TotalSubmissions

Total submissions

rejectedwithout review

Total original articles

Original articles sent for review

% Rejected with review

% Original articles

accepted

Number of papers

accepted

2001 440 30% 63% 26%

2002 514 35% 299 58% 27% 107

2003 530 40% 293 57% 26% 112

2004 543 56% 247 64% 16% 72

2005 570 55% 288 64% 16% 76

2006 625 58% 555 280 57% 18% 99

2007 649 58% 574 305 52% 20% 116

2008 692 63% 613 324 54% 17% 103

2009 693 64% 614 289 58% 15% 91

2010 714 59% 619 257 58% 18% 109

2011 767 60% 685 276 58% 17% 117

2012 780 63% 680 251 52% 15% 105

Main Reasons for Rejection without Review:

1) scope, fit, and audience2) format, appearance, language, organization3) originality and scientific priority4) lack of a clear aim or hypothesis

Main Reasons for Rejection with Review:

1) fatally flawed design or analysis2) data don’t support definitive conclusion3) massive changes required in structure of paper

Picking a journal

1) public health, epidemiology or substantive

public health

American Journal of Public HealthCanadian Journal of Public HealthInternational Journal of Public HealthBMC Public Healthetc

epidemiology

American Journal of EpidemiologyEpidemiology International Journal of EpidemiologyJournal of Epidemiology and Community HealthAnnals of Epidemiologyetc

substantive

Neurology BMJ GerontologyCancer Lancet JAIDSCirculation Pediatrics Health PolicyJAMA Stroke Clinical Infectious Diseasesetc etc etc

Open Access versus Subscription

1) Advertiser pays: JAMA, NEJM2) Subscriber pays: Epidemiology, AJR3) Author pays: PLoS, BMC4) Government pays: EHP

Impact Factor

Insane: NEJM, Science, Nature, Lancet

High: Epid Reviews, EHP, CMAJ

Moderate: Epidemiology, IJE, AJE

Low: J Urban Health, EJE, BMC Pubic Health

~Zero: Sante Publique, J Nepal Med Assoc

Increasing your Chances of Publication

1) Follow guidelines for authors obsessively2) Look at articles in the current issues for style3) Adhere to word counts, but include appendices4) Promote the article in the cover letter5) Seek pre-submission review from colleagues6) Respond to reviews obsessively and obsequiously7) Resubmit early and often (but revise first)8) Pray

11 DON’TS from Thomas Plümper (via Jackie C)

1. Don’t be afraid of rejection letters. 2. Don’t start too low on the journal ladder. 3. Don’t submit the manuscript to more than one journal at a time. 4. Don’t submit unfinished/unpolished manuscripts to get comments

from the reviewers. 5. Don’t format the manuscript according to the journal standards

for your 1st submission.6. Don’t add the name of your supervisor to the paper if s/he has not

substantively contributed. 7. Don’t complain about the referee reports, if your paper gets rejected. 8. Don’t throw the paper away if it gets trashed by the referees. 9. Don’t ignore the referee reports if your paper gets rejected. 10. Don’t do everything the referees ask for if your paper gets an r&r. 11. Don’t forget to write a detailed ‘letter to the editor’ to explain your

revisions and justify your decision not to do what the referees want if you get an r&r.