Abstract
Without solid papers, a journal is worthless. Solid papers require solid submissions. These are written by people who are passionate about one or more aspects within veterinary medicine. When investigating a hypothesis or examining an interesting case, a healthy dose of scientific skepticism is needed, alongside enthusiasm and curiosity. Without an ability to critique one’s observations, thought processes and data, conclusions risk being personal and biased. Two editorials in the January issue point to the need for more evidence and prospective studies in the field of feline medicine.1,2
Our reviewers provide the sounding board to maintain a clear evaluation of the science behind all of the articles, making recommendations to revise, accept or, unfortunately sometimes, to reject a paper. As the Editors, we continue to try to expand our reviewer base to reflect lateral ways of approaching problems as well as the widening international scope of the journal. For 2013, the Editorial Board, our group of regular reviewers, has undergone restructuring, adding some new members to our stalwart group of renewed members.
JFMS has a hearty submission rate; as we write, at the beginning of December, no fewer than 207 pro- and retrospective studies, short communications, case series and case reports have been received in 2012 for consideration for the six ‘Classic’ issues a year. Added to this mix of original articles are the practical review articles appearing within the six ‘Clinical Practice’ issues. We are achieving a good variety of content, but do we have the balance right?
There is always a place for case series/reports and retrospective studies, but we want to encourage more prospective studies addressing questions that will have direct clinical relevance for cats. These might be in welfare, preventive care, disease detection or therapy, as examples. This will help to drive feline medicine forward. As an incentive, we are launching, in partnership with SAGE, what will be an annual ‘JFMS Resident Best Paper Award’ to be given for the best eligible paper published within the preceding calendar year. Prospective studies will be given preference but relevant retrospective studies will also be considered. Case series and case reports are not eligible, however. Details about this award for interested residents and resident supervisors can be found at http://award.jfms.com.
We are launching, in partnership with SAGE, an annual ‘JFMS Resident Best Paper Award’ to be given for the best eligible paper published within the preceding calendar year.
We are proud of our publication times, which are currently, on average, 20 working days from acceptance to online publication, and 5 months from acceptance to print publication. JFMS’s impact factor is a healthy 1.38. The electronic review process is flexible and responsive and fast – currently 45 days from submission to first decision. Over 280,000 people view the journal website a year.
There’s much to celebrate as we welcome 2013 as our ‘year of the author’. Here’s to further growth in feline medicine and surgery!