In recent years, scholarly journals have been challenged to find ways to stay competitive and especially to be timely in the digital age. Increasingly, articles are being published via the online version of a journal. As the Editor, I have sought to understand the full ramifications of this change for Health Care Management Review (HCMR) and how this can affect the curriculum vitae of our authors. To allay concerns, be transparent, and explain the new realities, I am taking this opportunity to clarify what ePub or electronic publish-ahead-of-print entails.
As of mid-January 2011, HCMR will join the 21st century by publishing articles ahead of print. This means that accepted articles that have completed the process of being copyedited, typeset, and proofed by the authors will be uploaded to the journal Web site and simultaneously released for inclusion in journal databases, such as PubMed and Ovid. What is not changed by ePub are the peer review process and the author's responsibility to carefully and fully review the proofs that are sent as a PDF. Two timeframes are changed. The shortened timeframe between the acceptance notification and the author's receiving the copyedited proof reflects a continuous approach to publication. The timeframe for this turnaround will be in the range of 2-3 weeks. Currently, authors receive the proof on a regular schedule that is linked to when the print version will be released, which could be months from the acceptance letter. The other timeframe that is shortened is between the author's submission of corrections to the proof and the availability of the article to the public. For HCMR, this second timeframe will be approximately 1-2 weeks for all ePubs. Overall, this continuous e-publication of articles as they have completed the publishing process means that articles will be searchable and readable many weeks or months before the printed versions are available.
Be assured that the accepted and ePub HCMR article will (eventually) appear in print. I will assign all accepted manuscripts to a print issue. Unfortunately, when the acceptance letter is sent to authors, it may not be possible to accurately predict in which print volume and issue the article will appear. I ask that authors be understanding and accepting of the fact that some uncertainty will be the norm henceforth. At least for the foreseeable future, HCMR will continue with its quarterly format for print publication. The continuous ePub process simply means that articles in the queue for a print issue are available much sooner.
As articles are made available via ePub, it is assigned a DOI, an acronym for digital object identifier. The DOI is a character string that serves as a unique identifier for an article and stays with the article even after the article is assigned volume, issue, and page numbers. The DOI allows an ePub article to be cited immediately and later associated with the printed volume, issue, and page citation once released in print. When the print version is released, the volume, issue, and page numbers can be added to the DOI number for the online version. If you are anxious to add a volume, issue, and page number to the DOI, I encourage you to check the online HCMR table of contents for the article. That approach will be easier and probably quicker than sending me inquiries.
In general, ePub increases the citation factor for articles. I view this as key in disseminating the rigorous and important work of our authors, and having their work enter the scholarly discourse. As Editor-in-Chief, I view the change to ePub as a quintessential support for the HCMR authors and the discipline of health care management.
L. Michele Issel, PhD, RN
Editor-in-Chief