Scientific journals: raising profiles, prospects, and impact factors

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


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


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


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


Challenges

The Lancet Oncology

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

More citations

Higher impact factor

Good authors

Good papers


Golden triangle of publishing

Eugene Garfield, Founder of ISI, creator of the Impact Factor

“Publish the best science”


How can I increase the impact factor of my journal?


• 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?


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!


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



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



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



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


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




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!)



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



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


Authors want a journal that will:

What do Editors want?

If Authors want all these things, then Editors should want them as well



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


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”


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



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



Thank you!

[email protected]

Documents

Scientific journals: raising profiles, prospects, and impact factors