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From the Editor |
Index terms: Editorials • Radiology (journal)
The January 2004 issue of Radiology marks the beginning of my 7th year as Editor, and the number 7 is one of my so-called lucky numbers. Thus, I hope the changes recently made in the Journal and those to be made in 2004, the 7th year, will be looked on favorably by Radiology authors, reviewers, and readers. Please let me hear from you regarding your opinion of the following new directions and features for Radiology.
Continuing Medical Education Category 1 Credit for Reviewers
We are pleased to announce that Radiology reviewers are once again able to obtain category 1 credit for reviewing manuscripts. Although we first announced this opportunity in 2001 (1), at which time we began to give category 1 credit for reviewing, we were obliged to discontinue awarding such credit in 2002 owing to a decision by the American Medical Association (AMA) to no longer allow category 1 credit for manuscript review. However, the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) pursued reconsideration of this decision by the AMA on the basis of support garnered through the efforts of RSNA Executive Director, Dave Fellers, CAE, and Assistant Executive Director for Research and Education, Linda Bresolin, PhD, MBA, CAE. My thanks are extended to them and to the editors of Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pediatrics. These editors were unanimous in their support of category 1 credit for reviewing, as was explained to AMA staff at a meeting we attended in Chicago, Illinois, on May 6, 2003, as members of the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award Task Force on Prepublication Manuscript Review. On September 5, 2003, the AMA Council on Medical Education approved the "Standards for Designating Manuscript Review for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit" (2). RSNA staff are now reviewing the standards to ensure our compliance with them. Our goal is to begin awarding category 1 credit for manuscript review early in 2004. The yearly maximum is 15 category 1 credits, with up to three credits per manuscript reviewed.
New Sections on the Radiology Masthead
With the January issue of each year, the Radiology masthead changes—new Associate Editors are added, along with Consultants to the Editor, while other individuals complete their years of service as members of the Radiology Editorial Board. This year is no exception (3), but we have made two additional changes—the establishment of two new sections, Evidence-based Practice and Molecular Imaging and Gene Therapy. In 2001, Evidence-based Practice became a new section in the Journal (1) as we began to publish more articles in the important area of evidence-based medicine (eg, meta-analyses, outcome studies). With the increase in manuscript submissions related to evidence-based practice, we now establish a section for the same on the masthead.
In January 2002, we urged our readers to review the Special Report published in the same issue of the Journal, "Translating Molecular Imaging Research into Radiologic Practice: Summary of the Proceedings of the American College of Radiology Colloquium, April 22–24, 2001" (4,5). That report resulted from a meeting of a group convened by the American College of Radiology (ACR) with the charge "to develop scenarios about how molecular imaging would develop in the future and to make recommendations to the ACR about how to prepare radiologists for this important set of technologies" (5). We are grateful to the many authors who have selected Radiology for submission of their work in this important area. Thus, we are pleased to establish Molecular Imaging and Gene Therapy not only as a section on our masthead but also as a section in the Journal for publication of articles related to the same. All accepted manuscripts (including experimental studies) that deal with molecular imaging and related topics (eg, gene therapy) will be published in this section of the Journal to emphasize the importance of this relatively new but expanding direction for imaging.
Please join me in welcoming to the newly established Evidence-based Practice and Molecular Imaging and Gene Therapy sections on the Radiology masthead the Associate Editors whose names are listed therein. We value the expertise they will provide, just as we do that of our other Associate Editors in their respective sections.
Web-based Manuscript Submission and Peer Review
In February 2002, we implemented use of Radiology Manuscript Central (ScholarOne, Charlottesville, Va)—a web-based system for manuscript submission and peer review. Since then, we have accumulated nearly 2 years of experience and will have likely implemented a new version of the system at the time of publication of this editorial or sometime shortly thereafter. While we have strongly encouraged authors to submit their manuscripts by using Radiology Manuscript Central (6), we have continued to accept hard-copy submissions, which we digitize and upload on behalf of authors. We have done so intentionally, as we did not believe it fair to our authors to mandate an abrupt change from hard-copy to online submission when we implemented Radiology Manuscript Central on February 1, 2002. Over the past many months, we have seen a gradual increase in online submissions, so that now approximately 90% of manuscripts are submitted online. Thus, we believe it appropriate to set July 1, 2004, as the date as of which we will no longer be able to accept hard-copy submissions. Any authors who send hard-copy manuscripts on or after that date will be notified that their manuscripts should be submitted online. We thank authors in advance for their cooperation and trust they will agree that we have provided a reasonable transition period (more than 2 years) from all–hard-copy to all-online manuscript submission.
Authorship
Those who have read my editorials are aware that authorship has been a topic of interest to me beginning with my 1st year as Editor in 1998 (1,6–11). We have urged all who submit original research manuscripts to us to familiarize themselves with the criteria for authorship of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which can be found in each printed issue of Radiology in the Publication Information for Authors and in Radiology Online (www.rsna.org/publications/rad/pdf/pia.pdf) and at www.icmje.org/index.html. To be listed as an author, an individual should have made substantial contributions to (a) "conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data"; and (b) "drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content"; and (c) "final approval of the version to be published" (12). While we have not strictly mandated that all ICMJE criteria be met by all who are listed as authors of a manuscript, we have nevertheless published author contributions (6,7) since 1998, not only to notify our readers as to the contributions made by the various individuals listed as authors but also to allow for a period of understanding and education (1). Six years have passed, and we believe it is now appropriate to announce that as of July 1, 2004, we will require those listed as authors of manuscripts submitted on or after that date to verify that they have met the ICMJE criteria for authorship. We trust authors will agree that the period of more than 6 years (from January 1, 1998 to July 1, 2004) has been a reasonable amount of time for understanding and education.
