TheoretiCS: behind the scenes of an open access scientific journal

The publication of articles is a key stage in scientific research. When researchers submit their findings to a specialist journal, their work is reviewed and evaluated by other scientists, who validate – or reject – their contribution. The purpose of this peer review is to guarantee the quality of scientific publications. ‘A large number of journals have been in existence since the 1970s and belong to learned societies or private companies,’ observes Antoine Amarilli, a researcher in the Inria D-Dal project team, shared with the CRIStAL laboratory at the University of Lille.

However, since the emergence of the World Wide Web in the 1990s, digital technology has profoundly transformed the world of scientific publishing. It has made it possible to move away from the print journal format and has challenged the traditional subscription-based business model. This has led to the emergence of the Open Access movement, which aims to make information acquired from scientific research available to everyone, without financial, legal or technical barriers.

Involving a community

The journal TheoretiCS, launched in December 2021, which covers all areas related to theoretical computer science, is part of this model. There were already existing open access journals in this field, including Theory of Computing and LMCS (Logical Methods In Computer Science). ‘But they specialise in one of the two main branches of the discipline: theory of computing on the one hand, and logic and programming on the other,’ explains Antoine Amarilli, former managing editor of TheoretiCS. ‘So there was a need for a journal that brought these two aspects together. ’

Thomas Schwentick, a researcher in Theoretical Computer Science at the Technical University of Dortmund (Germany), is one of the project’s initiators. ‘For the journal to be credible, the scientific community had to be involved,’ he explains. ‘So, during the first two years, we approached each of the major conferences in theoretical computer science with a view to including one of their representatives on our advisory board. And all of them were keen to get onboard! We were thus able to bring together some of the best scientists in the field. ’

Consequently, the FOCS, STOC, SODA and LICS conferences, ranked A*, are represented within TheoretiCS, as are ICALP, STACS, and MFCS, the leading European events in the field according to Thomas Schwentick. ‘Our ambition is to establish TheoretiCS as one of the top journals in theoretical computer science,’ adds the researcher. ‘For us to accept an article, it must be of a quality comparable to that of the two leading journals, the Journal of the ACM and SIAM Journal on Computing.’

Building a reputation

But at this stage, how can scientists be persuaded to submit their work to a journal that is still in its infancy? Publishing in prestigious journals can play an important role in career advancement, especially for young researchers. But to be recognised as a high-level journal, you need to attract high-quality contributions! ‘It's a vicious circle,’ sums up Hélène Lowinger, coordinator of Inria's scientific publishing division. ‘The support of the scientific community therefore plays an important role.’

Reputation also depends on the composition of the editorial board, which can be a guarantee of quality and reliability. TheoretiCS has renowned scientists in its editorial board, including six Gödel Prize winners. Listing in bibliographic databases, based on strict criteria, can also be important for recognition. TheoretiCS has been included in the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals). Other platforms, such as Scopus and Web of Science, are managed by commercial publishers. They are responsible for assigning ‘impact factors’, criteria often used to judge the reputation of a journal, but widely debated by the scientific community. TheoretiCS is not yet listed in the latter, but the team is taking the necessary steps to achieve this.

Facilitating management

The journal puts forward another argument to attract contributions: ‘We promise a preliminary response within three months on articles submitted to us, based on the relevance and importance of the results,’ says Mikaël Monet, a researcher in the D-Dal project team and one of the two current managing editors of TheoretiCS. ‘Usually, for an article of 50 to 100 pages, a journal takes 6 months to a year to give its verdict.’ Reducing this time frame requires rigorous organisation from the various people involved in the reviewing process (editorial board, editors in chief, managing editors and editors), and the reviewers themselves. To help with this organization, TheoretiCS uses the Episciences platform, supported by the CNRS, Inria, INRAE and the Institut Fourier.

‘The articles we publish are hosted in open archives, such as HAL or arXiv,’ explains Mikaël Monet. ‘Episciences provides us with a website to showcase these articles, as well as an interface allowing candidates to submit their work. The platform facilitates the distribution of articles to reviewers, as well as the monitoring of this process and automatic reminders to meet deadlines.’ TheoretiCS has several dozen articles in progress at any given time.

Emmanuelle Perrin-Touche, scientific publishing manager at Inria, supports journals published via Episciences: ‘We provide technical support and respond to requests for improvements to the platform,’ she explains. ‘But we also have an advisory role, particularly in helping journals meet the editorial quality criteria for bibliographic databases with regard to their referencing.’ For Thomas Schwentick, ‘Episciences has greatly facilitated the launch of the journal.’ 

Ensuring the journal's long-term future

After four years in existence, TheoretiCS is doing well: ‘We receive around 50 to 60 article submissions per year,’ says Mikaël Monet. Emmanuelle Perrin-Touche describes a ‘lightning-fast growth’, with two articles published in 2022, then 12 and 26 in subsequent years, and so far 25 in 2025. ‘At this stage, we need to ensure the journal's long-term viability in order to guarantee the long-term visibility of these publications,’ says Antoine Amarilli.

‘So far, TheoretiCS is working well,’ says Thomas Schwentick. ‘But in the coming years, we will need to stabilise its organisation. The journal must not depend on any one person in particular, so that the founders can hand over the reins to the next generation!’ To stay at the cutting edge, the TheoretiCS team attends the main theoretical computer science conferences every year. ‘We are always looking for new volunteers to contribute to the adventure!’ concludes the co-founder of the journal.