Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (JRSNZ) achieves major milestone with indexing in PubMed Central®

PMC is a prestigious free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM). This milestone marks a significant achievement in the journal’s 150+ year history and opens new doors to the life sciences and biomedical research community. Notably, JRSNZ is currently the only active New Zealand journal indexed by PMC.

The acceptance into PMC comes after years of dedicated effort and is a testament to the journal's commitment to advancing research in these critical fields. With a success rate of just 26.7% for being indexed by PMC in 2024, this accomplishment highlights JRSNZ’s growing influence and profile within the research community. This significant move will undoubtedly boost the journal’s readership and reach, making New Zealand biomedical research more accessible to global researchers.

The journal plans to double its editorial and publishing capacity in these research areas, play a more significant role in disseminating leading work, and establish connections with diverse research communities as the Society's flagship multidisciplinary journal.

“Being indexed by PMC is a huge step forward for JRSNZ, providing a strong foundation for us to deepen our engagement with the New Zealand life sciences and biomedical research community and showcase some of the best work in our journal," says Fei He, Programme Manager – Publishing.

“The inclusion of JRSNZ into PMC is another indicator of our desire to be a top multidisciplinary journal displaying quality science that has an impact for New Zealand," says Professor Rich McDowell FRSNZ, Editor-in-Chief of JRSNZ.

“JRSNZ’s inclusion in PubMed Central is a tremendous step forward, highlighting the prominence of medicine as New Zealand’s largest and most highly-cited research discipline. As the only New Zealand journal in PMC, JRSNZ is uniquely positioned to showcase our nation’s impactful biomedical research," says Paul Atkins, Chief Executive of Royal Society Te Apārangi.

“A significant milestone and a fantastic achievement! It highlights the JRSNZ’s reputation as a trusted outlet of knowledge and its commitment to providing high-quality, peer-reviewed science to the New Zealand community. Yet another feather in the cap of the journal’s wonderful editorial board and the publishing team at the Royal Society Te Apārangi," says Janelle Heald, Journals Portfolio Manager at Taylor & Francis.

In 2023, JRSNZ has an Impact Factor of 2.1, ranked Q2 in Multidisciplinary, and a CiteScore of 4.6, ranked Q1 in Multidisciplinary.

Royal Society Te Apārangi and the journal’s editorial board extend a heartfelt thank you to the journal editors, guest editors, and contributing authors who have played a crucial role in introducing the journal to the life and biomedical research community of Aotearoa New Zealand and for entrusting us with their outstanding work. We look forward to continued and broader support as we move forward.