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Editor’s Report for the Journal of Dental Research, 2007

University of Birmingham, UK

I am pleased to report that the Journal of Dental Research continues to maintain its leading position in the field and to respond positively to the changing scientific publishing environment.

The scientific content of the Journal is of paramount importance, and it is pleasing to report a further improvement in its Scientific Impact Factor (SIF) following publication of the 2006 SIFs. The JDR continues to hold the leading position in the field of dentistry, with a SIF of 3.475 (Journal Citation Reports, 2006). Our key criteria in assignment of scientific priority to manuscripts for publication continue to be that the JDR favors definitive research articles reporting original and novel research showing cause-and-effect relationships for experimental studies and explanatory/associative relationships for those of an observational nature, that will allow a pivotal stance to be adopted on a topic. Reports of hypothesis-driven research are encouraged to provide an understanding of the data presented, and simple descriptional and methodological reports tend to carry relatively low scientific priority for publication. As always, I am indebted to my colleagues on the editorial team for their diligence and in maintaining the quality of articles in the Journal. I particularly wish to recognize the contributions of all of the Associate Editors of the Journal. Dr. Jocelyne Feine of McGill University and Dr. Larry Katz of Case Western Reserve University have done sterling work as Associate Editors for the Clinical and Biomaterials & Bioengineering sections of the Journal, respectively. Dr. Marty Taubman from The Forsyth Institute has continued to attract many interesting articles for the Discovery! section of the Journal. This will be the last year that Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine has a separate SIF calculated since its content was included within the JDR, and based on citations calculated for one rather than two years, the 2006 SIF is 6.0. This is the highest SIF ever reported for CROBM—indeed, for any IADR/AADR-published journal—and reflects the erudite leadership of Dr. Olav Alvares and, more recently, Dr. Dana Graves, in soliciting reviews of the highest quality in this area. Dr. Graves is already making his mark on this section of the Journal and has attracted a number of fascinating and informative reviews. Wherever possible, he has sought to partner reviews in the same issue to provide more than one perspective on coverage of a topic area. We will look forward to the continuing evolution of this section of the Journal.

The publishing environment for peer-reviewed scientific journals is rapidly changing, driven by many external forces. In recent reports, I have described how we have endeavored to adjust to this environment to maintain our leading position as the premier journal in the oral, dental, and craniofacial field. Many of these changes have centered on improving access to the content of the Journal, both to the research community and more broadly. This has included adoption of the DC Principles of Open Access, whereby all published articles in the JDR older than 12 months are available freely online on an open-access basis, the development of our archive (from volume 1 in 1919 onwards), and, last year, by the provision of online subscription to the Journal as an IADR membership benefit. These approaches have enabled us to maintain a high profile for the Journal and to ensure accessibility of its content.

However, it is important that we continue to respond to environmental forces and provide Journal access and content in a way that is most useful to our readership. For instance, we envisage opportunities for greater use of Web 2.0 services in the future. It is also important, however, that every institution in which our readership is based have good access to the content of the Journal. I would ask all of you to take a few minutes out of your busy schedule and check that your library provides full access to the JDR, and, if this is not the case, to request that your librarian arrange an institutional subscription to the Journal. Traditionally, libraries have subscribed to the print version of the Journal and will often be keen to maintain continuity of such collections. However, there are significant advantages for libraries in extending their subscription to include online access as well. With online access, the content of the Journal becomes available immediately on the day of publication, access is provided to online appendices (not available in the print version of the Journal) that can enhance the readers’ view of the published article through further text, images, and video sequences, and, as many libraries increasingly offer remote electronic access to their collections for readers, there is opportunity to access the Journal’s content wherever you can log on to the Internet. Institutional subscriptions to the Journal also help to ensure its financial viability, continued publication, and scope for further development. Your efforts in securing institutional subscriptions will help to strengthen the Journal’s position.

