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LETTER TO EDITOR |
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Year : 2020 | Volume
: 18
| Issue : 2 | Page : 183 |
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The need to harmonize research submission and publication
Meena Jain1, Ankur Sharma1, Nisha Rani Yadav1, Vishal Jain2
1 Department of Public Health Dentistry, Manav Rachna Dental College, FDS, MRIIRS, Faridabad, Haryana, India 2 Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Institute of Dental Studies and Technologies, Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
Date of Submission | 07-Mar-2020 |
Date of Acceptance | 24-Apr-2020 |
Date of Web Publication | 24-Jun-2020 |
Correspondence Address: Dr. Meena Jain Department of Public Health Dentistry, Manav Rachna Dental College, FDS, MRIIRS, Faridabad, Haryana India
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_46_20
How to cite this article: Jain M, Sharma A, Yadav NR, Jain V. The need to harmonize research submission and publication. J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent 2020;18:183 |
Dear Editor,
As research and evidence-based practice takes the center stage in general, specialized and public health dental practice, it is natural for the number of researches to increase. However, submission, review, and postacceptance process consumes a lot of time for both the authors and the journals.[1] Being in a strongly research-oriented field, it becomes imperative for public health dentists to take a leadership position in harmonizing the article preparation and submission process for a seamless experience and save time of the authors. We, therefore, present a wish list, working on which could help the researchers and journals improve their efficiency.
Too Many Portals | | |
With a large number of journals and publishing houses, each with its own portal for article submission and a unique id and password for each journal, there is an increasing amount of clutter for authors with multiple submissions in various journals. Even as integrated research identifiers (IDs) like open researcher and contributor ID are been increasingly used,[2] the need for creating a login and unique password for submission and follow-up is still necessary. To solve this problem, the publishing houses may come up with an integrated platform for article submission and follow-up so that the authors are able to easily submit and follow-up their articles.
Multiple Formats | | |
Different journals stick to different formats for article writing. This includes different abstract writing styles, word limits, formats for submission, and referencing styles. While consolidated guidelines for submissions through platforms like the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors have been recommended;[3] a diametrically opposite approach to this may also be taken. Certain high impact health journals have allowed for relaxation in the use of referencing styles as well as formats for submission.[4],[5] This means that the articles may be submitted in the same format and referencing style as originally written by the authors. Extension of this to all medical journals may be a solution to this problem.
Long Acceptance to Publication Time | | |
Owing to the overload of articles to be published and the tedious prepublication preparation process, the time taken from acceptance to publication is usually long. For many journals, this time is sometimes up to 1 year. By the time the research papers are published in the journals, many of them have lost their relevance and impact. This affects both the authors and the journals. While prepublication process can be simplified through harmonized requirements for publication, there needs to be a consensus on how early online publication and expedited review processes may be utilized to shorten this time. Grants to journals from government and funding agencies to employ more workforce may help in solving this problem. The dental fraternity, editors of dental journals, publication houses, and various dental specialties need to come together and solve this overarching problem that affects the quality and time of researchers.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References | | |
1. | Horbach SS, Halffman WW. The changing forms and expectations of peer review. Res Integr Peer Rev 2018;3:1-5. |
2. | Sprague ER. ORCID. J Med Libr Assoc 2017;105:207-8. |
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