scientific journals: raising profiles, prospects, and impact factors
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Scientific journals: raising profiles, prospects, and impact factors
3rd Meeting on Evaluation and Performance of Brazilian Journals
Dr. Sue SilverEditor-in-ChiefFrontiers in Ecology and the EnvironmentEcological Society of AmericaWashington DC
Sao Paulo Research Foundation,
Sao Paulo, Brazil27th September 2012
More citations
Higher impact factor
Good authors
Good papers
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Golden triangle of publishing
But first…..
My credentials: The Lancet Oncology Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
Similarities • Both new journal launches • Both published by well-known organizations • Both now have high impact factors
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Elsevier(part of Reed Elsevier Group plc)
Ecological Society of America
Impact factor: 22.594th/194 – Oncology
Impact factor: 9.1132nd /205 – Env. Sci.4th/131 - Ecology
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
The Lancet Oncology
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
• Peer reviewed• Interdisciplinary• Up-to-date• Understandable to those reading outside their own
area of expertise • Full color throughout• Variety of content• Print and online
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Similarities
• I am not an oncologist/ecologist• I didn’t know the subject or the top authors• Nobody had ever heard of me• Oh no! Not another new journal?!• New journals
i) have no impact factorii) may never get oneiii) may not succeed/stop publication
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Challenges
The Lancet Oncology
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
More citations
Higher impact factor
Good authors
Good papers
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Golden triangle of publishing
Eugene Garfield, Founder of ISI, creator of the Impact Factor
“Publish the best science”
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
How can I increase the impact factor of my journal?
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
• Call for papers (too passive)
• Active commissioning
• Appeal to senior authors who no longer need a high IF
• Relaunch or redesign – change or add new focus
• Explain why this journal
• Call in favors
• Beg!
How can we persuade good authors to submit their best papers?
• What do Authors want?
• What do Editors want?
• What does Thomson Reuters want?
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Consider the three “communities” in the triangle
Highly respected
Professionally produced (eg, XML = searchable, linked, online submission site, etc)
Well read (high profile)
A good match for their paper (clear scope statement, Instructions to Authors, etc)
Efficiently staffed
And….has a good impact factor!
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Authors want a journal that is:
Highly respected
• High-quality, peer-reviewed content
• Well-known and respected Editor and Editorial Board
• Ethical editorial practices (eg peer review and IF)
i) published on website
ii) carried out by the Editor and editorial staff
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Authors want a journal that is:
Professionally produced
Making use of modern publishing technologies• XML tagging for
a) Searchability b) Linking to CrossRef, PubMed Central, etc
• Online submission system• Rapid, regular publication (but still high quality)• RSS feeds, issue alerts• eReaders, ePub formats
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Authors want a journal that is:
I Well read (high profile, good visibility)• Included in international and national databases • Open access (via SciELO)• Different language editions or abstracts • Present at international/national conferences• Press releases • Offers assistance to decision makers• Podcasts, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Authors want a journal that is:
15
ESA listserve
RSS feeds (ESA has 8)
EcoTone Blog 1500–2000 visitors/week
Twitter – 5500 followers
Podcasts – 1–2/month
Facebook – over 1750 likes
Regular press releases
Congressional briefings
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
II Well read (high profile, good visibility)
Drive traffic to the journal website through author assistance and education:
• Offer how-to-get-published lectures at meetings
• Organize courses/webinars (eg, how to write a paper)
• Provide lists of resources on website (online writing classes, language-polishing services)
• Organize a mentoring scheme
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Authors want a journal that is:
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Author education
III Well read (high profile, good visibility)
Drive traffic to the journal website through new and interesting content:
• Round-up of what’s in other journals
• News/science policy section
• Book or website reviews
• Equipment reviews (attracts advertising!)
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Authors want a journal that is:
A good match for their paper
• Detailed, informative, easy-to-navigate website
• Clear scope/mission statement, aims and content
• Clear, detailed, findable Instructions to Authors
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Authors want a journal that is:
Efficiently staffed
• Keep the peer review and production processes moving
• Ensure that peer-review reports are professional and useful (edit out rude comments?)
• Respond promptly to presubmission inquiries
• Deal fairly with appeals
• Help authors who have difficulties with online submission
Make the publishing experience a pleasant one
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Authors want a journal that will:
What do Editors want?
If Authors want all these things, then Editors should want them as well
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
What do Thomson Reuters want?
• Informative title
• Named authors
• An abstract
• Data or other new scientific information
• Citation section
• Regular publication schedule
• Issues published on time
• Ethical editorial policies
• Counted Research papers of all kinds Reviews
• Not counted Editorials News Letters to the Editor
BUT, if an editorial, news items, letters to the Editor, or similar materials are cited, they are added to the numerator, so increasing the IF
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
The BEST way to increase the IF is to publish excellent scientific articles that other scientists will cite
But also remember• Reviews receive more citations than research papers
• Longer articles receive more citations than shorter articles
• Articles in open access journals receive more (?) citations
sooner
• Editorials and overviews – “best papers last year”
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Bad strategies for increasing IF
• Editors ‘invite’ authors of submitted articles
to cite papers in their journal
• Editors discourage authors from citing
papers in a rival journal
• Don’t be tempted to allow the IF to dictate your content
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Responsibilities of Editors
• Oversee a fair and unbiased peer review system
• Showcase the best possible science
• Make it as accessible as possible for relevant readers
• Catch scientific fraud, plagiarism, etc
But also…….
“It is our job to make important information interesting”
Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Profiles, prospects, and impact factors
Thank you!
suesilver@esa.org
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