Clearly, Open Access remains high on the agenda within the scientific publishing arena. Increasingly, much of the current drive for Open Access appears to be coming from the research funding agencies. While the policy of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US remains under debate, this policy remains unchanged at the present time, with authors supported by NIH funds being requested to submit a copy of the published article to a public digital repository within 12 months after publication. In 2007, some 28% (30% in 2006) of the corresponding authors of articles published in the JDR received US government funding in support of the research published. We have endeavored to facilitate this process for authors by submitting these articles on the authors’ behalf. More restrictive policies on Open Access have emerged from some other funders, including the Wellcome Trust and the UK research councils, among others, with a six-month compulsory deadline for deposition of articles arising from research funded by these agencies being more typical. The JDR manuscript submission policies are fully compliant with such requirements from funding agencies and simply require the Journal’s publishing costs to be met by the authors, usually with supplementary costs coming from the research funding agency. Of course, all of the content of the JDR becomes freely accessible 12 months after first publication, reflecting our approach to broadening the dissemination of the research we publish. While the philosophy behind Open Access is very laudable, researchers must recognize that it represents a substantial change in the way that journal publishing operates. The traditional business model is that the reader pays the costs of publication through a journal subscription, while Open Access provides free access to the content (and, in its strictest sense, also the data within articles) of the journal for the reader, and the publication costs are met by authors. This shift in publication costs from reader to author represents a substantial change and may well have an impact on how research is disseminated. We will continue to monitor developments in this area closely, to ensure that the Journal’s policies allow us to be competitive.

The volume of manuscript submissions has continued to be healthy, with 517 new submissions (through November 1), in contrast to 489 reported at the same time last year, which have come from around the globe, emphasizing the international coverage of the Journal (Fig. 1). There has also been a good distribution of original research articles through the different sections of the Journal (Fig. 2). Some 62% of the corresponding authors of articles published in the JDR were IADR/AADR members, compared with 65% in 2006. It is pleasing to recognize that a good proportion of authors publishing in JDR are members of our Associations, and the Membership Dept. is approaching those who are not members to highlight the benefits of membership in IADR. Our overall acceptance rate in 2006 has been similar to those in recent years, at 33%, reflecting the intense competition for space within the Journal. As a consequence, we have to prioritize the most definitive research submitted, and at times, this will result in scientifically acceptable manuscripts, but of lower scientific priority, having to be rejected. While such rejections are obviously disappointing for authors, our focus on the most definitive research allows us to maintain the Journal’s scientific standing and to make it an attractive forum for authors to submit their research. I have continued to provide manuscript preparation workshops to support authors when the opportunity arises and would be pleased to discuss the organization of such workshops with researchers in the future. We continue to strive for timely review of submissions, and in 2007, our median time to initial decision was similar to that in 2006, at 2.4 months. Members of the Editorial Board and our reviewers are key to maintaining the standards of the Journal, and the need to seek expert reviewers who are the leaders in their areas contributes to the timescale of review. We are indebted to members of the Editorial Board and our many reviewers for their contributions to the expert peer review of JDR manuscripts. The Editorial Board members who have completed distinguished service at the conclusion of this year include: Imad About, Salomon Amar, Thomas Attin, John Bartlett, Henk Brand, Jeom-Il Choi, Christopher Fenno, Ashraf Fouad, Anne Haffajee, Satoshi Imazato, Jiiang-Huei Jeng, Jenny Katz, Bruno Loos, Debora Matthews, Jacques Nör, John Novak, Bruce Paster, Helena Ritchie, Stefan Ruhl, James Simmer, Stephen Sonis, Bjorn Steffensen, Eiji Tanaka, Mark Thomason, Charles Widmer, Akira Yamane, and I particularly acknowledge their contributions at this time. I am also grateful to members of the 2007 IADR/AADR Publications Committee (Dr. Dianne Rekow, Chair) for their support. Dr. George Taylor from the Publications Committee has provided invaluable service in overseeing the nominations of new Editorial Board members and their selection by the Publications Committee. I am also grateful to Dr. Rena D’Souza from the Publications Committee for co-ordinating the Committee’s review of the content of each issue of the Journal and the feedback provided to the Editors and staff.

View larger version (16K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. Distribution of JDR Manuscript Submissions by Division/Section and Country [Country is that of Corresponding Author].

View larger version (18K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 2. Distribution of JDR Manuscript Submissions by Category [manuscripts submitted from 01 Nov 2006 to 31 Oct 2007]

We will continue to evolve and develop the Journal to ensure its continuing leading position in the field. Central to this goal is publication of high-quality research, and I would encourage readers to submit their best research to the JDR for consideration. I welcome communication (a.j.smith{at}bham.ac.uk) with researchers as to how we can best serve their needs and to ensure that the Journal provides a cutting-edge view of the latest research in dentistry.

Yours respectfully,

Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 87, No. 1, 5-7 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/154405910808700101


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This Article Figures Only Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Smith, A. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Smith, A. J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?