Progress in scholarly journal publications

Abstract

The end of 2010 is fast approaching, a time for many of us to reflect on what we have done in the previous year and what we hope to achieve in 2011. Here at Nursing & Health Sciences, it seems that our work is getting busier each year, with a rising submission rate and printed pages now totaling 550 annually. We are trying to ensure that the articles and research findings are available as quickly as possible through early online publication, a trend in global online journals (Ezema, 2010). The number of published health-related journals articles grows annually as health professionals become more educated and research-savvy around the world. Governments and funding bodies are raising expectations that publicly-funded researchers are held accountable to disseminate findings from their research, and rightly so. The evidence-based thrust in health care, I believe, also has encouraged health workers to ensure that their practice is based on more rigorous findings from quantitative and qualitative research. Additionally, the movement in many countries for health professionals and scholars to publish in high impact-factor journals has meant that there is increasing competition for publication space in those journals. In some ways, this is a very important consideration because competition helps to increase standards and the quality of published articles. However, this trend is not without its dangers. Publishing only in journals with an impact factor sometimes means that important literature and evidence is not being read by the audience who should be reading it. As I travel and meet clinicians in many places, I am more convinced than ever that we are failing some of our colleagues in practice, especially those in developing countries. Many are not accessing important knowledge because they are either too busy or short-staffed, some scholarly impact-factor journals are not viewed as applicable to their everyday work, or the research process or findings cannot be understood. Some journals are inaccessible to many for a variety of reasons, including poor socioeconomic circumstances. Moreover, as Smith and Hazelton (2008) have noted, due to the proliferation of the literature itself, it is becoming increasingly difficult for researchers to decide which journal they should read. Despite these misgivings, as Editor-in-Chief, I am pleased with the progress that is being made in our Journal: we are receiving and publishing more manuscripts from developing countries. There is no room for complacency, however, and we have to look for new and better ways of doing things. Your feedback is always welcomed about how we can improve things. This year, we achieved our first impact factor due to the terrific reviewing work of our Editorial Board members, the team at Wiley-Blackwell, and authors from around the world. Thanks to all of you for your commitment to growing scholarship. Getting published is hard work but I urge unsuccessful authors not to give up. Persistence pays! This final issue for 2010 is packed with a variety of interesting articles from Thailand, Singapore, the UK, Sweden, the USA, Turkey, Japan, Iran, Norway, Korea, and Ireland, a truly international issue. Seasons Greetings to you all, thank you for your contributions, and we wish you a peaceful and fulfilling 2011.