Some musings on ‘journal readerships’ & reading behaviour

A common passage in most cover letters runs along the lines, “We feel that this work will be of interest to the readership of the Journal of Pathology”.  I often wonder about passages of that kind.  How meaningful is the phrase ‘readership of a journal’?  How has journal ‘readership’ changed and what untoward effects have there been?  Thinking about journal readership has led me to reflect on how we read and gain scientific information.  I think things are not going in the right direction! 

Moving the goal posts

I wonder if the following story strikes a chord with readers?  Some authors work hard a novel and interesting project.  A very nice paper is written and submitted to a leading journal.  After a period of time the Editor writes to the authors indicating a revision is required based on reviewers comments.  The authors work had, perform additional experiments and fully address each and every issue raised by reviewers and Editor.  They resubmit. They wait . . . .  and wait . . .  and then there is a response.  Rejection . . .  “Sorry we did not like the paper after all”, where the ‘we’ was the editor.

Has this happened to you?  Have you experienced what I call “moving goal posts”?  I think this topic deserves some consideration.

What happens to rejected papers?

We have all experienced rejection! As scientists it is a simple fact of life that grants are not funded, applications for tenure and promotion are turned down, and papers get rejected.  In the case of those manuscripts that one has worked so hard on, rejection can merely be a preface to a cycle of further submissions to another journals.  As individuals we are painfully aware of the story of those specific manuscripts we have been involved in . . . but what of the general population of papers? What is the life history of a manuscript? What is the probability of ultimate success?  Are there particular ‘ecosystems’ or communities of journals that authors use? There is a small but quite interesting literature on this, and a recent paper in Science has thrown new light on these issues.

What’s in a name? From eponymous to anonymous??

Throughout medical school, residency, and fellowship training it is commonplace to refer to diseases, cells, and syndromes using the eponym of the person to first describe it. The practice adds a bit of color to our field, and also provides a reminder of the history of medicine. In some cases, it even makes the disease or cell easier to remember.

But what’s in a name? There is a great deal of controversy regarding the practice of naming naturally-occurring events after a person.

More on Impact Factor . . .

A few weeks ago I made some comments about Impact Factor and the skewed nature of citations and hence the inappropriate nature of a ‘mean’ to describe that data.  I also commented on the desirability of this metric being freely available and not behind a paywall.

Nothing is new! . . .  and I have now come across cogently argued Editorials on the matter.  They make the same points, and indeed many others, that readers may wish to consult.  They are well worth reading!

Rossner M, Van Epps H, Hill E.  Show me the data. J Cell Biol. 2007;179(6):1091-2.

Rossner M, Van Epps H, Hill E. Irreproducible results: a response to Thomson Scientific. J Cell Biol. 2008;180(2):254-5.

Geography matters . . .

I want to tell you a little story about geography.  I am back in my favourite seat in the business lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5 waiting to board a transatlantic flight.  I sincerely hope that the pilot knows where he is going, although I suspect that GPS is going to do most of the work.  Of course GPS has had its failures and a good grounding in geography is surely important: especially if you are an airline pilot.  However the possible lack of geographical knowledge has been noted in beauty pageant contestants and aspiring Presidential candidates (including a notable one from Alaska who was unsure of her neighbours), and is certainly not limited to the United States.

American English or British English: resolving an Editor’s dilemma?

Commuting to and from work can be a pain, but mine is quite enjoyable.  My employers provide a comfortable bus.  This means I do not have to drive.  This is fortunate since the roads in Riyadh are among the most dangerous I have ever seen!  Another benefit is the eclectic mix of staff on the bus, from many different countries, with diverse backgrounds, who work in very different areas of the hospital.

One of my colleagues on the bus, and now close friend, is Ron: a widely read, witty and articulate Californian.  Ron and I often have ‘transatlantic banter’ at the back of the bus.  The relative merits of new-world and old-world wines for example; or the lack of a significant North American cuisine (arguably their only contribution being ‘fast food’ and Maple syrup).  I have repeatedly tried to explain the quintessential nature of cricket and how a five day match that ends in a nail-biting draw can be really very exciting, but alas to no avail!  We have also recently debated the relative merits of American English and British English.  Ron argued for the clear superiority of American English: you might imagine my view . . .

Skewed impact factors

Impact Factors do cause a lot of upset.  Authors use them to help decide where to send papers.  Publishers are keen on them as are University and research institute administrators.   Various research review processes (like the RAE and REF in the UK and ERA in Australia) suggest that they are not important but this is disingenuous – they are a central element of decision making, despite protestations to the contrary (and calls from bodies such as UK Parliamentary Committees).  Because of this, Editors have to deal with them, and of course their ‘success’ (or otherwise) is in no small measure determined the place of their journals in Impact Factor rankings.  But Impact Factor is a really flawed metric! 

The art of the cover letter

Journals ask for a cover letter to accompany every submission, and  Journal of Pathology is no different. We have some clear suggestions and guidelines in our Instructions to Authors about this, specifically pertaining to what a cover letter should contain.   Most cover letters are standard and are not controversial.  Others contain quite extraordinary statements! Some are just odd, and sometimes very odd, in one way or another.

STOP PRESS: Saturday to become official Editorial day of rest!

“Are there ‘better’ times to submit papers to the Journal?”  This was a question I was asked at the Reception for the Journal of Pathology and Histopathology held at USCAP a few days ago.  I was also asked about changing submissions to the Journal.  Are there variations around the year and even during the week?

I had not really thought about this before so I went into our manuscript tracking system and tried to find out.