RSNA Index to Imaging Literature and Radiology Online
The RSNA Index to Imaging Literature was conceived by and established during the editorship of William R. Eyler, MD. Dr Eyler was instrumental in developing the terms listed in the index and has remained instrumental in continuing to update those terms and add to the list. Some 40 imaging and imaging-related journals are currently indexed. A few years ago, the printed version was eliminated in favor of an online version. The online version would allow quarterly updating (unlike the printed version, which could be updated only annually). At its March 2003 meeting, the RSNA Publications Council recommended that the RSNA Board of Directors consider an eventual end to continued indexing of journals for the RSNA Index to Imaging Literature, as numerous other options are now available to conduct online literature searches. The Board did consider this recommendation and decided at its June 2003 meeting to terminate continued production of the Index to Imaging Literature as of January 2005. In the meantime, Radiology Online, as well as RadioGraphics Online, have enhanced and made more user friendly the features for searching the published literature. Please see the Radiology Online home page for the recently added Quick Search feature, and also take advantage of the advanced search capabilities. Also, please see RSNA News (13) for more specific information regarding the expanded features of the RSNA online journals. RSNA News will continue to inform our readers of various features available for literature searches.
Readership Survey
In 1997, before I became Editor, results of a readership survey for Radiology helped guide a number of changes made in the Journal over the subsequent years. More recently, the results of a 2002 readership survey for Radiology have shown a high degree of enthusiasm for both the changes made and the quality of our monthly publication. Again, we will make note of reader comments and suggestions from this most recent survey as we shape the Journal for future years, in keeping with our commitment that "Radiology remain a vibrant journal responding to the needs of its authors, reviewers, and readers" (14). Please see RSNA News for some specific details about our recent readership survey (15). We are currently assembling surveys of authors and reviewers as a follow-up to similar surveys that were also conducted at the time of the 1997 readership survey.
Features Recently Introduced
Two new features were introduced within the past few months. First, in August 2003 we published the inaugural Science to Practice article (16). The intent of this one- to two-page journal feature about an experimental studies article published in the same issue of the Journal is "to present in basic language the research that was performed, so as to communicate the potential for translation of the science into clinical practice" (17). Initial reaction to Science to Practice has been most positive, and we intend to publish one or two Science to Practice pieces each month, depending on the availability and type of experimental studies articles also being published that month in Radiology. The feature may be extended in the future to "more complex non–experimental studies publications" (17).
Second, in November 2003 we published a Clinician’s Commentary—a commentary written by a clinician about an article published in the same issue of the Journal (18). Imaging is currently an essential element in the evaluation and treatment of the patient, and it occurred to me that a clinician’s commentary on selected advances in imaging published in our Journal might prove interesting to our readers. From time to time, therefore, we will publish such a commentary on a given article. Authors and reviewers who believe such a commentary may be appropriate for the articles they submit or review, respectively, should notify me of the same.
Editors’ Forum
Although not a new direction for the Journal, we thought our readers would be interested to know that a group of journal editors have met annually for the past 3 years. Those attending the annual Editors’ Forum discuss issues of common concern, all with an intent to improve the efficiencies of the processes in their respective journal offices, to inform each other of information pertinent to the editorial process, and ultimately to improve the quality of the publications in their respective journals. Editors of imaging, imaging-related, radiation oncology, and medical physics journals are currently members of the group. Other editors of journals in similar areas who wish to learn more about the Editors’ Forum should feel free to contact me at the Radiology Editorial Office in Richmond, Virginia.
In closing, let me express my sincerest thanks to the authors who continue to send us their highest quality original research manuscripts, to the members of our Editorial Board and the reviewers who help guide my decision making with regard to publication of the best of the submissions we receive, and to the readers who are dedicated to learning from the articles we publish on a monthly basis. In particular, I thank those individuals who have helped me when I have called on them for expedited reviews.
REFERENCES
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  A. V. Proto Radiology 2007 Farewell Radiology, December 1, 2007; 245(3): 619 - 621. [Full Text] [PDF]
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A. V. Proto Radiology 2007: The Year Ahead Radiology, January 1, 2007; 242(1): 3 - 5. [Full Text] [PDF]
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D. E. Malone Evidence-based Practice in Radiology: An Introduction to the Series Radiology, January 1, 2007; 242(1): 12 - 14. [Full Text] [PDF]
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A. V. Proto Radiology 2006: More Change Radiology, January 1, 2006; 238(1): 3 - 5. [Full Text] [PDF]
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A. V. Proto Radiology 2005: William R. Eyler, MD, and the RSNA Index to Imaging Literature Radiology, April 1, 2005; 235(1): 3 - 4. [Full Text] [PDF]
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A. V. Proto Radiology 2005--What's Happening? Radiology, January 1, 2005; 234(1): 5 - 7. [Full Text] [PDF]
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