Expand your research toolkit with Frontiers' AI Playbook. Frontiers' new resource, High-Impact AI: A Researcher's Playbook, offers practical guidance designed to help researchers integrate AI into their workflows while maintaining rigor and transparency. This post presents key features, practical examples of AI use, and how this living document can become an essential part of your research toolkit. What is the Frontiers AI Playbook? Published in April 2026, the Frontiers AI Playbook is a step-by-step guide tailored for researchers, educators, and research-support professionals. It covers the entire research process, from study design and data collection to analysis, visualization, reporting, and manuscript submission. The playbook emphasizes responsible AI use, encouraging human oversight and accountability. It provides: * Best-practice frameworks for AI integration * Prompt templates to help generate effective AI queries * Guidelines to maintain transparency and reproducibility Frontiers plans to update the playbook regularly, with the next review scheduled for October 2026, ensuring it stays current with evolving AI technologies and ethical standards. How the playbook supports each stage of research. The playbook breaks down AI applications into clear phases, offering tailored advice and tools for each. Study design. AI can assist in refining research questions and hypotheses by analyzing existing literature and identifying gaps. The playbook guides researchers on how to use AI tools to: * Conduct systematic literature reviews efficiently * Generate research questions based on data trends * Design experiments with AI-supported simulations For example, a social science researcher might use AI to scan thousands of papers quickly, identifying underexplored topics for a new study. Data collection. Collecting high-quality data is critical. The playbook advises on using AI to: * Automate data gathering from public databases or sensors * Clean and preprocess datasets to reduce errors * Ensure ethical data sourcing with AI-driven compliance checks A biology researcher could apply AI algorithms to filter out noisy data from environmental sensors, improving dataset reliability. Data analysis. AI excels at pattern recognition and complex computations. The playbook offers frameworks for: * Selecting appropriate AI models for statistical analysis * Validating AI-generated results with human review * Avoiding common pitfalls like overfitting or bias For instance, an economics researcher might use AI to analyze large financial datasets, while following the playbook's advice to cross-check findings manually. Reporting and visualization. Clear communication of results is essential. The playbook includes: * Tips for using AI to generate draft reports or summaries * Visualization templates to create compelling charts and graphs * Guidelines to ensure AI-generated content is accurate and transparent A medical researcher could use AI to produce initial drafts of a study report, then refine it with expert input to maintain clarity and precision. Submission and peer review. The playbook also addresses the final steps of research dissemination: * Preparing manuscripts with AI-assisted formatting tools * Using AI to check for plagiarism or ethical compliance * Engaging with peer review processes supported by AI tools This helps researchers submit polished, compliant papers ready for publication. Practical examples of AI use in research. The playbook includes concrete examples showing how AI can improve research quality and efficiency without replacing human judgment. * Environmental Science: AI models predict climate patterns, while researchers interpret results and design follow-up studies. * Psychology: AI analyzes survey data to detect trends, but researchers validate findings through interviews. * Engineering: AI simulates material stress tests, with engineers reviewing outputs before physical prototyping. These examples demonstrate how AI acts as a powerful assistant, helping researchers focus on critical thinking and decision-making. In addition, the playbook stresses that AI should support, not replace, human expertise. It highlights risks such as: * AI bias affecting data interpretation * Overreliance on automated results * Ethical concerns in data privacy and consent By maintaining human accountability, researchers ensure their work remains trustworthy and ethical. The playbook offers strategies to balance AI efficiency with critical evaluation. How educators and institutions can use the playbook. Frontiers encourages educators and institutions to adapt the playbook for training purposes. It can serve as: * A curriculum resource for teaching responsible AI use in research * A guide for research support staff to assist faculty and students * A foundation for workshops on AI tools and ethics Proper attribution is required, but the playbook's open approach helps spread best practices widely. Stay updated with a living document. The playbook's status as a living document means it will be reviewed and updated regularly. Researchers can expect: * New AI tools and methods incorporated over time * Updated ethical guidelines reflecting emerging challenges * Expanded examples and templates based on user feedback This ongoing development ensures the playbook remains a relevant and practical resource.

Frontiers, NSFC Center for Science Communication and Achievement Transformation, and CEPIEC sign strategic cooperation agreement. 17 April 2026 Frontiers, the Center for Science Communication and Achievement Transformation of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and China Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation Ltd (CEPIEC) have signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Beijing to promote the sharing of academic resources and broaden access to publicly funded research. The agreement reflects the three parties' shared commitment to advancing a more open, transparent, and globally connected research ecosystem. Under the agreement, Frontiers, the NSFC Center for Science Communication and Achievement Transformation, and CEPIEC will work together to promote open access to publicly funded research papers, support data repository services, and strengthen collaboration on research integrity. As part of the agreement, Frontiers will provide a 10% discount on article processing charges (APCs) for accepted papers funded by the NSFC. The effective date of the discount will be announced separately. The agreement was signed by Dong Li, Deputy Director of the NSFC Center for Science Communication and Achievement Transformation; Jianxin Wang, President of CEPIEC; and Frederick Fenter, Chief Executive Editor of Frontiers. The signing was witnessed by Zegui Xie, Vice President of CEPIEC; Yamei Huang, Director of the President's Office of CEPIEC; Mehmet Toral, Chief Corporate Officer and General Counsel of Frontiers; Diane Wang, Managing Director, China of Frontiers; and representatives from the NSFC. The partnership is expected to help the NSFC more effectively collate and manage research outputs, support the development of its open access repository platform, and expand the dissemination and impact of funded research. Frederick Fenter, Chief Executive Editor of Frontiers, said: "The signing of this strategic cooperation agreement marks an important milestone in Frontiers' collaboration with China's research community. It reflects our shared commitment to open science. Looking ahead, we hope to deepen our cooperation in areas such as flagship journal publishing, AI-supported research data services, and research integrity." Dong Li, Deputy Director of the NSFC Center for Science Communication and Achievement Transformation, said: "Frontiers is one of the world's leading scientific publishers, bringing together many high-quality journals. It has also made outstanding contributions to building a new ecosystem for academic publishing and advancing global research collaboration. The partnership will further promote the open sharing of academic resources and improve the management efficiency of NSFC-supported research outputs. I hope the three parties will work closely together, leverage their respective strengths, integrate resources efficiently, and deepen collaboration, thereby strengthening China's scientific and technological innovation capacity and fostering an open, collaborative academic ecosystem." Jianxin Wang, President of CEPIEC, said: "This agreement is not only a win-win initiative built on complementary resources and combined strengths, but also a practical step aligned with national strategic priorities. Going forward, the three parties will deepen cooperation in areas including international communication of research outputs, data sharing, and research integrity, with a focus on national priorities, open science trends, and the goals of the 15th Five-Year Plan. Together, we aim to enhance the global influence of Chinese research and contribute to a strong international academic ecosystem." About Frontiers Frontiers is a leading research publisher on a mission to accelerate collaboration and discovery by making science open - enabling researchers to find the solutions ALPSP Special Interest Group all need for healthy lives on a healthy planet. Powered by custom-built technology, artificial intelligence, and efficient and rigorous peer review, Frontiers community journals give experts in more than 1,700 academic fields an open access platform to publish high quality, high impact research. Through outreach work to build strong partnerships with businesses, policymakers, and educators, Frontiers leads the transition to open science. Sign up to its newsletters and updates to receive the latest information on activities, training, events and services from ALPSP. Join ALPSP Special Interest Group. ALPSP Special Interest Group welcome applications for membership from organizations across the scholarly publishing community.