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Have you developed a new or improved research method that could change how studies are conducted in your field? In today’s fast-moving scientific world, sharing methodological innovations is just as important as publishing research findings. Method Articles offer researchers a dedicated way to document and share their technical advances, ensuring that these valuable contributions don’t get lost in traditional research papers, which are more focused on results rather than the process.

In the following blog post, we outline what Method Articles are, why publishing your work as a Method Article can be beneficial to your research journey, and highlight some Method Articles published on HRB Open Research.

What are Method Articles?

Method Articles provide researchers with a straightforward way to share new experimental, observational, or computational methods. These publications require detailed documentation of how you developed your method, why you created it, and its effectiveness. This helps other researchers understand and use your work. Whether you’ve built new data collection techniques, improved existing procedures, or found fresh ways to apply established methods, Method Articles focus on the method itself rather than research results. They welcome technical innovations like experimental tools, data analysis software, and medical devices such as drug delivery systems.

You can publish method articles for completely new methods, significant improvements to existing ones, or even update them later after further iteration. This flexible approach ensures that your research remains current and relevant to the scientific community. Method Articles do more than validate your work – they create valuable resources that help advance the entire field through documented, tested innovation that others can build on.

Additionally, the peer review process for method articles checks if your work has academic value and gives enough detail for others to use successfully. This focus offers distinct advantages over traditional research papers.

Why should I publish a Method Article?

Publishing your Method Article with HRB Open Research ensures that you receive proper credit for your work, while supporting reproducible research and training. The Platform uses a careful peer review process that looks deeply at your methods, not just the surface details. This thorough review builds trust in your research and gives other researchers confidence to use your methods. When reviewers examine every aspect of your methodology, it demonstrates that your work is of high quality and reliable. This makes other researchers more likely to cite and use your innovations in their own studies.

HRB Open Research’s approach to Method Articles also makes your research much more visible to the academic community. The Platform uses an open access model, which means more people can read your work than with traditional subscription journals. This wider reach helps establish you as a leader in your field while ensuring your methods get the recognition they deserve. The mix of careful peer review and broad access creates a highly visible method articles that advance scientific knowledge and build your reputation. This visibility can lead to new partnerships and opportunities as researchers can find and use your published methods in their own work.

Method Articles on HRB Open Research

Projecting future health and service use among older people in Ireland: an overview of a dynamic microsimulation model in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)

Demographic ageing is a population health success story but poses unprecedented policy challenges in the 21st century. There are increasing pressures on the economy and on health care, as is projected that there will be relatively fewer people of working age to support health care and pensions through taxation.

This Method Article, published as part of the Ageing Population Collection, presents the Irish Future Older Adults Model (IFOAM), a dynamic microsimulation model developed to project health and service use among individuals aged 50 and over in Ireland. The model forecasts significant increases in deaths, serious illnesses, and demand for hospital care by 2040, driven primarily by the growing older population, and aims to assist policymakers in preparing for the challenges posed by demographic ageing and to evaluate potential policy responses.

Read the full Method Article here.

Proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy

There is evidence that corporations try to delay, weaken, and avoid the adoption of measures that would protect and improve population health. This is particularly true and problematic for health harming industries, such as those producing ultra-processed foods, alcohol, and cigarettes. Financial conflicts of interest (COI) are also problematic in policymaking because they may compromise decision-makers’ loyalty and independent judgment. Public opinion is in favour of preventing and mitigating the influence of corporations and COI on public health policy.

The following Method Article proposes new methods for evaluating government efforts to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy. It outlines a five-step evaluation process designed to assess the implementation of identified mitigation mechanisms and support their translation into policy actions, with a case study planned for Ireland.

Read the full Method Article here.

Method Articles offer you the opportunity to gain recognition for technical advances while supporting reproducible science. Through rigorous peer review and open access publication, your methodological contributions become valuable resources that establish you as a thought leader and create new opportunities for collaboration.

Ready to publish your Method Article? Submit to HRB Open Research today.