Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: The journal SLEEP has increased its impact factor to 6.3. Ron Szymusiak and the previous editorial team are to be congratulated for this increase. It places SLEEP as the leading journal in the field of sleep/circadian studies focused on original research. The areas of interest for this journal are broad, including basic research, translational research, clinical research, and implementation science. We have a strong portfolio in sleep epidemiology and public health and a growing number of manuscripts published in the area of genetics. As the leading journal for original research in sleep and circadian research, SLEEP has a major responsibility for our field. Our new editorial team of David Gozal (senior Deputy Editor), Antoine Adamantidis (Deputy Editor), and Katie Stone (Deputy Editor) take this responsibility very seriously. We are introducing a number of important changes to our journal. We are introducing new standards for clinical research articles we publish. For example, we will adhere to CONSORT guidelines for randomized trials. Based on the Declaration of Helsinki (2008), we will ensure that clinical trials are registered before they start. Authors will be required to submit the appropriate checklist with their original article. Similarly for other types of clinical research articles we will use the most appropriate guidelines recommended by the EQUATOR Network (www.equator-network.org). We will strive to continue to strengthen the quality of the science we publish in SLEEP. This will further boost our impact factor, which has direct benefits for faculty who publish in the journal, such as favorable review by institutional promotion committees. As the impact factor improves, the journal will also receive higher quality submissions. It is a positive feedback loop. Recognizing this, our new editorial team, working in concert with an able group of Associate Editors, are implementing a comprehensive strategy to further enhance the impact of our journal. We are introducing new contributions to the Journal. This includes Editorials (we have 7 of these in each of the last 3 issues), Research Letters, Pro/Con Debate Series, and Commentaries. We have all of these initiatives already in progress and are accepting these article types in ScholarOne. Pro/Con debates are by invitation only. Individuals who see an opportunity for this type of article should email the Editor with their suggestion. We believe that the journal has the responsibility to provide leadership in moving our field forward. We have introduced Perspectives that are intended to be scholarly opinion pieces about topical issues in our field of research. These can be submitted by interested authors and we also invite specific Perspectives. We also serve the membership of our Society. To enhance the quality of the Journal, we are emphasizing novelty. It is important that the articles we publish are advancing knowledge, rather than confirming previously reported results. We also encourage novelty in methodological approaches to previously studied questions. Thus, the editorial team and the Associate Editors pay particular attention to the reviewer scores for novelty. We are in a strong position since well-written articles that do not obtain high marks for novelty can be transferred to our companion journal—SLEEP Advances. In addition, we wish to dispel the notion that particular areas of sleep and circadian sciences are less of interest or are the subject of reduced priority for SLEEP. SLEEP is, and will continue to be, the venue of choice and leader for basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological and implementation science focused on issues revolving around sleep and circadian biology. Another important change is the introduction of visual (graphical) abstracts. These are essentially one slide that summarizes the findings of the study with a link to the original article. We have piloted this with a few articles and will soon introduce a requirement for graphical abstracts for all articles at the stage of submitting a revised article (major or minor revision). These visual abstracts will be sent out through the Sleep Research Society (SRS) Twitter feed and through the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research. This will bring more attention to SLEEP articles that will help both the authors of our articles and the visibility of our journal. The biggest challenge we face, that is not unique to us, is obtaining reviews for submitted manuscripts. We may have to invite 8 or more reviewers to obtain 2. This slows down the review process and puts a large burden on our Associate Editors. To address this, we have followed the strategy used by many journals and are rejecting without obtaining reviews a large proportion of articles that are submitted. Unlike many other journals, however, we do provide feedback from the Editors and Associate Editors as to why the manuscript was rejected (or transferred to SLEEP Advances) without obtaining reviews. There are common reasons for this. For example, we reject without review a large number of manuscripts where cross-sectional associations are reported between self-reported measures of sleep (e.g. sleep duration) and some outcome. Epidemiological studies with multi-dimensional and/or objective measures of sleep/circadian phenotypes are prioritized. These criteria also apply to manuscripts submitted to the section on basic sleep/circadian research where the journal aims at publishing novel studies on the mechanisms of sleep, wakefulness, and circadian rhythms, and the brain functions associated with sleep across species including human. We similarly look for novelty in all other major topic categories of the journal. To further address the challenge of obtaining reviews in a timely fashion, we are revamping our Editorial Board. New members are committing to do one timely review per month. Our field can also help. If you are committed, as we are, to making SLEEP a much more impactful journal, you can help by reviewing for us. We believe it is in our interest that the journal of the Sleep Research Society (SRS) continues to enhance its standing. We appreciate that many journals are asking you to review for them and there are other major demands on your time. As a society journal, SLEEP supports the Society’s strategic priority of enhancing the vibrancy and breadth of their scientific offerings by publishing and disseminating the highest quality sleep and circadian science. SLEEP is also the home of the scientific abstracts from the annual sleep research meeting. Thus, tightening the link between the sleep and circadian communities, and the journal is an important challenge for the SRS. We hope that you can prioritize helping us so that together we can move this journal forward and SLEEP reaches a comparable level to leading journals in other fields. Since the SRS took sole ownership of the journal SLEEP, it has had a very beneficial effect on the Society. Based on the contract with Oxford University Press, the journal generates resources for the Society, allowing it to have, for example, more staff support. Thank you for your support. We will continue to inform you about our progress. We are extremely grateful to Nat Marshall, Woolcock Research Institute, University of Sydney, Australia, who provided terrific advice about standards to use for randomized trials and other clinical research articles and to John Noel, Executive Director of the Sleep Research Society, who helped us understand the importance of the journal SLEEP to the Sleep Research Society.
Source: SLEEP
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: Sleep Research Society
OpenAlex ID: W4292315843