The Future of Journal Publishing survey report

How are publishers responding to AI, research integrity challenges, changing discovery environments, operational pressures, and evolving revenue models?

To find out, we surveyed publishers from across the scholarly communications ecosystem, including society publishers, commercial publishers, university presses, and more.

The result is a snapshot of the priorities, opportunities, challenges, and areas of change shaping journal publishing today.

The survey brought together perspectives from:

✅ Society and association publishers
✅ Commercial publishers
✅ University presses
✅ Standards organizations
✅ Consultants

Respondents represented a range of functions, including editorial, production, operations, technology, strategy, product, and leadership roles.

Research integrity emerged as a key priority repeatedly throughout the survey. It was identified as:

✅ The top future responsibility for journal publishers
✅ One of the industry's biggest challenges
✅ A key organizational priority for 2026
✅ The leading area for inter-publisher collaboration

50.8% of respondents said screening for research integrity issues will be one of the responsibilities that dominates the role of a journal publisher over the next three years.