Editorial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: A Hybrid Open-Access Medical Journal Rod J. Rohrich, M.D. Aaron Weinstein, M.S. Dallas, Texas
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t a recent meeting, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery’s Experimental section editor, Paul Cederna, M.D., told me that he personally has had to submit several of his best papers to other journals simply because Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery could not meet the publishing mandates of his research’s funders. The body that funded his research required that the article be published as “open access.” The Journal was simply not even an option for submission for these great works. Several other board members joined in and shared similar experiences. I cringe to think how many authors have had to avoid submission to the Journal because of this limitation. As of today, however, that obstruction is officially gone. Since volume 1, issue 1 of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery was printed in 1946, our Journal has been a subscription-only publication. In the nearly 70 years since, the mode of delivery has grown from print only to include digital outlets online and via the iPad; but the content is still “subscription only.” With the advent of Internet-based digital outlets, though, different options for content delivery have emerged, namely, the open access model of publication, in which the content is open to anyone, anywhere, with an Internet connection. There are strengths and weaknesses to both publication models, but one of the core strengths of the open access movement is the democratization of information. It is for this reason that the American Society of Plastic Surgeons launched Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery–Global Open (PRS GO) last year; it is fully open access and available online at PRSGO.com and for iPads via the App store. After witnessing the author benefits of open access publication firsthand with PRS GO, and after hearing of the missed opportunities that From the Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Received for publication February 25, 2014; accepted February 25, 2014. Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons DOI: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000000463
people like Paul Cederna described, the Editorial Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and I knew we needed to present the option for open access publication to all of our authors. With the help of our publishers, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins/Wolters Kluwer Health, we have found that option and introduce it to you today. We present “hybrid open access.”
HYBRID OPEN ACCESS: A NEW OPTION FOR AUTHORS As unanimously approved by the Managing Committee and Editorial Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, we are now able to offer the option to publish original research articles as open access in the Journal. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is a hybrid open access journal. This is not as monumental or drastic as it may seem. In essence, the Journal will remain a subscription-based publication. But if an author chooses to exercise the open access option, whether by obligation to publicly funded bodies or by choice, his or her accepted article can be published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and made freely, openly available to all readers indefinitely. The ability to publish an article as open access in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is merely another service we offer to our authors because more and more funders are requiring it. This service enters the armamentarium of benefits for our authors. Open access publishing is an option authors may choose, but more to the point, it’s a choice we must offer so that all authors can publish in the Journal. The decision has no bearing on the article’s acceptance. Disclosure: The authors have no financial interest to declare in relation to the content of this Editorial. Dr. Rohrich is the Editor-in-Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and receives instrument royalties from Micrins Instruments and book royalties from Quality Medical Publishing. Mr. Weinstein is Managing Editor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
www.PRSJournal.com
165
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery • July 2014 WHO BENEFITS? Ultimately, the potential readership of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery benefits from this shift to a hybrid open access model. As already discussed, several groups, especially publicly funded ones, such as the National Institutes of Health, The Wellcome Trust (U.K.), and Research Councils UK (RCUK), mandate open access publication of research they fund. These publicly funded articles simply could not be published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery before; as a subscription-only journal, it was not even an option. Now that the Journal is hybrid open access, we are not closing the door to such articles. In addition, we have the opportunity to provide content to people from around the world who don’t usually have access to our Journal, thus expanding the reach of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery even further. Our authors benefit as well. With this option now available, authors required to publish open access can submit their papers to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. If accepted, their manuscripts will be published in the number-oneranked plastic surgery journal in the world and benefit from our high readership, impact factor, and society support—an opportunity previously closed off to them due to our subscription-only model.
HOW DOES IT WORK? After the first round of peer review has concluded, the author will be presented with the option to choose open access. Before publication, the article processing charge would be paid. Once published, the article would be fully and permanently open to all readers on our Web site, PRSjournal.com. Articles that are open access are identified by the “open” icon. It is worth noting the following: • The peer review and production processes for open access articles published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery are identical to those for traditionally published articles. • Authors of open access articles retain copyright to their content. • Open access articles can be published ahead of print. • Open access articles will be deposited into PubMed Central on the authors’ behalf by our publishers. • Commercial reprints can be purchased for open access articles.
