The association’s president says the new Australian Rheumatology Journal will give clinicians, researchers and consumers a transparent, Australian-led platform for publishing and accessing rheumatology research.
A new Australian-led rheumatology journal will launch this month with an open-access model and a mission to put scientific publishing back in the hands of clinicians, researchers and patients, according to incoming editor-in-chief Dr Sam Whittle.
The outgoing president of the Australian Rheumatology Association said the new Australian Rheumatology Journal would open for submissions at the association’s annual scientific meeting on the Gold Coast this weekend.
He said it would operate as a fully digital, “diamond open access” publication, meaning it would be free for authors to publish in and free for anyone to read.
Dr Whittle described the venture as both exciting and daunting, particularly at a time when artificial intelligence was rapidly reshaping medical publishing.
“It’s a big adventure and it’s really exciting,” he told Rheumatology Republic.
“And it’s daunting, because it is a big endeavour and it’s a wild time to be starting a journal, at a time when the current state and the future state of medical publishing is really uncertain.
“Even five years ago, we could not have foreseen the way that AI would intrude into our lives in every in every way.
“But I think also because it’s a time of great change, it’s a great opportunity to for us to do it and have some control over the way we want it to go.”
The journal will adopt an unusually transparent publishing model, with open peer review, open data and consumer involvement embedded throughout the editorial process.
“Our editorial stance is going to be one of transparency and open disclosure,” Dr Whittle said.
“The peer review is going to be open, everything’s going to be open.”
The publication will also seek to reduce barriers for researchers frustrated by escalating publication costs and complex submission processes.
“If we take away the cost to publish, we’re going to take away all the other unnecessary barriers,” Dr Whittle said.
“It’s going to be just based on good science told well. We hope that will be attractive to people.”
Dr Whittle said the journal would place a strong emphasis on Australian research priorities and underserved communities, while still aiming to build an international reputation over time.
“We haven’t had a home for Australian rheumatology research before,” he said.
“We want there to be a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We want there to be a focus on rural and remote communities and on issues that are pertinent to Australians with rheumatic diseases.”
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Rather than publishing traditional scheduled issues, the journal will use a continuous publishing model, with articles appearing online as they are accepted.
“We open for submission at the ASM, and we will aim to start publishing straight away,” Dr Whittle said.
The journal will be entirely digital, with accompanying metadata, published peer-review reports and community commentary designed to help readers interpret new research in context.
“We’re putting together a really interesting peer review process that’s slightly different to most other journals at the moment,” Dr Whittle said.
“We want to have some community commentary around some of the publications to help the reader put it in context.”
