The BJOG— same journal, new name

Abstract

You will notice that in this first issue of the year 2000 we have changed our name, from the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to the BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. It is right that we do this, for in the year 2000 national boundaries in scientific publishing are disappearing, largely due to the capacity for rapid exchange of information by electronic means. But in a sense we are already international, for about half of our subscribers and half of the papers we publish are from outside the United Kingdom, and so our new title acknowledges a situation which already exists. It is therefore proper at the start of the year 2000 that this editorial states explicitly the philosophy of the journal, the articles we prefer to publish, our international perspective, our editorial processes, improvements in the time from receipt to publication and our plans for electronic publication. We aim to publish the highest quality original research in obstetrics, gynaecology and women's health, in order to improve our understanding of the pathophysiological processes and the treatment of disorders which affect women's health. We prefer to publish reports of randomised trials and meta-analyses of randomised trials, basic science, screening and diagnostic tests, qualitative research, epidemiological surveys, cohort studies, case-control studies and uncontrolled case series. Last year one-fifth of our papers described randomised trials and one-third basic science. We are keen to attract papers from anywhere in the world, whether from the Eastern or Western Hemisphere. As well as traditional research in obstetrics and gynaecology in the laboratory or at the bedside we will publish articles on any aspect of women's health, including family planning, unsafe abortion, maternal mortality, violence against women and the status of women in the world. We are keen to publish clinical research where the nature of the primary outcome is decided by women, or where the primary outcome is women's perceptions of their disorder and its treatment; we are especially keen to receive more papers on qualitative research. One major strength of the journal is that although it is owned by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists it is editorially independent of it, a principle which has been confirmed by every President since the College purchased the journal in 1950. The College is responsible for maintaining standards of clinical practice, the publication of clinical guidelines, education, examinations and accreditation, and these activities are described in its other journal, The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. The philosophy of the BJOG is that of the College, the improvement of the health of women, but the College separates its scientific arm from its executive arm. Because the scope of the journal will be more international we intend to recruit an International Advisory Board, whose functions will be to act as a pool of referees and to give advice on the content of the journal. The composition of the board will be determined partly by geography and partly by previous performance as a referee for the journal. By appointing an International Advisory Board we hope to learn of the difficulties of performing scientific research in other parts of the world, to encourage research, and to participate more knowledgeably in debates on contentious issues of women's health. Our editorial processes have evolved greatly over several years. Each manuscript is scrutinised initially by the editor in chief or one of the assistant editors. Only about 5% of papers are rejected at this stage, usually because the paper does not describe original research. The remainder are sent to two clinical referees, chosen from our database for their special interests and their past performance as a referee. If both referees do not regard the paper as suitable for publication and the editor in chief thinks that their analysis has been thorough, the authors are informed that we have decided not to proceed with the paper. If even one referee thinks the paper should be considered for publication it is sent to a scientific editor for discussion at the next monthly meeting. A paper may be turned down at this stage even if scientifically acceptable, perhaps because it is considered too technical for the journal or unlikely to interest the readers. Papers with which the editors decide to proceed are sent to a statistician if the study includes comparative numerical information. The paper and the referees ‘and editors’ comments are then sent to the authors inviting them to submit a revised version; if the revisions are satisfactory we send a formal acceptance letter, the paper is copy-edited and then sent on disc to the printer. Lack of space in the journal will no longer be a reason for rejecting a paper: we will expand the journal to accommodate the number of acceptable papers, not reduce the number of acceptable papers to accommodate the journal. Since 1995 the number of pages published in the journal has increased from 96 to 144 per issue. The editorial process is so thorough that our average time from receipt of a paper to its publication is 9.5 months, and may be longer if papers have to be extensively revised and rewritten. We believe however that this rigorous peer review process is justified for it results in the publication of the best papers: our citation index is 2.299, higher than it has ever been, and last year saw an increase of 11% in the number of papers we received. One reason for our perceived slowness is lack of editorial time, for the editor in chief and scientific editors are full-time obstetricians and gynaecologists, in active clinical practice and academic research. We feel that this is essential so that the editors are aware of the concerns of the women in their care and of practising clinicians and researchers. However the conflicting demands of clinical practice and editorial work have contributed to delays in processing manuscripts. The College has now found a solution to this problem, by formulating a mechanism to create more editorial time but not at the expense of clinical and academic commitments. This will mean that receipt to publication times will be faster. This year we intend to put the journal on the world wide web to complement the paper version. The electronic version will include the table of contents, abstracts and full text, with hypertext links to other journals and facilities for rapid response to the articles we publish. Electronic publication will increase our presence in parts of the world which are not aware of the journal, such as Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. The advantage of electronic publication to authors is faster publication and citation than the paper version, and to researchers greater ease of finding articles relevant to an investigation; in addition publication of more papers, each containing more information, may be possible in the electronic version. By the end of the year 2000 we shall enjoy all the advantages of the electronic era. It is a century since the journal was founded and a half a century since it was purchased by the College; the year 2000 is another decisive moment. In some parts of the world research into women's health is now more vigorous than at any other time in history; in other parts of the world threats to women's health are now more powerful than at any other time in history. The journal enters a new age, with a new philosophy complemented by new technology; by these means we shall benefit health workers, researchers, and women.