Circulation Research. 2006;98:291-293
doi: 10.1161/01.RES.0000207877.30876.de
(Circulation Research. 2006;98:291.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.
Circulation Research Editors’ Annual Report for 2005
Eduardo Marbán,
Kara Hansell Keehan,
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 2005, the sixth year of our editorship. The journal saw continued overall growth and success in 2005, with increased submissions and brief time to publication. Submissions to the journal have climbed steadily since 1999. In 2005 Circulation Research reached new heights, receiving the greatest number of submissions in journal history, a total of 1935 articles (Figure 1). Manuscript submissions came from a diverse array of nations, including both developing countries and well-established centers of science (Figure 2). Figure 3 tracks submissions by region for the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada, and other countries. We have seen a slight decline in submissions from the United States from 2004 to 2005, while submissions from Europe and other countries have increased by 3%. 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 16.79% (Figure 4). Figure 5 displays the final decision breakdown for 2005. Complementing the acceptance rate is the low reject de novo rate of 12.55%, which underscores the Editors’ commitment to encouraging de novo resubmission only on a restrained basis. The Editors screened manuscripts at the editorial level ("inappropriate" decisions at 6.33%) and via triage review involving expedited evaluation by at least one external referee (23.29%). We would like to thank our dedicated Editorial Board members, many of whom assisted considerably in the triage review process. We also extend our thanks to our numerous reviewers-at-large on whose expertise and volunteer help we rely.
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Figure 5. Final decision breakdown for the calendar year 2005, comprising Original Contributions, Reports, UltraRapid Communications, and Research Commentaries.
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Journal lead times are perhaps one of the most critical factors to journal success. The Editors are pleased to report that Circulation Research maintained a highly competitive average time from submission to first decision of 2.86 weeks in 2005 for all original research articles (Figure 6). A first decision was rendered in an average of 2.95 weeks for Original Contributions. First decisions were rendered on UltraRapid Communications in an average of 2.54 weeks, and on Reports in an average of 1.83 weeks (Figure 6). Similarly, the average time from submission to publication for Original Contributions remained low, at an average of 21.1 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 10.17 weeks and 11.04 weeks, respectively (Figure 7). The Editors are pleased to note that the average time from acceptance to publication was 6.56 weeks for all original research articles. Special thanks go to the dedicated staff of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and Cadmus Professional Communications for their expeditious production of each issue of the journal. It is also important to note that all original research articles are published in the Online First feature of Circulation Research, whereby articles appear in PDF proof format 5 to 9 days after acceptance. The Editors are happy to provide this expedited publish-ahead-of-print service to authors and readers of Circulation Research.
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Figure 6. Times to first decision by manuscript category for the calendar year 2005, including the weighted average of all original research article categories.
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Figure 7. Time from submission to publication by manuscript category for the calendar year 2005, 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 2004, 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 #2 in the Hematology category, surpassing the outstanding specialty journal Blood in that category.1 The 2004 impact factor was 9.972. Figure 8 tracks both the impact factor and the immediacy index of Circulation Research for 1991 to 2004.
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Figure 8. Trend in impact factor and immediacy index for Circulation Research for 1991 to 2004, as determined by Thomson Scientific.1
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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 2005 the symposium featured "Biological Imaging," a blend of 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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Reference
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1. SCI Journal Citation Reports: a bibliometric analysis of science journals in the Thomson Scientific® database. Philadelphia: Thomson Scientific®; 2004.
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