Editors' Report

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

We thank those who contributed to the growth and strength of JAGS during the past year: the authors who submitted manuscripts and letters in 1996 and the peer reviewers who sustained the quality and timeliness of articles published. The 600 new submissions to JAGS during the first 10 months of 1996 were an increase of approximately 3% beyond the number submitted in 1995. Nevertheless, we maintained an efficient review process with punctual turnaround times for rejection or acceptance for publication. Four hundred ninety of the 600 new submissions were manuscripts, and 110 were letters to the editor submitted for review for publication. Fifty-seven percent of new submissions received in 1996 had solely internal editorial review by at least two editors. Seventy-six percent of these internally reviewed manuscripts were rejected, usually within 2 weeks of receipt, 15% — chiefly solicited editorials — were accepted for publication, and 9% of internally reviewed manuscripts were awaiting a “revise and resubmit” process when data were compiled. These rates, all similar to those observed in 1994 and 1995, continue our policy of responding quickly to authors of manuscripts that had no chance of timely publication, given JAGS' space constraints, and reserving external review for manuscripts with the most favorable prospects. At this time, 16% of 1996's new submissions have been accepted for publication, 55% have been rejected, 13% are awaiting revision and resubmission by authors, 12% are awaiting recommendations from reviewers, and 4% are waiting for recommendations from editorial review. In 1996, most externally reviewed manuscripts were sent to at least one reviewer within 2 weeks of submission and sent to at least two reviewers within 3 weeks of submission. The return of complete sets of initial external reviews was accomplished, on average, approximately 6 weeks after manuscripts were sent to reviewers. These 1996 manuscript processing times were slightly shorter than were the corresponding 1995 times. Externally reviewed manuscripts accepted for publication usually underwent at least one revision and resubmission, and, on average, these manuscripts were accepted approximately 3 months after their original receipt. Accepted manuscripts were published an average of 5 months after final acceptance. In contrast, externally reviewed manuscripts that were not accepted for publication were rejected an average of 2 months after original receipt. Thus, although all manuscript processing times for accepted or rejected externally reviewed manuscripts were improved in 1996, time to publication after acceptance was 25% longer. This delay was consequent to increased numbers of accepted manuscripts in the queue awaiting publication. Within JAGS' page limitations, increased delay between acceptance and publication is an adverse effect of increasing numbers of high priority and high quality manuscripts that can be countered only by increasing the rejection rate. Thus, we must either accept increased delays in publishing manuscripts or reject more manuscripts. Your thoughts on this dilemma will be appreciated. Readers will note the continuing evolution of the Journal with the addition of a fourth section, International Affairs, with Marco Pahor, MD, as Section Editor. This change was made in response to increasing international content related to the clinical care of older people. The Journal will also endeavor to expand coverage of international news pertinent to the field of geriatric medicine. In an effort to keep the Journal timely and informative, special series have also been added on Healthcare System Reform and Advances in Genetics of Aging. In all content areas, the editors of JAGS are striving continually to increase authors' adherence to “Uniform Requirements …” for submitted manuscripts, as stated in the “Information for Authors” published in the January and July issues of the Journal. We believe that JAGS' articles are especially improved with regard to statistical presentation, and this issue's revised “Information for Authors” contains, for the first time, the source of guidelines for statistical reporting that has informed both “Uniform Requirements …” and the Journal's editorial policies related to statistical style.1