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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2013 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1 |
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A fledgeling journal
Barun Kumar Nayak
Department of Ophthalmology, P. D. Hinduja National Hospital, Veer Savarkar Marg, Mumbai - 400016, Maharashtra, India
| Date of Submission | 21-Dec-2012 |
| Date of Acceptance | 21-Dec-2012 |
| Date of Web Publication | 22-Jan-2013 |
Correspondence Address:
Barun Kumar Nayak
Department of Ophthalmology, P. D. Hinduja National Hospital, Veer Savarkar Marg, Mumbai - 400016, Maharashtra
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
How to cite this article:
Nayak BK. A fledgeling journal. J Clin Ophthalmol Res 2013;1:1 |
I would like to welcome all of you to the introductory issue of our new peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology and Research (JCOR), which is the official publication of the Maharashtra Ophthalmological Society (MOS). The journal is now ready to spread its wings and fly high.
At this juncture, you may wonder as to why MOS has come up with a new publication. It is known that scientific journals help in disseminating new ideas to the entire world. [1],[2] They also serve as a platform for the permanent archiving of scientific knowledge, which can be retrieved merely with the click of a button in this electronic era. We analyzed some of the existing lacunae in Indian scientific research and publications only to realize that a lot of good research has been going unpublished. This is due to the unavailability of sufficient number of peer-reviewed journals in India and the apathy of researchers toward publication. The matter gets compounded when peer-reviewed journals charge a hefty amount for printing color photographs. Moreoever, some foreign journals burden the authors with article-processing charges to the tune of hundreds of dollars. We also noticed that most of the contents of peer-reviewed journals were not of interest to a majority of readers; the general ophthalmologist is not interested in original articles pertaining to a specialty and the specialist is not interested in general articles. MOS realized these facts and felt that there was an urgent need for a journal which could bridge this gap. These were the observations which led to the genesis of JCOR over a period of time.
Scope of the journal: This journal contains two sections. It opens with its peer-reviewed section and goes on to its second section containing interesting articles of clinical relevance which are commissioned to be written by experts in the field and reviewed by the editorial board. The peer-reviewed section contains review articles, original articles, articles pertaining to community ophthalmology, brief communications, case series, case reports, and letters to the editor. The commissioned articles will include current developments, controversies in ophthalmology, photo essays, ophthalmic quizzes, and topics of clinical interest for practicing ophthalmologists as well as postgraduate students. To sum up, every ophthalmologist will find something of interest in the journal. Our aim is to make it reader-friendly while maintaining the scientific validity of the journal. This journal will also contain advertisements that are not endorsements by the journal, MOS, or the editorial board.
What are its features? This peer-reviewed journal will be published three times a year (January-April, May-August, and September-December), with an 'open access' policy. The full texts of all the articles will be available on www.jcor.in. There will be no charge to the authors for publication; however, a nominal charge will be levied for the inclusion of color photographs in the article. The print copy of the journal will be distributed free of charge to all MOS members. Non members will have to subscribe for it. We have incorporated a complete online system for the management of the manuscript (article submission and review process) through www.journalonweb.com/jcor, so that the processing time remains within reasonable limits. Supported by a quick response by the author, our target is to give a final decision within four months from the date of submission. We already have a reviewer base of approximately 100 researchers.
We aim to get this journal indexed in as many indexing systems as possible. Indexing in Pubmed will be done within the first few months after the publication of this issue. We also wish to increase the frequency of publication in a couple of years.
JCOR does not limit its activity to the process of publication, but it also takes on the responsibility to train ophthalmologists in conducting proper research and in paper-writing skills for publication after completion of research. In my considerable experience as editor, reviewer, and author, I have come to the conclusion that these aspects have been neglected by a majority of students in most of the undergraduate- or postgraduate-training programs. I have been conducting 'Research Methodology Courses' for the last eight years and will continue the same in the future. The next course has been scheduled from May 10 to 12, 2013 in Mumbai and has been jointly organized by JCOR, P.D.Hinduja National Hosptialand Medical Research Centre, and the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.
I truly believe JCOR will be an ideal journal which will cater simultaneously to the needs of general practicing ophthalmologists, postgraduate students, and ophthalmologists involved in scientific research. My aim is to make JCOR reader-friendly and scientifically stimulating so that every ophthalmologist will wait eagerly for its subsequent issue. I also look forward to your support by contributing your valuable research to the journal for the purpose of continuing medical education and wider dissemination of scientific knowledge.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Dick AD. Are we on a voyage to the unknown?: Br J Ophthalmol 2002;86:253-4. 
[PUBMED] |
| 2. | Solomon DJ. The Role of Peer Review for Scholarly Journals in the Information Age. 2007;10.
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