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• Previously published articles can be made open access going forward if the author so desires. • Open access articles and all related figures and tables have limited restrictions on permissions. Under the Creative Commons License, readers can disseminate and reuse the article for noncommercial purposes. • Open access articles can be posted to personal Web site and/or institutional repositories. • Only original, experimental, or special topic articles can be made open access. To reiterate, the open access option will not be offered to authors until after the article has been peer reviewed. Authors will be given the option to publish their paper as open access when the article is sent back for revision. The extension of this option does not indicate that the article will be accepted following resubmission.
WHAT IS THE “ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE?” Authors who opt for open access publication in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery will be asked to pay an article processing charge. The charge to publish in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is $3000 if the article is published under the Creative Commons License Attribution-Noncommerical No Derivative (CC-BY-NC-ND) license; it is $3800 if it is published under the Attribution 3.0 (CC-BY) license, which is required by Research Councils UK. The intent of the article processing charge is not to make any profit; these funds cover administrative costs of peer review, expert copyediting, layout, typesetting, and hosting of the article as a PDF and full text on PRSJournal.com.
CONCLUSIONS The answers to these questions and many more will be readily available in our Editorial Policies document and in an FAQ hosted on our Web site. If you have any questions about the hybrid open access model and what it means for you, please do not hesitate to ask. The Editorial Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and I are pleased to be able to offer this new option to you, our authors. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery embraces our authors and honors our subscribers, and has done so since 1946. As the needs of our authors change, as exemplified by the testimony I’ve received from Dr. Cederna
Volume 134, Number 1 • Editorial and others, we must change as well. Offering this new service ensures that all authors can publish in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery if they so choose. From 2014 going forward, we can now exercise the option for open access and truly offer all of you the full spectrum of the best of the best in plastic surgery.
Rod J. Rohrich, M.D. Editor-in-Chief Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 8150 Brookriver Drive South Tower, Floor 4, Suite S-415 Dallas, Texas 75247 [email protected]
Contacting the Editorial Office To reach the Editorial Office, please use the following contact information: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., Editor-in-Chief 8150 Brookriver Drive South Tower, Floor 4, Suite S-415 Dallas, Texas 75247 Tel: 469-801-4400 Fax: 847-709-7534 E-mail: [email protected]
167
A
t a recent meeting, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery’s Experimental section editor, Paul Cederna, M.D., told me that he personally has had to submit several of his best papers to other journals simply because Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery could not meet the publishing mandates of his research’s funders. The body that funded his research required that the article be published as “open access.” The Journal was simply not even an option for submission for these great works. Several other board members joined in and shared similar experiences. I cringe to think how many authors have had to avoid submission to the Journal because of this limitation. As of today, however, that obstruction is officially gone. Since volume 1, issue 1 of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery was printed in 1946, our Journal has been a subscription-only publication. In the nearly 70 years since, the mode of delivery has grown from print only to include digital outlets online and via the iPad; but the content is still “subscription only.” With the advent of Internet-based digital outlets, though, different options for content delivery have emerged, namely, the open access model of publication, in which the content is open to anyone, anywhere, with an Internet connection. There are strengths and weaknesses to both publication models, but one of the core strengths of the open access movement is the democratization of information. It is for this reason that the American Society of Plastic Surgeons launched Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery–Global Open (PRS GO) last year; it is fully open access and available online at PRSGO.com and for iPads via the App store. After witnessing the author benefits of open access publication firsthand with PRS GO, and after hearing of the missed opportunities that From the Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Received for publication February 25, 2014; accepted February 25, 2014. Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons DOI: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000000463
people like Paul Cederna described, the Editorial Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and I knew we needed to present the option for open access publication to all of our authors. With the help of our publishers, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins/Wolters Kluwer Health, we have found that option and introduce it to you today. We present “hybrid open access.”
