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The University of Oklahoma, University Libraries, Norman, OK 73019
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
LITERATURE CITED
ABSTRACT 
The World Wide Web (WWW) is a burgeoning information resource that can be utilized for current awareness and assistance in manuscript preparation and submission. The ever changing and expanding nature of the WWW allows it to provide up to the minute information, but this inherent changeability often makes information access difficult. To assist nutrition scientists in locating useful information about nutritional science journals on the WWW, this article critically reviews and describes the WWW sites for seventeen highly ranked nutrition and dietetics journals. Included in each annotation are the site's title, web address or Universal Resource Locator (URL), journal ranking and site authorship. Also listed is whether or not the site makes available the guidelines for authors, tables of contents, abstracts, online ordering, as well as information about the editorial board. This critical survey illustrates that the information on the web, regardless of its authority, is not of equal quality.
KEY WORDS: World Wide Web · Internet · article submission · author instructionsINTRODUCTION
The World Wide Web (WWW) portion of the Internet is a rapidly proliferating information resource that is changing the way in which articles are written and submitted for publication (Clement 1994
, Taubes 1996). There is a wealth of information on the WWW that can greatly aid in the planning and mechanics of preparing a nutritional science manuscript. Guidelines for submission of articles, tables of contents, and/or abstracts of many nutrition journals are now available on the WWW. Additionally, several nutritional science journals are proposing to make the full text of their articles available on the WWW.
The information on the WWW is often that most currently available because it does not need to be first published in print and then disseminated before it can be accessed. Additionally, the information on the WWW is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any computer with the appropriate communications software. These qualities make knowledge of the information about nutritional science journals on the WWW indispensable to scientists for both timely information regarding article submission and current awareness of developments in nutrition science. However, locating the desired information is not always straightforward. There is also no guarantee that the information found has been verified or refereed by peers in the nutritional science community. Further frustration may be encountered when a site's address, referred to as its Universal Resource Locator (URL), and links to other important information change or become unavailable without prior notification. Although this amorphous nature of the WWW allows the information to be up to date, it also makes it challenging to locate the desired information.
To facilitate the manuscript preparation process and to make it easier for nutrition scientists to stay currently aware, this article reviews seventeen WWW sites that provide information about the highest rated (Institute for Scientific Information 1995) nutrition and dietetics journals. The journals were selected for annotation if the impact factor according to the Science Citation Index Journal Citation Reports (Institute for Scientific Information 1995) was >1.00 (Table 1). It will be interesting to note if the availability of information about a nutritional science journal on the WWW influences its impact factor in the future. Consequently, also provided are descriptions of three WWW sites for nutritional science journals that have impact factors of 
1.00 (Table 2). Additionally, the URL of five nutritional science journals that have no Institute for Scientific Information ranking are provided (Table 3). The sites discussed have been checked for authority to ensure that the information provided is as accurate and timely as possible.
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Table 1. Universal Resource Locators (URL) of nutritional science journals with an Institute for Scientific Information (1995) Impact Factor >1.00 |
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Table 2.
Universal Resource Locators (URL) of nutritional science journals with an Institute
for Scientific Information (1995) Impact Factor |
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Table 3. Universal Resource Locators (URL) of nutritional science journals not ranked by the Institute for Scientific Information (1995) |
1. Annual Review of Nutrition
Site Author: Annual Reviews, a nonprofit publishing house
Guidelines for Authors: Not available
Tables of Contents: Available; volumes 15 (1995) and 16 (1996) plus future volumes 17 (1997) and 18 (1998)
Abstracts: Available; volume 16
Online Ordering: Available; volumes and articles
Editorial Board: Names and affiliations
Additional Features: An E-mail link to the production editor is provided. There are also links to the tables of contents of twenty-seven other Annual Reviews publications. It is also possible to access a free online database where information about a particular topic, article, or author can be searched within these Annual Reviews publications.
2. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Site Author: American Society for Clinical Nutrition
Guidelines for Authors: Available
Tables of Contents: Available; volumes 63 and 64 (1996); volume 65, issues 1-3 (1997) plus several supplements
Abstracts: Available; volumes 63 and 64 (1996); volume 65, issues 1-3 (1997) plus several supplements
Online Ordering: Available
Editorial Board: Names and E-mail link to the editorial office
Additional Features: A searchable index provides access to the table of contents and abstracts for the available volumes via alphabetized subject and author lists. Other links include; "New and Noteworthy," "What's New?," a calendar of international meetings, 1996 and 1997 subscription rates, claims and other queries, list of available supplements and document delivery services. The American Society for Clinical Nutrition provides a disclaimer that it does not guarantee the accuracy of information found on WWW sites other than its own at http://www.faseb.org/ajcn. Currently, there are no plans to make American Journal of Clinical Nutrition available in full text on the WWW, but readers at the test sites for the Institute for Scientific Information's Electronic Library Project can gain full text access on a subscription basis. Further information about the Electronic Library Project is available at http://www.isinet.com/whatsnew/whatsnew.html#elp.
3. Biofactors
Site Author: IOS Press International
Guidelines for Authors: Not available
Tables of Contents: Not available
Abstracts: Not available
Online Ordering: Available
Editorial Board: E-mail link
Additional Features: The site lists the ISSN, price and aims of Biofactors. From this site it can be discovered that Biofactors is concerned with the biomedical effects and roles of trace substances necessary for life. It is also reported here that no new volume has yet been announced for 1997. A direct e-mail link to IOS Press is provided. Upon contacting IOS Press through this link, it was learned that the full text of Biofactors will be available in the future on BioMedNet, a world wide club for the biological and medical community. Information about BioMedNet can be found at http://biomednet.com.
4. Nutrition and Cancer
Site Author: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Guidelines for Authors: Not available; E-mail link is provided to submit questions about the submission protocol to the editors
Tables of Contents: Not available
Abstracts: Not available; abstracting and indexing sources are listed
Online Ordering: Available
Editorial Board: Editorial scope is provided
Additional Features: According to LEA's journal customer service, Nutrition and Cancer will be available in full text form on the WWW in May or June of 1997; however, an exact schedule and pricing are not yet available.
5. The Journal of Nutrition
Site Author: American Society for Nutritional Science
Guidelines for Authors: Available
Tables of Contents: Available; volume 125, issue 12 (1995) through current issue plus the associated supplements
Abstracts: Available for those listed above except volume 125, issue 12 (1995)
Online Ordering: Not available
Editorial Board: Names and affiliations
Additional Features: This site lists the goals, history and research areas of The Journal of Nutrition. The site gives an E-mail link where journal inquiries may be made. After contacting Karen M. King via this address, it was learned that The Journal of Nutrition will be available online in May 1997, with the first issue appearing online immediately after the print version is mailed out. Back issues from January to April of 1997 (volume 127, issue 1 through volume 127, issue 4) will be added gradually over the first three months of operation. It is anticipated that by August of 1997 all published 1997 issues will be available online. A subscription to The Journal of Nutrition Online will be provided to all members of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences as part of membership dues. The URL for the online version will be: http://www.nutrition.org.
6. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
Site Author: CRC Press
Guidelines for Authors: Not available
Tables of Contents: Not available
Abstracts: Not available
Online Ordering: Not available
Editorial Board: Name and affiliation of the editor
Additional Features: This site describes the aims and scope of Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, which are to present critical viewpoints of current technology, food science and human nutrition, covering topics ranging from antioxidants to flavor chemistry to the role of nutrients and their bioavailability. The 1996 subscription rate for volume 36, issues 1-8 is listed as $588.00 and the ISSN is also given. No other links are provided. The CRC Press homepage at http://www.crcpress.com/ lists the guide for authors, tables of contents and abstracts for other CRC Press publications such as Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry and the Journal of Fourier Analysis and Applications. Perhaps, in the future, similar information for Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition will become available.
7. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
Site Author: Cambridge University Press
Guidelines for Authors: Under construction
Tables of Contents: Under construction; volume 56, issues 1-3 (1997)
Abstracts: Not available
Online Ordering: Available for customers in the United States
Editorial Board: Names and affiliations
Additional Features: The web site for the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society is actually a work in progress. The site states that the Proceedings contain papers presented at symposia organized by the Nutrition Society that were given by invited speakers from all over the world who contribute to the study of nutrition. The papers cover a wide variety of nutrition fields including the effect of nutrients upon the health, metabolism and tissue function of humans, as well as laboratory and farm animals.
