Personal Reflections From the Fifth Editor of Human Factors

Abstract

The fifth editor of Human Factors provides reflections on journal publication spanning four volumes printed from 1976 to 1980. During that period, most of the publication and management activities were handled by volunteer efforts of the editor, the editorial board, and the editor's organization. Electronic word processing was not readily available, and most publication tasks required laborious clerical support, resulting in long publication lags. The editor provides reflection on the steps taken by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society to separate editorial and production activities during that period to provide more support for the journal editorial duties. This resulted in the Society becoming its own publisher, building the beginning of a publication staff in the central office, and increasing the published page count. Rigorous editorial reviews were used to improve the scientific quality of the journal. The publication emphasis was on empirical research, but theoretical articles and research reviews were also considered for publication. Regular journal articles, short research notes, and special topics were published as ways to broaden the scientific coverage and shorten the publication lag.