HYBRID OPEN ACCESS: A NEW OPTION FOR AUTHORS As unanimously approved by the Managing Committee and Editorial Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, we are now able to offer the option to publish original research articles as open access in the Journal. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is a hybrid open access journal. This is not as monumental or drastic as it may seem. In essence, the Journal will remain a subscription-based publication. But if an author chooses to exercise the open access option, whether by obligation to publicly funded bodies or by choice, his or her accepted article can be published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and made freely, openly available to all readers indefinitely. The ability to publish an article as open access in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is merely another service we offer to our authors because more and more funders are requiring it. This service enters the armamentarium of benefits for our authors. Open access publishing is an option authors may choose, but more to the point, it’s a choice we must offer so that all authors can publish in the Journal. The decision has no bearing on the article’s acceptance. Disclosure: The authors have no financial interest to declare in relation to the content of this Editorial. Dr. Rohrich is the Editor-in-Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and receives instrument royalties from Micrins Instruments and book royalties from Quality Medical Publishing. Mr. Weinstein is Managing Editor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
www.PRSJournal.com
165
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery • July 2014 WHO BENEFITS? Ultimately, the potential readership of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery benefits from this shift to a hybrid open access model. As already discussed, several groups, especially publicly funded ones, such as the National Institutes of Health, The Wellcome Trust (U.K.), and Research Councils UK (RCUK), mandate open access publication of research they fund. These publicly funded articles simply could not be published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery before; as a subscription-only journal, it was not even an option. Now that the Journal is hybrid open access, we are not closing the door to such articles. In addition, we have the opportunity to provide content to people from around the world who don’t usually have access to our Journal, thus expanding the reach of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery even further. Our authors benefit as well. With this option now available, authors required to publish open access can submit their papers to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. If accepted, their manuscripts will be published in the number-oneranked plastic surgery journal in the world and benefit from our high readership, impact factor, and society support—an opportunity previously closed off to them due to our subscription-only model.
HOW DOES IT WORK? After the first round of peer review has concluded, the author will be presented with the option to choose open access. Before publication, the article processing charge would be paid. Once published, the article would be fully and permanently open to all readers on our Web site, PRSjournal.com. Articles that are open access are identified by the “open” icon. It is worth noting the following: • The peer review and production processes for open access articles published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery are identical to those for traditionally published articles. • Authors of open access articles retain copyright to their content. • Open access articles can be published ahead of print. • Open access articles will be deposited into PubMed Central on the authors’ behalf by our publishers. • Commercial reprints can be purchased for open access articles.
166
• Previously published articles can be made open access going forward if the author so desires. • Open access articles and all related figures and tables have limited restrictions on permissions. Under the Creative Commons License, readers can disseminate and reuse the article for noncommercial purposes. • Open access articles can be posted to personal Web site and/or institutional repositories. • Only original, experimental, or special topic articles can be made open access. To reiterate, the open access option will not be offered to authors until after the article has been peer reviewed. Authors will be given the option to publish their paper as open access when the article is sent back for revision. The extension of this option does not indicate that the article will be accepted following resubmission.
WHAT IS THE “ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE?” Authors who opt for open access publication in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery will be asked to pay an article processing charge. The charge to publish in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is $3000 if the article is published under the Creative Commons License Attribution-Noncommerical No Derivative (CC-BY-NC-ND) license; it is $3800 if it is published under the Attribution 3.0 (CC-BY) license, which is required by Research Councils UK. The intent of the article processing charge is not to make any profit; these funds cover administrative costs of peer review, expert copyediting, layout, typesetting, and hosting of the article as a PDF and full text on PRSJournal.com.
CONCLUSIONS The answers to these questions and many more will be readily available in our Editorial Policies document and in an FAQ hosted on our Web site. If you have any questions about the hybrid open access model and what it means for you, please do not hesitate to ask. The Editorial Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and I are pleased to be able to offer this new option to you, our authors. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery embraces our authors and honors our subscribers, and has done so since 1946. As the needs of our authors change, as exemplified by the testimony I’ve received from Dr. Cederna
Volume 134, Number 1 • Editorial and others, we must change as well. Offering this new service ensures that all authors can publish in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery if they so choose. From 2014 going forward, we can now exercise the option for open access and truly offer all of you the full spectrum of the best of the best in plastic surgery.
Rod J. Rohrich, M.D. Editor-in-Chief Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 8150 Brookriver Drive South Tower, Floor 4, Suite S-415 Dallas, Texas 75247 [email protected]
Contacting the Editorial Office To reach the Editorial Office, please use the following contact information: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., Editor-in-Chief 8150 Brookriver Drive South Tower, Floor 4, Suite S-415 Dallas, Texas 75247 Tel: 469-801-4400 Fax: 847-709-7534 E-mail: [email protected]
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