Should I Build It Should I Build It
21 Apr 2025
Productivity

Scientific journal directory including journal core data information ...

...like issn

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Minimal Signal

There’s barely any market activity - either because the problem is very niche or not important enough. You’ll need to prove real demand exists before investing significant time.

Should You Build It?

Not yet, validate more.

Your are here

You're entering a market where the signals are minimal, suggesting a very niche problem or a lack of widespread demand for a scientific journal directory. With only two similar products identified and low engagement (average of 1 comment), it's crucial to validate the existence of real demand before investing heavily. The absence of any clear 'use' or 'buy' signals from the available data further underscores the need for caution. Given the limited market activity, proceed with thorough validation to confirm whether your solution addresses a genuine need within the scientific community.

Recommendations

  1. Begin by actively engaging in online communities frequented by researchers, academics, and librarians. Share your idea and initiate conversations to gauge their interest in a scientific journal directory, focusing on the specific core data information like ISSN. Frame the discussion around their pain points in finding and managing journal information to understand if your solution resonates with their needs.
  2. Offer to manually curate a journal directory for a small number (2-3) of potential users, providing them with the core data they need. This hands-on approach allows you to gather direct feedback on the value of your service and identify any gaps in your initial concept. Use their feedback to refine your value proposition and offerings.
  3. Create a concise and engaging explainer video demonstrating the benefits of your scientific journal directory. Showcase how researchers can easily access and utilize core data like ISSN to streamline their literature reviews and research workflows. Monitor the video's completion rate to assess the level of interest in your solution.
  4. Implement a waiting list for your directory and request a small, non-binding deposit from those interested in joining. This can serve as a tangible indicator of genuine demand and commitment. Clearly communicate the benefits of joining the waiting list, such as early access, exclusive content, or personalized support.
  5. Set a clear deadline (e.g., 3 weeks) to find at least 5 genuinely interested individuals. If you are unable to reach this target, re-evaluate your approach and consider pivoting your idea or target audience. It's crucial to adapt based on market signals to ensure you're building a product that meets a validated need.
  6. Since one similar product, OOIR, received positive feedback regarding trending information and research filters, consider incorporating these features into your journal directory. However, validate that these features will broadly appeal to your target users. Don't assume that features successful in a related product will automatically translate to yours; always seek direct validation.

Questions

  1. What are the specific pain points researchers and librarians currently face when accessing and utilizing journal core data like ISSN, and how does your directory uniquely address these challenges compared to existing solutions?
  2. How will you measure and track the success of your validation efforts (e.g., engagement in online communities, conversion rates for the waiting list), and what criteria will you use to determine whether to proceed with further development?
  3. What are the potential alternative use cases for a scientific journal directory beyond academic research (e.g., industry analysis, competitive intelligence), and how might these expanded applications impact your target market and revenue model?

Your are here

You're entering a market where the signals are minimal, suggesting a very niche problem or a lack of widespread demand for a scientific journal directory. With only two similar products identified and low engagement (average of 1 comment), it's crucial to validate the existence of real demand before investing heavily. The absence of any clear 'use' or 'buy' signals from the available data further underscores the need for caution. Given the limited market activity, proceed with thorough validation to confirm whether your solution addresses a genuine need within the scientific community.

Recommendations

  1. Begin by actively engaging in online communities frequented by researchers, academics, and librarians. Share your idea and initiate conversations to gauge their interest in a scientific journal directory, focusing on the specific core data information like ISSN. Frame the discussion around their pain points in finding and managing journal information to understand if your solution resonates with their needs.
  2. Offer to manually curate a journal directory for a small number (2-3) of potential users, providing them with the core data they need. This hands-on approach allows you to gather direct feedback on the value of your service and identify any gaps in your initial concept. Use their feedback to refine your value proposition and offerings.
  3. Create a concise and engaging explainer video demonstrating the benefits of your scientific journal directory. Showcase how researchers can easily access and utilize core data like ISSN to streamline their literature reviews and research workflows. Monitor the video's completion rate to assess the level of interest in your solution.
  4. Implement a waiting list for your directory and request a small, non-binding deposit from those interested in joining. This can serve as a tangible indicator of genuine demand and commitment. Clearly communicate the benefits of joining the waiting list, such as early access, exclusive content, or personalized support.
  5. Set a clear deadline (e.g., 3 weeks) to find at least 5 genuinely interested individuals. If you are unable to reach this target, re-evaluate your approach and consider pivoting your idea or target audience. It's crucial to adapt based on market signals to ensure you're building a product that meets a validated need.
  6. Since one similar product, OOIR, received positive feedback regarding trending information and research filters, consider incorporating these features into your journal directory. However, validate that these features will broadly appeal to your target users. Don't assume that features successful in a related product will automatically translate to yours; always seek direct validation.

Questions

  1. What are the specific pain points researchers and librarians currently face when accessing and utilizing journal core data like ISSN, and how does your directory uniquely address these challenges compared to existing solutions?
  2. How will you measure and track the success of your validation efforts (e.g., engagement in online communities, conversion rates for the waiting list), and what criteria will you use to determine whether to proceed with further development?
  3. What are the potential alternative use cases for a scientific journal directory beyond academic research (e.g., industry analysis, competitive intelligence), and how might these expanded applications impact your target market and revenue model?

  • Confidence: Low
    • Number of similar products: 2
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 1
  • Net use signal: 90.0%
    • Positive use signal: 90.0%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 0.0%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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