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Journal performance report, July 2004
PERFORMANCE REPORT/SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION
Journal Performance Report, July 2004 Michael L. Callaham, MD Editor in Chief Annals of Emergency Medicine Nancy Medina Director Annals of Emergency Medicine
[Ann Emerg Med. 2004;44:1-2.]
Once a year, we report our performance as a journal, along with important changes and achievements. We report here these data for calendar year 2003. Annals continues to be the largest-circulation peer review journal in emergency medicine (more than 26,000 subscribers, about 4 times its nearest competitor). It is also one of the most accessible to nonsubscribing readers, because more than 2,700 medical school and hospital libraries subscribe to it. It is also fully available on the Web, where it receives more than 1.2 million hits a year. Annals is the emergency medicine journal most frequently cited by authors, about twice as frequently as any other peer review journal in our specialty. Among 5,876 science and medical journals cited by other researchers, Annals ranks in the top 11% by citation frequency and the top 18% by impact factor (average citation rate of all articles). In a typical year, its articles are cited by about 460 different scientific journals, the great majority from a broad range of specialties outside of emergency medicine. Annals, of course, is also the journal most frequently cited by other emergency medicine journals. Finally, Annals was also cited in approximately 2,290 news stories, including more than 900 broadcasts, by media such as the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Associated Press.
Available online May 28, 2004. 0196-0644/$30.00 Copyright Ó 2004 by the American College of Emergency Physicians. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2004.04.010
J U LY 2 0 0 4
44:1
ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
2003 was our second year of a completely Web-based system of submissions, peer review, and editorial management (http://AnnEmergMed.editorialmanager.com). The success of this system continues to be demonstrated by growing submissions and faster reviews and decisions. Submissions increased 22% in the first year of the online system, and have increased another 17% in the past year. Our acceptance rate for all submissions last year was 26%. The Web-based peer review system eliminates many delays, and this was reflected in a second consecutive year of very significant improvements in timeliness. To speed decisions for authors, our editors reject some manuscripts without sending them out for additional expert review (such as those with topics not suitable for our journal audience). Those decisions were reached in a mean of 10 days from the submission of the manuscript. For all manuscripts submitted to the journal, including those sent out for full peer review, the mean time to initial decision was 21 days. So far in 2004, these intervals have continued to decrease, a performance that surpasses that of many other journals and that ensures a shorter duration of suffering for authors and more rapid dissemination of new science to our readers. Annals is an international journal, and this is reflected in our contributors. Submissions came to us from 34 different countries, with 21% of submissions originating outside the United States. The largest volume outside the United States was submitted from Canada, Taiwan, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Turkey, and Israel, in descending order. We also believe we have an obligation to make our journal available to international audiences regardless of their financial resources. Therefore, we have participated for years in the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative sponsored by large journal publishers (http://www.healthinternetwork. org/src/eligibility.php), which makes Annals available free or at greatly reduced cost in low-income countries. Another major decrease in the time from acceptance to official publication will occur with the launch of article-based delivery this month. Article-based delivery means that articles will be published on the Web as soon as they have gone through the final proofing process, and will not await scheduling in an issue of the print journal. The time from final acceptance of a manuscript to official
1
J O U R N A L P E R F O R M A N C E R E P O R T Callaham & Medina
publication on the Web will be about 30 days, which is dramatically shorter than what can be accomplished in print. Authors and readers may rest assured we will continue publishing the vast majority of our materials in the traditional print issue; however, article-based delivery will allow our readers to access all of our research online months in advance of receiving print issues by mail. With this new method of publication, all accepted manuscripts are published on the Web site as they become available as ‘‘Articles in Press.’’ The date of Web publication will be considered the official date of publication by MEDLINE, with citation to the digital object identifier (DOI) number. Traditional citation by year and volume will follow after each manuscript is scheduled to its corresponding print issue. Annals is one of the first journals to adopt this technology, and as a result our contents will be even more current. Annals believes that the ethical standards of a journal and its editors are of paramount importance and policies governing them should be readily available to all its readers. Thus, we are one of few journals to have a complete policy on publication ethics,1 which is being used as the basis for a model policy by the World Association of Medical Editors (http://www.wame.org). Continuing our focus on full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest, we are moving the information on research funding and support provided by authors to the first page of every research article this year. We continue to add features that will be of use to our clinician subscribers and that they requested in our reader’s survey. This past year we have added Images in Emergency Medicine and resurrected the very popular Change of Shift. We have also added a very brief Editor’s Capsule Summary to all original research articles and brief research reports to make it easier for readers to decide what to read in depth. Editorial board transitions included the appointment of Judd E. Hollander, MD, FACEP, and E. John Gallagher, MD, FACEP, as deputy editors. William G. Baxt, MD, retired from his position as a deputy editor, effective January 2004. We extend our thanks to Dr. Baxt for more than 10 years of service and admire his stealth in avoiding a well-earned roasting at our annual retreat. Also, sadly, John van de Leuv, MD, CM, died in 2003. He was the first editor in chief of the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians (the original name under which this journal was founded.) In summary, Annals had a very productive year. We thank the talented and hard-working editors, staff, reviewers, and authors who make it all possible.
2
REFERENCE 1. Callaham ML. Journal policy on ethics in scientific publication. Ann Emerg Med. 2003;41:82-89.
ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
44:1
JULY 2004
Journal Performance Report, July 2004 Michael L. Callaham, MD Editor in Chief Annals of Emergency Medicine Nancy Medina Director Annals of Emergency Medicine
[Ann Emerg Med. 2004;44:1-2.]
Once a year, we report our performance as a journal, along with important changes and achievements. We report here these data for calendar year 2003. Annals continues to be the largest-circulation peer review journal in emergency medicine (more than 26,000 subscribers, about 4 times its nearest competitor). It is also one of the most accessible to nonsubscribing readers, because more than 2,700 medical school and hospital libraries subscribe to it. It is also fully available on the Web, where it receives more than 1.2 million hits a year. Annals is the emergency medicine journal most frequently cited by authors, about twice as frequently as any other peer review journal in our specialty. Among 5,876 science and medical journals cited by other researchers, Annals ranks in the top 11% by citation frequency and the top 18% by impact factor (average citation rate of all articles). In a typical year, its articles are cited by about 460 different scientific journals, the great majority from a broad range of specialties outside of emergency medicine. Annals, of course, is also the journal most frequently cited by other emergency medicine journals. Finally, Annals was also cited in approximately 2,290 news stories, including more than 900 broadcasts, by media such as the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Associated Press.
Available online May 28, 2004. 0196-0644/$30.00 Copyright Ó 2004 by the American College of Emergency Physicians. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2004.04.010
J U LY 2 0 0 4
44:1
ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
2003 was our second year of a completely Web-based system of submissions, peer review, and editorial management (http://AnnEmergMed.editorialmanager.com). The success of this system continues to be demonstrated by growing submissions and faster reviews and decisions. Submissions increased 22% in the first year of the online system, and have increased another 17% in the past year. Our acceptance rate for all submissions last year was 26%. The Web-based peer review system eliminates many delays, and this was reflected in a second consecutive year of very significant improvements in timeliness. To speed decisions for authors, our editors reject some manuscripts without sending them out for additional expert review (such as those with topics not suitable for our journal audience). Those decisions were reached in a mean of 10 days from the submission of the manuscript. For all manuscripts submitted to the journal, including those sent out for full peer review, the mean time to initial decision was 21 days. So far in 2004, these intervals have continued to decrease, a performance that surpasses that of many other journals and that ensures a shorter duration of suffering for authors and more rapid dissemination of new science to our readers. Annals is an international journal, and this is reflected in our contributors. Submissions came to us from 34 different countries, with 21% of submissions originating outside the United States. The largest volume outside the United States was submitted from Canada, Taiwan, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Turkey, and Israel, in descending order. We also believe we have an obligation to make our journal available to international audiences regardless of their financial resources. Therefore, we have participated for years in the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative sponsored by large journal publishers (http://www.healthinternetwork. org/src/eligibility.php), which makes Annals available free or at greatly reduced cost in low-income countries. Another major decrease in the time from acceptance to official publication will occur with the launch of article-based delivery this month. Article-based delivery means that articles will be published on the Web as soon as they have gone through the final proofing process, and will not await scheduling in an issue of the print journal. The time from final acceptance of a manuscript to official
1
J O U R N A L P E R F O R M A N C E R E P O R T Callaham & Medina
publication on the Web will be about 30 days, which is dramatically shorter than what can be accomplished in print. Authors and readers may rest assured we will continue publishing the vast majority of our materials in the traditional print issue; however, article-based delivery will allow our readers to access all of our research online months in advance of receiving print issues by mail. With this new method of publication, all accepted manuscripts are published on the Web site as they become available as ‘‘Articles in Press.’’ The date of Web publication will be considered the official date of publication by MEDLINE, with citation to the digital object identifier (DOI) number. Traditional citation by year and volume will follow after each manuscript is scheduled to its corresponding print issue. Annals is one of the first journals to adopt this technology, and as a result our contents will be even more current. Annals believes that the ethical standards of a journal and its editors are of paramount importance and policies governing them should be readily available to all its readers. Thus, we are one of few journals to have a complete policy on publication ethics,1 which is being used as the basis for a model policy by the World Association of Medical Editors (http://www.wame.org). Continuing our focus on full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest, we are moving the information on research funding and support provided by authors to the first page of every research article this year. We continue to add features that will be of use to our clinician subscribers and that they requested in our reader’s survey. This past year we have added Images in Emergency Medicine and resurrected the very popular Change of Shift. We have also added a very brief Editor’s Capsule Summary to all original research articles and brief research reports to make it easier for readers to decide what to read in depth. Editorial board transitions included the appointment of Judd E. Hollander, MD, FACEP, and E. John Gallagher, MD, FACEP, as deputy editors. William G. Baxt, MD, retired from his position as a deputy editor, effective January 2004. We extend our thanks to Dr. Baxt for more than 10 years of service and admire his stealth in avoiding a well-earned roasting at our annual retreat. Also, sadly, John van de Leuv, MD, CM, died in 2003. He was the first editor in chief of the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians (the original name under which this journal was founded.) In summary, Annals had a very productive year. We thank the talented and hard-working editors, staff, reviewers, and authors who make it all possible.
2
REFERENCE 1. Callaham ML. Journal policy on ethics in scientific publication. Ann Emerg Med. 2003;41:82-89.
ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
44:1
JULY 2004