Editorial

Abstract

It is now over 12 months since I took over as Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. I consider it a great privilege to be involved in such an important aspect of our profession and to work with such dedicated colleagues. It has been an exciting time for the journal with ISI listing, Medline indexing, and the move to six issues of the journal per year in 2009. We have also started a new review category to encourage submissions of narrative, systematic and meta-analytic reviews. The role of the Editor-in-Chief is varied and challenging, ranging from allocating reviewers (which involves reading through every submission to ensure the guidelines are met regarding format, relevance to the journal and, most importantly, ethics) to making final decisions on reviewed manuscripts and allocating manuscripts for each issue. Continued development of the journal is also part of the role, which includes marketing, and the reviewing of procedures and processes. Through Wiley-Blackwell the AOTJ is a member of COPE — the Committee on Publication Ethics, which describes its role as ‘a forum for publishers and editors of peer-reviewed journals to discuss issues related to the integrity of work submitted to or published in their journals. It supports and encourages editors to report, catalogue and instigate investigations into ethical problems in the publication process’. The COPE website (http://publicationethics.org/) also provides valuable information relating to common issues that arise in journal publication such as authorship, including an article on ‘How to handle authorship disputes: a guide for new researchers’ (Albert & Wager, 2003), which is helpful for researchers negotiating authorship dilemmas. The integrity of our journal is paramount, and through membership of this group and following recommended procedures a high standard is ensured. We are fortunate in occupational therapy to have high ethical standards, with infrequent breaches. The journal continues to receive constant support from OT Australia and the publishers Wiley-Blackwell, which, when combined with the dedicated editorial board, makes for a smooth-running high-quality journal. The quality of submissions continues to rise, and we are also seeing a heightened interest from international occupational therapists. The members of the Advisory Board provide a valuable contribution to the journal and provide an important international connection and representation. The letter to colleagues by Lannin et al. (2009) published in the April issue, entitled ‘Scholarly communication and concerns for our conferences’ has stimulated considerable discussion and debate. The letter was also published in the British Journal of Occupational Therapy, Dutch Journal of Occupational Therapy and Norwegian Occupational Therapy Journal, stimulating far-reaching discussion. To date, AOTJ has received two letters in response, which were both published in the June issue. This type of discussion is an important means for advancement of the profession. Not challenging the status quo for fear of offending someone or rocking the boat only serves to stifle a profession. It would be encouraging to see even more discussion on topics that might be considered controversial, either through viewpoints, letters or commentaries. We as board members are constantly considering how well we are meeting the aims of the journal and your feedback as authors, reviewers and readers would be most welcome. I hope you enjoy this issue, which covers a broad range of practice areas to resource and support your evidence-based practice. Elspeth FroudeEditor-in-Chief