A new era, new editor plus ISI listing

Abstract

On my second last day as editor I received the important news that Thomson ISI had listed the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal for inclusion on their data base. This means the journal should get an Impact Factor in 2009, which will be released in mid-2010. The ISI maintains a large collection of bibliographic and indexing data for scientific literature and measures the impact and influence of published research. The AOTJ Board and Wiley–Blackwell have been working towards this listing for a number of years. This listing means that the AOTJ will become more attractive for authors whose employers require an Impact Factor for ranking their publications, this particularly relates to universities. A journal's Impact Factor is improved by increasing the number of citations; this is also affected by the visibility of the journal, we are fortunate to have online access to enhance this. We first applied for listing in 2003, but were unsuccessful, so it is a perfect way for me to hand over to Elspeth Froude, our new editor, after this second application has been successful. We were fortunate to have several applicants for this position, thus necessitating a thorough appraisal and interview process by a panel selected by OT Australia. Elspeth graduated in 1987 from Cumberland College of Health Sciences, NSW with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Occupational Therapy. She then went on to work in a number of paediatric settings in Tasmania and Victoria. Elspeth joined the School of Occupational Therapy, LaTrobe University as a lecturer in 1991. She has taught and supervised honours and postgraduate students in the field of paediatrics. Elspeth completed a Graduate Diploma in Neuroscience and then enrolled in a PhD researching in the area of children's handwriting. She has always been a keen supporter of the AOTJ through publishing and extensive reviewing. She has also been involved with OT AUSTRALIA through the paediatric special interest group and has been an Accredited OT since the program's inception. I wish Elspeth every success in her new role and take this opportunity to thank the AOTJ Editorial Board, the Editorial Advisory Board, and most importantly all at Wiley–Blackwell.