Getting Published—What Editors and Reviewers Seek from Authors

Abstract

INTRODUCTION--WHY WE WRITE Each of us has to identify where writing for publication fits into his or her professional life. Where academicians at large research universities are concerned, publishing is a necessity for pay increases, promotion, tenure, prestige, and acceptance among colleagues and, in general, for career success. At institutions where faculty engagement is more focused on teaching and service endeavors, one might argue that faculty members who regularly publish distinguish themselves from their less writing-prolific peers. Non-academician health educators and other health professionals who write and publish get a great deal of my respect and I wish we had more practitioners who were eager to share their data, experiences, and wisdom. I have heard many stories of why my colleagues write--even from those whose careers would not be remarkably altered if they never wrote another paper. Making a contribution to the literature and being competitive in a grantsmanship environment notwithstanding, some people write because of ego, perceived immortality, the need for a creative outlet or setting one's self apart from peers, and numerous other reasons. Now in my fourth year as Editor of the American Journal of Health Education (AJHE), I have seen, and I dare say, read, close to 800 papers that have been submitted for publication during that time span (Table 1). A little more than 80% of these papers never get beyond the initial review process. Now and then I will recognize one of the reviewed papers when it appears in another journal, but more often than not, I have no way of knowing its eventual fate. I do believe that one of the roles of editors should be to instruct prospective authors on how to maximize the possibility of getting their work published, especially at a time when there is a deliberate attempt to enhance the overall competitive position of AJHE. Beginning with this inaugural issue of volume 40, I intend from time to time to share a few observations and insights about publishing in AJHE. I hope that readers and potential contributors will not find this initiative as my ego in motion, but rather, as a well-intentioned effort to augment writers' future success. OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLISHING IN AJHE AND WHAT THE EDITOR AND REVIEWERS SEEK There are numerous viable opportunities for publishing in AJHE that can be pursued: * Data-based research paper (quantitative or qualitative or both); * Program description or case study (applied theory, perhaps data-based); * Theoretical paper (new theory or framework); * Philosophical paper or commentary (informed view of health education practice); * State-of-the-art paper (systematic and comprehensive literature review); or * Point--counterpoint paper (egalitarian perspectives on a controversial issue). If these possibilities are not exhaustive enough, consider one of these publication options: * Historical analysis (e.g., evolution of HIV/ AIDS education; approaches to drug education); * Challenges for the profession (respect, competition, certification, improving professional preparation, enhancing the database for decisions, demonstrating evidence-based and practice-based evidence, etc.); * Advocacy with persons in positions of power and influence (politicians, entrepreneurs, decision makers, etc.); * Letter to the editor (any subject likely to be of widespread interest); or * Photo essay (photographic images that support or augment a viewpoint). For years AJHE has published teaching ideas for classroom settings. More recently, this practice concept was expanded to other settings, first through the now defunct CLIPs column, and after that, through Community, Care Setting, and Worksite Initiatives. The volume of teaching idea submissions was down last year, and the number of unique and innovative ideas was even smaller. …