Manuscript Submissions and Article Diversity

In 2025, Open Exploration received 1,912 manuscript submissions, a 22.56% increase from the previous year. Authors from over 50 countries and regions contributed to this growing volume. Original Articles represented the largest category at 38.8% (742 articles), closely followed by Review articles with 741 articles, reflecting a steady rise in novel research contributions. Special issue submissions accounted for 36.8% of the total, with regular submissions comprising 63.2%. Editorial Board members continuously supported the journal, contributing 6% of all submissions. To ensure quality across our 14 journals, rejection rates ranged from 30.76% to 80%. This growth and balanced portfolio underscore the journals' expanding global influence, and also signal a strengthening of trust from scholars worldwide in our platform.

Published Output and Article Impact

In 2025, Open Exploration published 695 articles, including 231 Original Articles (33.2%) and 300 Review articles (43%). The average H-index of corresponding authors of published articles stood at 21.5. As of Dec 31, 2025, these articles achieved immediate and broad reach, garnering an average of about 3,400 views and 85 downloads each. They also demonstrated strong scholarly impact, with a citation rate close to 30%. This combination of expert authorship, rigorous review and rapid dissemination underscores the journals' growing role in advancing and sharing knowledge.

Peer Review and Reviewers
In 2025, Open Exploration's peer-review process was supported by 1,936 reviewers from 56 countries and regions. This vast and diverse network ensures that every manuscript is evaluated from multiple perspectives and held to global scholarly standards. On average, each submission received 3.12 substantive review reports, reflecting the depth and rigor of our evaluation process.

Database Indexing and Measurable Academic Impact

A pivotal institutional achievement in 2025 was the publisher's acceptance as a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), with all 14 journals now being COPE members. This milestone underscores our foundational commitment to integrity, transparency, and best practices in scholarly publishing.

The year also marked significant progress in database indexing. Exploration of Foods and Foodomics (EFF) was successfully indexed in Scopus. Six journals were included in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and ten were accepted into the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) database. 

Among the Scopus-indexed journals, citation performance shows a strong positive trajectory. As of January 2026, the latest CiteScore Tracker values are:

Exploration of Medicine (EM) at 2.7

Exploration of Targeted Anti-tumor Therapy (ETAT) at 5.2

Exploration of Immunology (EI) at 1.9

Exploration of Neuroprotective Therapy (ENT) at 2.5

And notably, the newly indexed journal Exploration of Foods and Foodomics (EFF) has made an impressive debut with a Tracker of 2.3.

These collective achievements—COPE membership, expanded database presence, and rising citation metrics—signal our growing influence and recognition within the global academic community and reinforce our commitment to providing a trusted, high-visibility platform for scholars.

Figure 1. CiteScore of Scopus-indexed Journals (2023-2025)

Also, below is the database indexing status of all our journals. 

Figure 2. Database Indexing Status of 14 Journals in Open Exploration

Conclusion and Acknowledgments

The year 2025 marked a period of robust growth and significant achievement for Open Exploration. The progress spanning increased global submissions, high-quality publications, a robust review system, and expanded indexing, collectively demonstrates our evolution into a dynamic, trusted, and impactful platform.

This success is a shared accomplishment. We extend our deepest appreciation to the authors who entrusted us with their research, the expert reviewers whose diligent feedback ensured quality, and the Editorial Board for their steadfast leadership. We are also grateful to our readers and institutional partners for their continued engagement.

Detailed 2025 Annual Journal Reports and Reviewer Acknowledgments are now available on each journal's website. We invite you to explore them for further insights.

As we look ahead, our commitment remains unwavering: to continue serving the global academic community through a scholar-centric, quality-driven model of open science. We thank you for being part of this journey and look forward to advancing knowledge together in the coming year.

2025 Annual Progress Report of Open Exploration.pdf