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JN—Accepting the Best

In this editorial, I would like to bring the members of ASNS, and the authors, subscribers, and readers of The Journal of Nutrition—JN —up to date on several matters of importance to all of us.

First, JN (now in its 77th year) has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past several years. In 2004, 1271 new manuscripts were received, compared to 659 in 2000. The upward trend is continuing in 2005. More than 92% of the submitted manuscripts are research articles that, collectively, reflect the breadth of the science of nutrition, and the wide range of research interests of nutritional scientists worldwide. To accommodate this growth in submissions, the number of Associate Editors has been increased and the membership of the Editorial Board expanded by about 10%, but these changes are less than the actual growth in manuscript submissions. As in academia and business, it seems that everyone involved in journal affairs is doing more each year! Happily, quality has not been compromised. The changeover by JN in 2002 to online manuscript submission has allowed for a greater dispersal of work, rapid communications with authors and reviewers around the world, and coordination between editors and staff, regardless of their travel schedules, other commitments, and home locations. Without the internet and online manuscript management, it is doubtful we could accomplish what we are doing today. I would like to thank all of the Associate Editors, members of JN's Editorial Board, and the professional staff of ASNS/JN who make our operations possible, and very efficient. As The Journal’s editor, I take ultimate responsibility for matters of content, but also work closely with the Publications Management Committee, which makes recommendations to Council on financial and production matters related to the publication of JN. It is definitely a team effort, and must be.

The Journal of Nutrition ranks third among research journals in ISI’s Journal Citation Report, in the Nutrition and Dietetics category, and enjoys a very respectable Impact Factor of 3.32 (2003). An index like the Impact Factor, while relevant, does not define the importance of a journal or the papers it publishes. The scope of JN is broad. The topics of some JN publications are "hot" and will be more highly cited, while equally good research in another area will be read and cited by a smaller clientele. The informal motto of The Journal of Nutrition is simple: "JN—accepting the best." We, the editors, are striving to select for publication those manuscripts that best advance the field of nutritional sciences. JN publishes research conducted in all species—human and animals—and many experimental models. In each area, we will continue to strive to publish the very best science.

We are also working to provide our decisions on manuscripts as quickly as possible. In fact, turnaround times have decreased over the past several years. For 2004, the average time to first decision (request for revisions, acceptance, or rejection) was 27.3 days. Given that the editorial board members and reviewers are volunteering their time and have busy professional schedules to manage, the turnaround time for reviews is excellent. At present, the average number of days from receipt to acceptance of a JN manuscript is 83. Authors can reduce this time further by returning their revisions promptly. On the production side, we will continue to look for ways to move the important work of our authors into the public domain as quickly as possible.

Because the growth in submissions has exceeded the growth in the number of pages that are budgeted for publication in a year, competition for acceptance has become keener and, increasingly, decisions regarding manuscripts must be based not only on the technical merits of the research, but on novelty, innovation, and suitability for The Journal’s audience. Reviewers are asked to evaluate whether the work presented in a manuscript substantially advances the field; its technical quality, the quality and conciseness of communications, and the suitability for JN's readership, and to provide an overall rating for the manuscript. Presently, about 30% of manuscripts are accepted, most after having gone through one or more revisions. In 2004, 413 manuscripts, from 34 countries, were accepted for publication.

One might ask why not just increase the number of Journal pages? JN’s budget is reviewed each year by Council, and the number of pages budgeted has indeed increased over time, but not at the same rate as submissions. Authors and other ASNS members may not realize that the actual costs of publication considerably exceed the costs charged to authors. On average, each published page costs about $465, and pages with color, $1300! Each published manuscript costs, on average, $3233. Page charges (starting at $70) and color charges to authors ($400 per figure) are only a fraction of the actual costs of publication. Institutional subscriptions remain a key factor in the financial success of professional society journals like JN. We are fortunate that subscriptions have remained strong, even as libraries are increasingly scrutinizing their subscription lists. The staff of ASNS/JN has worked thoughtfully to develop additional institutional subscriptions in the U.S. and abroad. But the costs of publication are very real, and an ongoing concern to all of us.

One of the costs that goes up in direct proportion to submissions is the cost of manuscript handling. To offset this, a Manuscript Submission Fee was instituted on June 1. At the same time, the Instructions for Authors (IFA) (nutrition.org) have been revised, and the new version includes guidelines on suitability. We hope the new information in the IFA on scope and suitability, and guidelines for length and number of references, will assist authors: first, in deciding whether their research is a good match for JN and, second, in formatting their work appropriately for efficient review. Manuscripts submitted to JN are expected to contain original complete studies that are clearly of nutritional relevance. A trend for JN has been to publish slightly longer, more comprehensive papers; a similar trend is evident for several other science journals. At the same time, concisely written, space-efficient publications are a goal that we must achieve if we are to publish as many manuscripts as are deserving. The revisions to the IFA also contain several other changes regarding manuscript preparation: for example, a modified National Library of Medicine (NLM) reference style has been adopted, and instructions for the submission of Online Supplementary Material have been updated. The "bottom line": Manuscripts that contain important data and are carefully prepared in proper format are far more likely to move quickly through the review and decision process.

A matter that has been of great concern to ASNS/JN, and to the publishers of many other professional society journals, is the new NIH policy regarding public access to accepted manuscripts that have resulted from NIH support. Last year, about one-fourth of the papers published in JN cited support from the NIH. The staff of ASNS/JN has been and will continue to stay closely informed regarding these policy changes. Information on the new NIH policy is available on The Journal of Nutrition website (http://submit.nutrition.org) and the ASNS website (www.asns.org). The Publications Management Committee has recommended that The Journal continue to keep its manuscripts under access control for 12 months, consistent with existing policy. Although everyone would like "open access," the reality is that publications cost money, and professional societies are not well positioned to absorb the costs that would result if subscriptions decline. ASNS/JN will assist authors of NIH-supported research to comply with the new policy and will work with other professional societies to determine an equitable way to distribute the costs that are expected to result from the implementation of the NIH policy.

Respectfully submitted,

A. Catharine Ross Editor

The Journal of Nutrition 6/2/05

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