I have been editor of the British and Irish Orthoptic Journal (BIOJ) since June 2016. As you all know the journal is held in high regard across the world. The journal is going from strength to strength. We have had an increase in the number of new manuscripts and starting to attract more international submissions. The “reach” of the journal is also increasing, with readers from the United States, France, India, China to name but a few!
BIOJ is fully open access and we accept submissions relating to original research, review articles and case reports all year round. This means that it is FREE to publish in the journal, and anyone can read your research. This differs from many other journals where it may cost to publish your work, and/or
to read your work.
There have been many changes behind the scenes which have been implemented to ensure BIOJ’s continual growth. Firstly, we have appointed two Associate Editors (Anna Horwood and Jan-Roelof Polling) and we have re-established an international and multi-disciplinary Editorial Board. Full details can be found on the journal website (www.bioj-online.com/). The journal has ambitions to increase its’ online presence by submitting applications for indexing. In the last 12 months we have successfully applied for indexing on the Nordic register. The Nordic register is one of the most influential Scandinavian indexes, and for many Scandinavian researchers being published in a journal that is indexed there is a vital boost to their chances of receiving funding. We plan to apply for indexing to the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) late 2019. DOAJ is a service that indexes high quality, peer reviewed Open Access research journals, periodicals and their articles’ metadata.
Why are we doing all this? The aim for the journal is to be indexed on Medline (or equivalent). The more visible the journal is, the more likely we are to attract an increased number of submissions… And the more submissions we have, the more likely we are to have a successful Medline application.
So, it is a little “chicken and egg”.
This is an exciting period of transition for the journal! We would really appreciate your help as BIOS
members to help us with our vision.
- Look at the journal website! (www.bioj-online.com/) Look at the content on there. Read
articles and share them with colleagues. - Spread the word!! All manuscripts on the BIOJ website can be shared on a number of
platforms via Facebook, Twitter, ResearchGate, google+ and Linkedin. Follow BIOJ on
Twitter @BIOJOrthoptics. Retweet tweets of others, “like” on Facebook… the more people
do this, the more others will become aware of BIOJ. We want more manuscript submissions,
from all countries, and from all relevant disciplines. So we need to get ourselves known in
places where we may not currently be. - Submit your work! We do accept submissions all year round.
- Register as a reviewer. Go to the journal homepage and click the button on the top-right
corner that says “Become a Reviewer”. Then complete the form. PLEASE include your
research interests. This helps me allocate the right sort of manuscripts to the right sort of
people. If you are a clinical orthoptist, please indicate that – we are fortunate to have a
number of academic and clinical academic reviewers at the moment – however, we are very
short on people who work clinically.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get the journal to where it is. BIOJ would not be where it is today without the drive and dedication of many. Previous editors, reviewers past and present, and authors have all contributed to its success. As a group we have a responsibility to honour and respect the legacy of BIOJ and work collectively to ensure its future. Let’s work together to make it THE journal that people turn to!
Jill Carlton
Email: [email protected]