Why New Journals? The Growth of the EJNMMI Family.

Abstract

As only published data exist, publishing has become a crucial step in scientific research. However, publishing information is more than just making it publicly available. Researchers must prepare their manuscripts in such a way as to clearly demonstrate the value of the research, they have to discuss the implications for science and clinical medicine, and they must draw appropriate conclusions. Upon submission, peerreviewed journals will evaluate the quality and strength of the data, the originality and clinical relevance of the research, and may publish the manuscripts that meet all the standards of such journals. After publication, the importance of the published material will be demonstrated by the numbers of citations and downloads, by the reproducibility of the results by others, and by the impact on clinical practice or research. Over the years the number of scientific journals has increased exponentially, with now more than 40 000 journals worldwide offering opportunities to scientific researchers for publication of their work. Currently, more than 500 000 papers a year enter PubMed, a number that is expected to rise as emerging countries increase their contribution to scientific production. Furthermore, the internet has revolutionized the way we access information in science and medicine. Access to massive amounts of scientific data is universal. Efficient search engines in Google or PubMed allow us to find what we are seeking in a few clicks. Often, downloading review papers or guidelines may suffice to give us a good perspective on a given problem, circumventing the need to carefully study large numbers of single-center papers or original scientific reports. Despite the many tools to help us cope with the excess of available scientific materials, how best to extract the relevant information from the thousands of journals remains a challenge for scientists and physicians. Given these impressive numbers, do we really need yet more journals? Or, in different words, why is the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (EJNMMI) developing a family of journals in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging? One could easily argue that we already have enough opportunities for publication and therefore there is no need for further journals. However, science in medicine is growing in such a way that specialties and subspecialties are developing even within a well-established field such as nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. In many areas of science and medicine, there are an increasing number of fields which, despite belonging to the same scientific community, work on different topics and often have their own distinct language. In nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, basic scientists, physicists, radiopharmacists, and others have grown into communities in their own right, with specific educational and scientific needs. Although some of their research articles are of general interest for physicians and scientists working in nuclear medicine, others are read only by certain specialists. Objective numbers indicate that the EJNMMI, the flagship journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging in Europe, gives only limited opportunities for publication to all these communities within our specialty. In fact, the EJNMMI has been receiving ever-increasing numbers of submitted manuscripts, while the acceptance rate has declined significantly. * Ignasi Carrio icarrio@santpau.cat