Authors who believe that their papers warrant expedited publication are invited to request this in their cover letters and to provide the grounds for doing so. These changes allow more papers in each issue, so the backlog of accepted papers awaiting publication is shrinking and new papers will be published sooner. Second, the Journal recently moved from a blinded to an unblinded review process, following the practice of many other scientific journals. The Editorial Board made this decision after reports showed that, by and large, most reviewers could guess successfully the authors of the papers they were reviewing since often the setting and the program are specifically mentioned. Reviewers ratings did not change regardless of whether or not they knew who the authors were.
Authors remain blinded to the identity of their papers reviewers.
Finally, the electronic Journal broadens our audience and provides yet another way for readers to access its pages. Our goal is to have the Journal online within 2 weeks of its appearance in readers mailboxes. Authors should refer to Information to contributors to ensure that they are supplying text and especially figures and tables in the correct format to facilitate their electronic posting. There is also an increase in French language manuscripts and in international submissions. The ongoing goal is to continue to improve the quality and effectiveness of The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry for you, the reader.