8. International Journal of Obesity
Site Author: Stockton Press, a division of Macmillian Press
Guidelines for Authors: Not available; information about how to obtain a copy is provided
Tables of Contents: Available; the most recent issue
Abstracts: Not available; indexing and abstracting sources are listed
Online Ordering: Available
Editorial Board: Names and affiliations
Additional Features: Links are given to information about Stockton Press including advertising, production, and subscribers services. An E-mail link is given to the production controller for the International Journal of Obesity. Links to related Macmillian journals including the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Journal of Human Hypertension, Nature, Nature Medicine and Public Health are included. Additionally, Stockton Press lists the scope and audience of the International Journal of Obesity, as well as the Institute for Scientific Information ranking. This is perhaps the most innovative site surveyed because it makes it possible to receive E-mail delivery of the tables of contents of the International Journal of Obesity as each becomes available. Since signing up in early January 1997, the author has received four tables of contents via E-mail. There are plans to mount the full text of the International Journal of Obesity and the author instructions onto the WWW by mid-1997.
9. International Journal of Eating Disorders
Site Author: John Wiley & Sons
Guidelines for Authors: Not available
Tables of Contents: Not available
Abstracts: Not available; indexing and abstracting sources are listed
Online Ordering: Not available; FAX order form provided
Editorial Board: Not available
Additional Features: To retrieve information about the International Journal of Eating Disorders, the user is advised to access the John Wiley homepage at the URL given in Table 1, link to "Product Information" followed by "Wiley General Catalog" and finally search by title keywords such as "international eating disorders." The user will then be linked to a gopher menu that lists folders for several titles including volumes 21-22 of the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Pursuit of this link subsequently yields title information such as cost, ISSN and readership plus a description of the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Finding this information was more difficult compared with any of the other sites reviewed, and the difficulty was exacerbated by the cumbersome nature of the gopher sites and addresses.
10. The British Journal of Nutrition
Site Author: Cambridge University Press
Guidelines for Authors: Under construction
Tables of Contents: Available; volume 74, issue 6 (1995), volumes 75 and 76 (1996)
Under construction; volumes 77 and 78 (1997)
Abstracts: Not available
Online Ordering: Not availalble
Editorial Board: Names and affiliations and an E-mail link to the editor
Additional Features: The format of the information presented in this web site parallels that in the site for the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. Both journals and web sites are produced by Cambridge University Press. Using the e-mail address given for the editor of the British Journal of Nutrition, a connection was made to the publishing editor for the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International's (CABI) primary and review journals. The author was informed that in the near future the table of contents for the journals of the Nutrition Society will be available through CABI's homepage at http://www.cabi.org.
11. Nutrition Reviews
Site Author: Human Nutrition Institute, a branch of the International Life Science Institute
Guidelines for Authors: Not available
Tables of Contents: Not available
Abstracts: Not available
Online Ordering: Not available; toll free number listed for subcription information
Editorial Board: Name and affiliation of editor
Additional Features: The WWW site for Nutrition Reviews states that the journal provides timely and authoritative reviews of nutrition research in addition to articles covering recent international nutrition and science policy advancements. Access to the tables of contents and abstracts of Nutrition Reviews can be gained via the Community of Science Web Server at http://cos.gdb.org/. At this URL, journals indexed by the National Library of Medicine's Medline can be searched. An alphabetical listing of the journals available is provided and includes many titles of interest to the nutritional science community including AJCN, and The Journal of Nutrition, in addition to Nutrition Reviews. Although Medline can be employed to make a broader survey of the nutritional science literature, the Community of Science Web Server is a fast alternative to keep abreast of articles that appear in specific journals of concern. Upon contacting the Human Nutrition Institute by E-mail, it was discovered that there is no intention to make Nutrition Reviews available in full text format on the WWW.
12. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
Site Author: American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.)
Guidelines for Authors: Not available
Tables of Contents: Available; volume 20, issue 6 (1996), volume 21, issue 1 (1997), and volume 21, issue 2 (1997)
Abstracts: Available; volume 20, issue 6 (1996), volume 21, issue 1 (1997), and volume 21, issue 2 (1997)
Online Ordering: Not available
Editorial Board: Not available
Additional Features: Information about another A.S.P.E.N. publication, Nutrition and Clinical Practice, can be found via A.S.P.E.N.'s homepage located at the URL; http://www.peakcom.com/clinnutr.org/. Here the user will also locate information about A.S.P.E.N.'s meetings, public policy, and an E-mail link to A.S.P.E.N.
