Abstract
As the new editor-in-chief of Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) journal, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to you—the readership—for your continued interest in our publication. I would also like to thank those of you who have contributed clinical and scientific manuscripts for editorial consideration. Many of you have also served the journal tirelessly and admirably as peer reviewers and/or as board members. Additionally, my predecessor Dr Robert T. Sataloff deserves highest praise and distinction for promoting the journal’s interest and refining its peer review process.
Our goal has been to present material that resonates broadly with the members of our specialty, to promote the knowledge base of practicing otolaryngologists. The first 2 decades of the 21st century have hallmarked unprecedented growth in technology of our discipline, as well as society at large. This has included everything from the proliferation of online media and wide access to information, to advances in surgical technology. We have witnessed dramatic evolution in areas such as endoscopic visualization, stereotaxis, robotics, and implantable devices. Scientific advances in molecular biology, biomaterials, and genetics have also propelled our field. Simultaneously, there have been trends in the purview of scientific and medical publishing, including interactive multimedia content, and the wide access to information, primarily online. This has inspired advances in the format of ENT journal to adopt an open-access format. Historically, this medium has undoubtedly been fraught with ethical concerns and predatory practices. 1 Such concerns have ranged from questionable peer review processes and levels of scientific merit, to lack of transparency in publication procedures and fees. However, in these changing times, a role has emerged for open-access publication.
The expansion of clinical and scientific research in our specialty (and others) has occurred at multiple levels, both in and outside of academic departments, and internationally. In addition, sponsored clinical research continues to influence the practice of otolaryngology, providing data and evidence for novel devices and therapeutics. The culmination of all of this creates greater need for communication media to share this new knowledge. All of us appreciate the feel of holding a magazine or newspaper, but the days of handing out paper reprints of our published articles seems to have passed, in favor of ever-enduring online content. All of these societal forces make the time ripe for responsible open access. The ENT journal has embraced the principles central to transparency and best practices in scholarly publishing in open access. We are a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics, who along with the Committee on Publication Ethics, the Directory of Open Access Journals, the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association, and the World Association of Medical Editors, have delineated ethical principles for open-access journals. 2 The general themes have emphasized transparency in peer review, governance, copyright, and fees. Notably, manuscript submissions to ENT journal—as all of you probably know—are fully peer reviewed by a process that is conducted and overseen by a truly expert editorial board. Our publication fees are to be covered by the study sponsor, institution, or author and are intended for research conducted under funded circumstances. Some studies may be exempted, and there are no fees for submission for peer review itself. All accepted and processed manuscripts are available online immediately at no added cost, are fully indexed in PubMed, and are published under a creative commons license. These papers will be hosted online in perpetuity. This will provide rapid and perennial access to information for all interested stakeholders, including clinicians, other researchers, grant funding entities, study sponsors, institutions, collaborators, and the medical public at large. These dynamics ensure a balance between scientific merit, legitimate peer review, and ubiquitous access to information. Regarding the scope of content, we maintain the goal of appealing broadly to otolaryngologists in practice. Again, I am grateful for the continued support of you the readers, as well as to our authors and reviewers. Together we will shepherd ENT journal in the next steps forward as a medium to report innovations in our field.