This project focuses on rethinking how our articles are presented to online readers and offers some alternative approaches in layout, functionality, and utility. We are starting with one research paper as a blank canvas on which to experiment with some new features. Please have a look – and give us your comments, wish lists, and criticisms.
See the Prototype (version 0.1)
Features at a Glance
- Tabbed Navigation
- Article Overview Tab including Article Summaries and Author Profiles
- Inline Figure Viewer
- Integrated Methods Section and Supplementary Material
- Inline Glossary Links
- Sortable Reference List
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why did you choose this particular research article for the prototype?
- Like many Science papers, this article features a variety of complex methodologies and a large amount of supplementary materials, including figures, tables, and movies. Our goal in choosing this example is to try new navigation features and interactive capabilities that better integrate various parts of the article, thereby improving the overall readability of the text and its associated content.
- Do I need to use a specific browser to view this prototype?
- The prototype will work with any modern web browser on a PC or Mac. We highly recommend Firefox, Chrome, or Safari. The prototype is known to run more slowly in Internet Explorer 7 or 8. We do not guarantee that this page will operate correctly in IE6.
- Some features don’t seem to work. Is something wrong with my browser?
- Certain features, such as the global navigation bar, some links to external features (e.g., citation-tracking features) that already exist on our main site, and the ability to add/share user tags are shown only in mock-up form, and may not respond to clicks or actions. We do encourage users, however, to comment on any function that is missing or doesn’t seem to work as it should.
- Why "reboot" the current HTML version? I read the PDF/print version and it works fine!
- This alternative model is not intended to replace the PDF/print version. The goal, instead, is to work toward a richer online HTML complement to the PDF/print presentation that takes fuller advantage of the Web’s strengths and interconnections, integrates data with text in a more seamless fashion, fits better into researcher and user workflows, and opens up new possibilities for exploration and scientific discovery. This prototype is a first step on that road.
- What happens next?
- This prototype is very much a work-in-progress. We will be continuing development, responding to suggestions and feedback as much as possible, and releasing new updates as they are available.
- When will we see changes implemented for all Science papers online?
- The purpose of this project is to involve our audience and gather feedback to help steer future development of our online articles. At this point it is difficult to predict a timescale for implementing this across the entire site.