Factors influencing surgeons’ choice of journal for article submission Kjetil Søreide MD PhD Department of Surgical Sciences Department of Surgery Vougot, France June 12-14, 2009

Background JCR: some 139 ”surgery” journals available JCR: some 139 ”surgery” journals available NOT incl. non-indexed; BMC etc… NOT incl. non-indexed; BMC etc… How to choose a [”the right”] journal? * How to choose a [”the right”] journal? * visibility of the journal, visibility of the journal, the focus of the journal and how well it matches the topic of the manuscript, the focus of the journal and how well it matches the topic of the manuscript, the impact factor of the journal, the impact factor of the journal, the timeliness of the editorial office process and whether feedback is constructive, the timeliness of the editorial office process and whether feedback is constructive, journal accessibility, author costs, and the governance of the journal journal accessibility, author costs, and the governance of the journal * Thompson, Chest 2007

Objective What factor(s) guide surgeons’ journal submission preferences? What factor(s) guide surgeons’ journal submission preferences?

Materials Authors of top 5 general surgical journals Authors of top 5 general surgical journals Years Years contact & online questionaire contact & online questionaire Person descriptives (age, gender, field etc) Person descriptives (age, gender, field etc) “Factor importance” rating “Factor importance” rating

Factors scored for 'unimportant', for 'of little importance', for 'somewhat important', for 'important' for 'very important'

Factors investigated Journal Impact factor Journal Impact factor Journal overall reputation Journal overall reputation Knowing editors/editorial board Knowing editors/editorial board Subscription numbers and wide distribution Subscription numbers and wide distribution Open access to articles Open access to articles General scope of journal General scope of journal Specialty scope of journal Specialty scope of journal Costs with publication Costs with publication Journal previously published on “your” topic Journal previously published on “your” topic Previous acceptance in same journal Previous acceptance in same journal Fast-track decision Fast-track decision Time from acceptance to “in print” Time from acceptance to “in print” Time from acceptance to “e- print” Time from acceptance to “e- print” acceptance/rejection rate acceptance/rejection rate Possibility to invite/exclude referees Possibility to invite/exclude referees

Journal factors in categories Prestige Impact factor Reputation Subscriptions/distribution Turnaround time Fast-track decision Time to print Time to e-print Accessibility Acceptance/rejection rate Costs Open access Scope Society affiliation Previous publ. on “your” topic General vs specialty Influence Previous success same journal Knowing editors/board Suggest/exclude referees