Methods and Protocols

Methods and Protocols is an open-access journal published by MDPI, dedicated to the publication of detailed protocols and methodological advances across various fields of experimental science, including molecular biology, neuroscience, biotechnology, and environmental science. It aims to facilitate reproducibility and methodological transparency in modern research.

Strengths:

Focused on reproducibility, a key challenge in contemporary research.

Accepts protocol-type articles, video protocols, and method-based reviews, allowing diverse formats.

Encourages interdisciplinary submissions, spanning biomedicine to engineering.

Weaknesses:

The scope is broad to the point of dilution, risking a lack of audience specificity or thematic coherence.

Absence of thematic issues or strong editorial curation reduces the journal’s identity and scholarly influence.

The journal follows a single-blind peer-review process typical of MDPI.

Strengths:

Rapid publication times, typically within 3–4 weeks from submission.

Structured submission format promotes clarity in protocols and reproducibility.

Weaknesses:

Peer review rigor is inconsistent, as is often the case in high-throughput MDPI journals.

Reviewer selection is opaque, and anecdotal evidence suggests a bias toward formal rather than critical assessment of methodology robustness.

The editorial board is not methodologically specialized, which is problematic for a journal claiming methodological excellence.

Indexed in Scopus, PubMed Central, and DOAJ.

Not listed in Web of Science (JCR), hence no official Impact Factor as of 2025.

Strengths:

Indexing in Scopus and PMC increases visibility.

Appealing to early-career researchers and technical staff looking to publish standardized procedures.

Weaknesses:

Low citation rates, many papers remain unnoticed.

The absence of a JCR impact factor limits its prestige in competitive academic settings.

The journal plays a niche role in publishing protocols rather than hypothesis-driven research.

Strengths:

Valuable resource for replicating specific lab techniques.

Good platform for novel experimental workflows or integration of emerging tools (e.g., AI in protocol optimization).

Weaknesses:

Protocols are often overly context-dependent and lack broad applicability.

Insufficient critical comparison with existing methodologies; many articles present protocols without benchmarking or limitations.

Rarely include negative results, limiting insight into method limitations or failure conditions.

As part of MDPI’s expanding portfolio, Methods and Protocols is not free from criticisms of aggressive publication models and profit-driven expansion.

Article Processing Charges (APC) are relatively high given the journal's niche scope (~CHF 1400).

The volume-over-quality perception may deter top-tier submissions.

Methods and Protocols is a functional journal for publishing reproducible scientific protocols, particularly for methods not yet widely adopted. However, it suffers from weak editorial control, a lack of indexing prestige, and the broader concerns that affect many MDPI journals. It is suitable for method-specific dissemination but does not currently serve as a reliable source for methodological innovation or critical methodological evaluation.

Recommendation: Use with caution as a reference source; prioritize journals with stronger peer review and impact if methodological robustness and recognition are critical.