Open Access CIM Journal Publishing: Editorial Essentials for Policies and Procedures: The Session Blog
July 9, 11:30 AM – Earl and Jennie Lohn Room 7000
Presenter
Glenn M. Hymel, Professor and former Chair of the Department of Psychology at Loyola University New Orleans
Background
This session covered the development of an online, open access, peer reviewed quarterly: The International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB). The journal is intended to support practitioners in the field of complementary & integrative medicine (CIM).
Session Overview
Glenn Hymel (Source)
Professor Glenn Hymel began the session by outlining three objectives for his presentation: (1) to address recent developments and the progress to date of the IJTMB (2) to provide a journal editor’s perspective regarding policy decisions and procedural guidelines in the context of open access publishing (3) to provide a potential model that other independent journals could use. Subsequently, the professor described the journal as an open access, peer reviewed quarterly publication that reflects the Massage Therapy Foundation’s (MTF) mission to promote research, education as well as current best practice in the field of massage and bodywork. The MTF is a non-profit charity, but it does charge its members fees to cover operating costs.
Professor Hymel proceeded to discuss the scope of the IJTMB, which encompasses editorials, research, education, practice sections, commentaries, book reviews and announcements that are relevant to the massage profession. The journal’s board of trustees, comprising an e-Journal committee, an editorial board, an editor in chief and a manuscript review board, have final control of the budget, as well as its membership. The board had a number of key decisions to make during the formative stages of the journal, such as the software to use, the peer review process to follow and the stylistic requirements needed. Ultimately, the trustees agreed to use multi-Med (A Canadian Company) for publishing, a double blind review protocol that includes evaluation from a medical review board and style guidelines consistent CIM and allopathic journals. Lastly, the organisation chose to use creative commons licenses as their copyright policy.
Hymel concluded his presentation by discussing the issue of citation and accreditation. The journal uses the Google Analytics service to obtain quantitative input (web stats) that determines the IJTMB’s impact. The credibility derived from frequent web hits has been hampered by a lack of successful manuscript submissions, which demonstrates a need to make the review process more efficient, improved authorship guidelines, reader input through comment features and more extensive use of supplementary, multi-media files to augment entries. It was also suggested that the journal develop a plug-in “to enable continuing education activities related to journal articles”.
The professor answered a few questions at the end of the period. His responses reaffirmed the IJTMB’s intent to improve its effectiveness, as well as its immediacy by being quicker to release submitted articles between quarterly issues. Hymel hoped that this would increase availability. The professor also explained that that they have had to outsource contracting in order to reduce costs.
Analysis
The point of view of an independent online journal striving to serve its members and gain credibility as a reputable, authoritative resource is a profoundly recurring theme within the open access community. The challenge of balancing costs, yet maintaining a high quality journal is also significant. Furthermore, it is particularly interesting that professor Hymel advocates improved user friendly controls that promote interactivity and a more robust reading experience. The ability of members to possibly change or influence the original document and leave their comments potentially diminishes the reliability of such a publication, which is one of the established goals of the IJTMB. The tension between using the technology in a new and exciting ways, while maintaining traditionally defined authority, is problematic for all online journals. Can this paradox be resolved?
Related Links
The International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork
