors are opting to host PLS themselves if journals do not offer sufficient options; the publisher Future Science Group is even offering standalone […]

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1949The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 2012Does use of the CONSORT Statement impact the completeness of reporting of randomised controlled trials published in medical journals? A Cochrane reviewa 2021Open science saves lives: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic 2021Open Pharma recommendations for plain language summaries of peer-reviewed medical journal publications 2020Where are biomedical research plain‐language summaries?

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