Reflections on theJournal of the Society for Social Work and Research

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Previous articleNext article FreeReflections on the Journal of the Society for Social Work and ResearchJeffrey M. JensonJeffrey M. JensonUniversity of Denver Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreI am pleased to offer a few reflections on the evolution, progress, and current status of the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research (JSSWR) as I end my tenure as editor-in-chief.My involvement in efforts led by the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) to publish high-quality scientific articles began in 2005 when I co-chaired the SSWR Presidential Task Force on Publications with President Anne E. (Ricky) Fortune. Our task force found that manuscript submission and review processes of many social work journals were hindered by lengthy manuscript review periods, inconsistent quality in manuscript reviews, and extensive publication backlogs (Jenson et al., 2008). The vison of a new SSWR-sponsored journal was seen as an opportunity to create a publication outlet that was not plagued by the inadequacies identified in the task force report. JSSWR was launched in 2009 to fill a void in both rigor and process in social work journals at the time (Fong, Gehlert, Marsh, Uehara, & Williams, 2019). Founding Editor-in-Chief Mark Fraser noted in the inaugural issue that “JSSWR is a scholarly journal that is committed to the rapid dissemination of research that informs practice, evaluates social and health programs, assesses public policies, and encourages further research (Fraser & Wyant, 2010, p. i).”Begun in a self-published, open-access format, the journal enjoyed early success that quickly outstripped the capacity of its publication platform and infrastructure. As chairperson of SSWR’s Committee on Publications (COP) at the time, I led an effort to select a new publisher for JSSWR in 2012. This was a collaborative effort involving COP members, SSWR staff and board members, and the JSSWR editorial team. We reviewed five proposals from well-known publishers, and the SSWR Board selected the University of Chicago Press as its publisher in 2014 (Fong et al., 2019). This decision moved JSSWR from an open-access format to a hybrid publication model that includes subscription-based print and online-first articles as well as some open-access articles.The journal’s early years provided a solid foundation for the progress we made during my 4 years as editor-in-chief (2016–2020). I am pleased to report that JSSWR is thriving and poised to take significant strides in the future. We received 127 submissions in 2019—more than in any past year. Our manuscript acceptance rate remains low at 21%, suggesting that we are publishing some of our field’s highest quality research. To address the increase in the number of submissions, the SSWR Board recently approved an expansion in the number of pages published in the journal each year. Finally, true to its founding principles, JSSWR has maintained its reputation for the rapid turnaround and rigor of its publications. In 2019, reviewers completed reviews in 19 days, on average, and the average turnaround time from submission to first decision was 42 days.The impact of manuscripts published in the journal continues to grow. JSSWR received its first impact factor score from Journal Citation Reports in June 2016. Our initial score was .688, which placed us No. 31 of 42 journals in the social work category. Circulation and access to online articles have continued to increase since our first score, and in the 2018 Journal Citation Reports (published in June 2019), our impact factor improved to 1.508. JSSWR is now ranked No. 10 among all social work journals. In a recent article published in Research on Social Work Practice, JSSWR was ranked No. 2 in both overall quality and prestige among 64 journals in the field by a sample of 307 tenure-track social work faculty (Hodge, Yu, & Kim, 2019). JSSWR articles had 547 general and news media references in 2019—a substantial uptick in our visibility beyond academia—and we established a social media presence on Twitter to promote research published in the journal. In addition, in 2019 JSSWR established an Early Career Reviewer Program to provide mentoring to early career researchers interested in developing skills associated with reviewing research articles. Eleven early career reviewers were selected in the program’s first year.We published several special sections and issues during my tenure as editor-in-chief. These include special issues on the etiology and treatment of severe mental illness (Jenson, Solomon, & Gioia, 2016) and on the social work Grand Challenge to Ensure Healthy Development for All Youth (Jenson, Shapiro, & Bender, 2018). Special sections of the journal have been devoted to the implementation of the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative (Jenson & Uehara, 2017), social work and neuroscience (Jenson & Eack, 2018), and public impact scholarship in social work (Jenson, Sliva, & Greenfield, 2019). Invited articles from awardees of the Aaron Rosen Lecture at the annual SSWR conference have been featured in each of the past 4 years. Finally, an invited article coauthored by five past presidents of SSWR (Fong et al., 2019) provided a historical perspective of the evolution of the society from 2008 to 2018.It was a privilege to be part of JSSWR’s origins, to serve as an associate editor from 2010 to 2015, and to lead the journal as editor-in-chief from 2016 to 2020. As I conclude my term as editor-in-chief, I am grateful for the outstanding work of our associate editors and peer reviewers, who have made our success possible. I also appreciate the commitment of COP members and the SSWR Board and staff. My work as editor-in-chief has been supported by Dean Amanda Moore McBride of the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, whose commitment to the journal and passion for promoting science and social work have been critical supports during my years as editor-in-chief. Finally, I am particularly grateful to Chelsey Baker-Hauck, JSSWR’s outstanding managing editor. Many of you have had the opportunity to work on manuscripts with Chelsey and know the important role she plays in the life of the journal. I am happy to report that Chelsey will be continuing her managing editor role in the future. Todd Herrenkohl of the University of Michigan, whose comments follow in this issue (Herrenkohl, 2020) assumes the editor-in-chief role with the publication of this issue. He is an outstanding scholar who is well-positioned to lead JSSWR to new achievements and milestones.I appreciate the opportunity I have had to share exceptional social work science with the world as JSSWR editor-in-chief. Thank you all for your interest and support.NotesJeffrey M. Jenson, PhD, is the Philip D. & Eleanor G. Winn Endowed Professor for Children and Youth at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.Correspondence regarding this article should be directed to Jeffrey M. Jenson, University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work, 2148 S. High St., Denver, CO 80208 or via e-mail to [email protected]ReferencesFong, R., Gehlert, S., Marsh, J. C., Uehara, E. S., & Williams, J. H. (2019). Reflections on the history of the Society for Social Work and Research, 2008–2018. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 10(2), 189–211. https://doi.org/10.1086/702826First citation in articleLinkGoogle ScholarFraser, M. W., & Wyant, D. (2010). 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M., Solomon, P., & Gioia, D. (Eds.). (2016). The etiology and treatment of severe mental illness [Special issue]. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 7(2). Retrieved from https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/jsswr/2016/7/2First citation in articleGoogle ScholarJenson, J. M., & Uehara, E. S. (Eds.). (2017). Implementing the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative [Special section]. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 8(1), 71–159. Retrieved from https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/jsswr/2017/8/1First citation in articleLinkGoogle Scholar Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research Volume 11, Number 2Summer 2020 Published for the Society for Social Work and Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/709454HistoryPublished online June 23, 2020 KeywordsSociety for Social Work and Researchsocial worksocial scienceresearchpublishing© 2020 by the Society for Social Work and Research. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.