The importance of reviewers.

Abstract

Since the Global Spine Journal launched in 2011, the journal has continued to grow. As the number of submissions continues to increase, we more than ever rely on the efforts of our reviewers to provide authors with informed, timely peer reviews. As you may know, in 2015 the journal has undergone a number of changes, not least the merger with Evidence-Based Spine-Care Journal and the move to Open Access. These changes are designed to further increase the visibility of the journal and we expect that this will stimulate an increasing number of submissions of increasing quality and importance. As a reflection of the wonderful work our reviewers have done in the past for the journal, we have created an editorial board listing as part of the masthead that includes a list of reviewers who have provided reviewer services over the past 2 years. This is a new feature that is making its debut in this issue and will continue on in future issues. We will be constantly updating the list as we add new reviewers to our database. It is important to recognize the reviewers for the hard work that they do and to recognize that they are a part of the Global Spine Journal family. Without their input and expert opinions the journal wouldn't be able to exist, grow, and thrive. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every reviewer that has contributed to the Global Spine Journal. We hope for all of our reviewers to join us in helping to continue the journal's success. We are also very excited for the manuscripts featured in this edition of the journal. The review article, “Fundamentals of Clinical Outcomes Assessment for Spinal Disorders: Study Designs, Methodologies, and Analyses” by Patrick Vavken, Anne Kathleen B. Ganal-Antonio, Francis H. Shen, Jens R. Chapman, and Dino Samartzis is part one of a two-part review. The second part will be featured in the next issue. Part one focuses on the Study Designs, Methodologies, and Analyses of Clinical Outcomes Assessment. Part two will focus on Clinical Outcome Instruments and Applications. We are excited to have this two-part review article in the journal and hope that you find it interesting and informative.