Interview | 10.09.202550 years of Comparative Population Studies – a look back and ahead

Dr. Katrin Schiefer, Managing Editor and interim Managing Publisher of CPoS Source: © BiB

1. How has today's Comparative Population Studies developed since its foundation as a journal for population science?

Today's Comparative Population Studies (CPoS) was originally launched as the German-language Zeitschrift für Bevölkerungswissenschaft (ZfB) by the Federal Institute for Population Research, which was only two years old at the time. The journal was intended to become an interdisciplinary platform for the scientific discussion of population issues. Over the years, the ZfB established itself in the German-speaking research community in the DACH region and made a significant contribution to the development of the discipline after the Second World War. Descriptive analyses of the demographic situation and the BiB's own research were an integral part of this.

2. When and why did the transition to English-language Comparative Population Studies take place?

As the discipline of population studies developed, the journal also evolved and became more methodologically sophisticated. In 2010, the journal was relaunched as Comparative Population Studies in order to make its content accessible to an international audience. Since then, the focus has been on comparative research approaches - for example between countries or regions, across the life course or between social groups. At the same time, the journal has become more international in many dimensions: not only in its articles, but also in its committees such as the scientific advisory board. This development strengthens its reach and makes CPoS a successful international open access journal. Since the relaunch in 2010, there have been 605 submissions, of which 272 articles have been published. The topics range from fertility, migration, ageing and health to family forms and social inequality.

3. You have described how Comparative Population Studies has developed into an international open access journal. Which stages were particularly decisive on this path?

A timeline of milestones from 1975–2025

Several steps were decisive for the further development of the journal: the establishment of a scientific advisory board and the introduction of the double-blind review process, in which neither reviewers nor authors know each other's identity. The switch to a purely online open access publication, the introduction of thematic special issues and the complete switch to English were also important milestones for CPoS. Another milestone was the inclusion in Clarivate's Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), which significantly increases the journal's international visibility. This is one of the leading citation databases in the so-called Web of Science Core Collection. In addition, external editors supplement the editorial team at BiB to ensure quality, scientific independence and reach in the long term.

4. In your opinion, what are the greatest future challenges and potentials for a journal like CPoS?

A specialised journal must continue to develop in order to meet the demands of the times, the discipline and the publishing industry. CPoS competes in a competitive market with the large international publishers, but can react more flexibly and quickly to new developments without rigid publishing structures.

The fact that no fees are charged for open access publication ensures broad accessibility, even beyond academia. A fair review process, independent of the respective career level or the origin of the researcher, promotes young scientists. A unique feature of the journal is the language editing service for accepted articles. The next developments are already planned: CPoS wants to focus even more on data visualisations in the future.