Editors’ Update talks with an editor who has successfully implemented policy changes in bibliometrics and achieved positive results with his approach.

Dr. Donald Y.M. Leung is currently Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) and The Edelstein Family Chair of Pediatric Allergy-Immunology at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. The JACI is the official journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI). The journal is aimed at specialists in allergy-clinical immunology as well as anyone who treats or investigates allergies, asthma and immunologic diseases. The JACI strives to publish the very latest and best research in the allergy-clinical immunology specialty, with a special interest in clinical medicine and basic science as it translates into optimal patient care.

The citation impact factor for the JACI was 3.7 in 1998, when the current Editorial Office took over the journal. The aim at that time was to further establish the journal within the asthma-clinical immunology specialty, so while bibliometric information was useful, the editors also took advantage of direct feedback from society members.

Expansion beyond specialty
“The JACI was already the most-cited journal in its specialty; the next task was to expand our readership beyond it,” explains Dr. Leung. “We have done this in several ways: by working with Elsevier to make selected articles available to members of other related specialties; by working with our society’s media relations team to increase promotion of our articles to the lay media; and recently by bringing in a medical writer to help improve readability and facilitate greater comprehension.”

As the journal’s audience widens, it has been necessary to rely on bibliometrics to see which articles are of the greatest interest to readers outside the specialty – this can be deduced by how frequently articles are cited in non-specialty journals. Bibliometrics is also used to locate the top authors and topics from related fields that would be of most interest to the journal's readership.

The biggest change over the past 10 years has been an increased awareness of the amount of information bibliometric data can yield, as well as an appreciation of how journal policies can impact some of the bibliometric measures. Increasing the stature of a journal benefits authors, readers, the scientific community and the journal itself, so it is important to understand the various methods of assessment and bear these in mind when making decisions that will affect the course the journal takes.

Dr. Leung explains: “We noticed that our immediacy impact – how fast a published article makes it into the cited literature – was fairly static, so we started looking at ways to bring published articles to people’s attention faster and more efficiently. This starts as early as initial submission, where improvements in Editorial Office processing and the introduction of new technology have allowed us to decrease the amount of time from submission to acceptance. In addition, the Articles in Press option means that we are able to get ‘hot’ articles published promptly – something our authors appreciate.”

Impact factor and submissions
A decision was made to introduce bibliometric policy changes not only because impact factor is a recognized marker of a journal’s success, but also because it is often used to determine promotions and funding of grant applications. It is also one of the elements authors consider when deciding to which journal to submit their work.

Dr. Leung says: “If we wanted to appeal to the best researchers and attract the best work, we knew that we would need to make our impact factor competitive, and that meant understanding exactly what the impact factor is and what it measures.”

Of course, impact factor is just one way to measure a journal’s success, and several editors and members of the JACI’s editorial board were wary of chasing that figure over other gauges of success, such as readership interest. This is one of the reasons why the JACI works with Elsevier and the AAAAI: to conduct regular readership surveys in order to obtain a more complete picture of readers’ satisfaction with the journal. This is how the success of popular but non-citable sections of the journal is tracked.

Insights into bibliometrics
The most important step towards the introduction of changes in the journal’s bibliometric policy was increased communication with Elsevier. David Tempest, from Elsevier’s bibliometrics department, made a presentation at the JACI’s Editors’ Retreat, in which he explained what bibliometrics can tell you about your journal as well as its limitations. “Improving the journal and responding to the needs of both readers and authors is a team effort, so we wanted to make sure all of the editors had a chance to discuss these issues and ask questions. The important thing to remember is that these numbers are not the be-all and end-all. It is easy to get too caught up in a journal’s impact factor. It is interesting to see which topics are most highly cited, as this is often an indication that readers are eager to read more about these topics,” explains Dr. Leung. Although patterns do emerge, some of the ‘hot’ topics will change over time, so it is not possible to use only data from the past to determine the path to follow in the future.

The response to these policy changes is an ongoing process. As the impact factor has increased, so has the number of new submissions, which has forced the journal’s editors to be more selective about which articles are accepted for publication. The Editorial Office staff works with the editors and reviewers to ensure that manuscripts are handled promptly and provides feedback from authors and reviewers. Regular surveys are carried out to ensure that the readership is satisfied. It is also understood that not every article is going to be highly cited. The journal has a large clinical audience and their interest in an article is more likely to be evident in the number of times it is downloaded than the number of times it is cited. One of the gauges used to determine whether to accept an article is its ‘priority’ for the journal’s readership. Determining what is a ‘high priority’ to readers requires understanding all of the tools available for assessing this.

“For the short-term, at least, I don’t see bibliometrics changing too drastically,” concludes Dr. Leung. “However, as new technologies shape the ways in which people locate and access content, it will be particularly important to keep an eye on how efficiently readers are finding our articles. This is something bibliometrics will be able to help us determine.”

To cite this article, please use: Gloria Kenny, "Behind the Scenes… The impact of bibliometrics on journal policy", Elsevier Editors' Update, Issue 21, February 2008

Useful links:  

  The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI)

  The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI)

 Please send responses to: EditorsUpdate@elsevier.com