Circulation Research. 2007;100:149-151
doi: 10.1161/01.RES.0000258165.52175.c2
(Circulation Research. 2007;100:149.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.
Circulation Research Editors’ Annual Report for 2006
Eduardo Marbán,
Michelle Strotman,
Jonathan Schultz,
the Associate Editors
Correspondence to Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD, Editor in Chief, Circulation Research, 2700 Lighthouse Point East, Suite 230, Baltimore, MD 21224. E-mail Circulation.research{at}circresearch.com
Key Words: acceptance rate • thematic review series • impact factor
The Editors of Circulation Research are pleased to present this annual report on the progress of the journal over the course of 2006, the seventh year of our editorship. The journal saw continued overall growth in 2006, with increased submissions, rapid manuscript handling, and enviably brief times to publication. Submissions to the journal have climbed steadily since 1999. In 2006 Circulation Research received a record number of submissions, 1978 articles (Figure 1). This represents a 53% increase in submissions over the course of our editorship. Manuscript submissions came from a diverse array of nations, including both developing countries and well-established scientific powerhouses (Figure 2). Figure 3 tracks submissions by region. The most notable growth over the past three years has been in the "Other" category. The editors’ inspection of the country-by-country data reveals a distinct surge in submissions from China, Korea and Taiwan (Figure 4), in parallel with the remarkable economic growth experienced by these nations in recent years. The Editors encourage all authors, regardless of country of origin, to look to Circulation Research as the preeminent journal for cardiovascular basic science and mechanistic clinical research.
Even with an increase in annual submissions, the Editors maintained a competitive acceptance rate of 14.05% (Figure 5). Figure 6 displays the final decision breakdown for 2006. Complementing the acceptance rate is the low reject de novo rate of 14.87%, which underscores the Editors’ commitment to encouraging de novo resubmission only on a restrained basis. Neither authors nor reviewers are well-served by time spent evaluating work that has no realistic prospect of being acceptable for the journal. To weed out noncompetitive manuscripts at an early stage of the evaluation process, the Editors screened manuscripts at the editorial level ("inappropriate" decisions at 8.68%) and via triage review involving expedited evaluation by at least one external referee (22.73%). We would like to thank our dedicated Editorial Board members, many of whom assisted in the triage review process. We also extend our thanks to our numerous reviewers-at-large on whose expertise and volunteer help we rely, and who are acknowledged by name yearly.1
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Figure 6. Final decision breakdown for the calendar year 2006, comprising Original Contributions, Reports, UltraRapid Communications, and Research Commentaries.
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Lead times are perhaps one of the most critical factors to journal success. Circulation Research maintained a highly competitive average time from submission to first decision of 2.82 weeks in 2006 for all original research articles, with even faster turnaround times for UltraRapid Communications and Reports (Figure 7). Similarly, the average time from submission to publication for Original Contributions remained low, at an average of 21.7 weeks, which includes the time taken by authors to revise their manuscripts. The average times from submission to publication for UltraRapid Communications and Reports were 10.94 weeks and 11.58 weeks, respectively (Figure 8). The average time from acceptance to hard-copy publication was 6.38 weeks for all original research articles; this lag depends on the publisher and its operating procedures, not on our editorial office. Offsetting this delay is the Online First feature of Circulation Research, whereby all original research articles are web-published in PDF proof format a mere 5 to 9 days after acceptance.
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Figure 7. Times to first decision by manuscript category for the calendar year 2006, including the weighted average of all original research article categories.
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Figure 8. Time from submission to publication by manuscript category for the calendar year 2006, including the weighted average of all original research article categories. Time from submission to publication includes time taken by authors to revise manuscripts.
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The Editors are pleased to note that, in 2005 (data for which were released in the summer of 2006), Circulation Research was ranked by the Institute for Scientific Information as #2 in the Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems category, #2 in the Peripheral Vascular Diseases category, and #3 in the Hematology category.2 The 2005 impact factor was 9.408.
Circulation Research and the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences continued their close relationship with the annual Circulation Research Symposium at AHA Scientific Sessions. The Symposium originally premiered at the 2001 Scientific Sessions on the theme of proteomics. Other past topics have included "Unanswered Questions in Heart Failure" and "Biology of Cardiac Arrhythmias," both of which were the topics of ongoing thematic review series in Circulation Research. In 2006 the symposium featured "Fundamental Biology of Obesity," a topic which relates directly to two review series from the journal. The Table lists all review series topics currently underway in the journal. As the Editors continue to seek out exciting areas of wide interest to readers and contributors, we welcome your suggestions and feedback at circulation.research@circresearch.com.
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References
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1. Acknowledgement to Reviewers.
Circ Res. 2006; 99: 218–222.
[Free Full Text]2. SCI Journal Citation Reports: a bibliometric analysis of science journals in the Thomson Scientific® database. Philadelphia: Thomson Scientific®; 2004.
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