13. Appetite
Site Author: Academic Press
Guidelines for Authors: Available
Tables of Contents: Available; volume 25 (1995), volume 26 and 27 (1996), volume 28, issues 1 and 2 (1997) from IDEAL USA (see below)
Abstracts: Available; volume 25 (1995), volume 26 and 27 (1996), volume 28, issues 1 and 2 (1997) from IDEAL USA (see below)
Online Ordering: Available; delivered in Adobe Acrobat format
Editorial Board: Names and affiliations
Additional Features: Information is given about subscription rates (pounds sterling) as well as what research areas are covered. The greatest advantage to accessing this site was the discovery of Academic Press's IDEAL USA database. After clicking on the link provided to IDEAL USA, one may log in as a guest and gain free access to abstracts and tables of contents. Anyone with an Internet connection can freely browse and search the tables of contents and the abstracts of 175 of Academic Press's journals. Access is provided to articles from 1997, 1996 and portions of 1995 and includes titles such as Food Microbiology, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications and Food Science and Technology. The entire IDEAL USA database can be searched using keywords and Boolean operators. Full text viewing is available to authorized users. More information can be found at the IDEAL USA homepage URL, http://www.idealibrary.com.
14. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Site Author: Stockton Press, a division of Macmillian Press
Guidelines for Authors: Not available; information about how to obtain a copy is provided
Tables of Contents: Available; the most recent issue
Abstracts: Not available
Online Ordering: Available
Editorial Board: Names and affiliations
Additional Features: This web site has the same design as Stockton Press's other innovative site for the International Journal of Obesity discussed earlier. The production controller is the same person for both journals; it is also possible to receive the table of contents for the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition via E-mail.
15. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
Site Author: Lippincott-Raven
Guidelines for Authors: Not available
Tables of Contents: Not available
Abstracts: Not available
Online Ordering: Available; subscriptions and sample issues
Editorial Board: Names
Additional Features: This site describes the scope of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition as one that emphasizes infant and childhood nutrition in normal and abnormal conditions of the alimentary tract. Subscription rates are also given.
16. Journal of the American Dietetic Association
Site Author: American Dietetic Association (ADA)
Guidelines for Authors: Brief summary available; copy of the complete text may be ordered using the 800 number provided
Tables of Contents: Available; volume 96, issues 5, 6 and 12 (1996), highlights of volume 97, issue 1 (1997)
Abstracts: Available; selected articles from volume 96, issue 12 (1996)
Online Ordering: Available; $9.75/article
Editorial Board: Names; address for editorial correspondence
Additional Features: This site announces that ADA is currently updating this link to previous issues to provide the tables of contents for past and current issues of the journal. A link is also given to the article "The American Dietetic Association Strategic Framework 1996-1997" and to the guidelines for its implementation. Additionally, this WWW site lists links to the journal's staff members, general information, advertizing representatives, subscription inquiries and editorial correspondence.
17. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry
Site Author: Elsevier Science
Guidelines for Authors: Available
Tables of Contents: Available, volume 6 (1995) through volume 7 (1996)
Abstracts: Not available; abstracting and indexing sources are listed
Online Ordering: Available; subscriptions and sample issues
Editorial Board: Names
Additional Features: The aims and the scope of the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry and its audience are listed. Access is provided to the contents of other Elsevier Science titles using the search button. The user can make comments in the online "guestbook." Elsevier Science also provides a link to copyright information to remind the user that all rights are reserved.
Other nutritional science journals on the WWW
1. Nutrition ResearchDISCUSSION
describes an approach to teaching graduate students at the University of Kansas Medical Center how to publish on the WWW. Kipp (1996) purports that knowledge of web publishing will better prepare nutritional science graduate students to be competitive in the job marketplace. Science On-Line makes available to its readers the full text and graphics of all of its scientific articles and reports, their news section as well as the letters to the editor and policy forums. The site also contains links for cited references to other sources, often including abstracts and even full text. Floyd E. Bloom (1996a), editor of Science, writes that Science's enhanced online availability allows scholars to obtain faster recovery of specific items and to obtain links to related information. Additionally, Bloom (1996a) purports that Science On-Line is a useful tool that has far-reaching effects on the international scientific community, making the playing field more equal. This is especially important in our age of information overload. Bloom (1996b) also suggests that the greatest utility of the WWW is for current awareness because scientists already have too many journals to follow.
FOOTNOTES
Manuscript received 3 March 1997. Initial reviews completed 4 April 1997. Revision accepted 24 April 1997.
LITERATURE CITED
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  P. Guenter and S. Dean Professional Development: Writing and Publishing for a Clinical Journal Nutr Clin Pract, December 1, 1999; 14(6): 323 - 326. [Abstract] [PDF]
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