Before 2019 fades too far into the past, we here at the ASHA Journals would like to take a break to thank everyone who has taken the time to contribute to the ASHA Journals throughout the year. Whether you served as editorial board member for one of ASHA’s five journals, liked or shared content on social media, or simply enjoyed reading our articles, we’d like to acknowledge everyone who helped make 2019 such a successful year for the ASHA Journals.
By the Numbers
In 2019, the ASHA Journals published just over 800 articles, with hundreds more entering the review process to be published in 2020. In addition to many standalone articles, in total, AJA, AJSLP, JSLHR, and LSHSS published 12 special issues and forums covering a diverse range of topics ranging from statistical methods to science and practice in India.
Authors submitting to the ASHA Journals will be happy to find that the average time in review and time to first decision remained at the same levels as last year, down significantly from previous years. Once again, most authors can expect an initial decision within 50 days of submitting a manuscript. The ASHA Journals will continue to make it a priority to promise the most expedient turnaround possible while ensuring quality peer review. The acceptance rate across the ASHA Journals has also remained consistent, around 50%.
Of course, each article was made possible by the diverse editorial boards of each of the five ASHA Journals. These 400+ individuals provided their expertise to provide peer review for each article. We’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the ASHA Journals in 2019 as editors-in-chief, editors, guest editors, editorial board members (EBMs), ad hoc reviewers, or authors.
For the thousands of reviewers who have taken the time to evaluate, assess, and corroborate submissions for us, we’d like to remind you that you can now be recognized for your work automatically through our integration with Publons. This service offers verification and instant access to reviewers looking to include their service on a CV or funding request.
Although editors and EBMs for 2020 have already been brought on for 2020, those interested in serving as an ad hoc reviewer or serving on any of the ASHA Journals’ editorial review boards in the future can fill out an expression of interest here.
The social media profile of the ASHA Journals has also grown, with the @ASHAJournals and @SIGPerspectives twitter accounts’ followers each growing by more than 25%. Additionally, tweets from the @ASHAJournals account were seen more than 1,000,000 times in 2019, and be sure to look for our participation in Research Tuesday if you’re a Facebook user.
New Features
In 2019, Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, a member benefit of ASHA’s 19 Special Interest Groups (SIGs), officially became a peer-reviewed scholarly review journal. Perspectives serves a unique niche in the ASHA Journals Program, focusing on bridging research and practice. Perspectives covers a wide range of topics in communication sciences and disorders, with 19 editors focusing on specific areas within the discipline.
This year, the ASHA Journals Academy expanded its resources for new, existing, and potential reviewers with the Peer Review Excellence Program (PREP). Through four interactive PREP Development Modules, which are available for free online, users are guided through detailed information on the most important steps of peer review, with knowledge checks along the way to test and apply what is being learned. These modules are available for certification maintenance hours, subject to your local state licensing board.
We hope you’ve had a productive year and have been able to grow professionally with the ASHA Journals. We’d love for you to let us know on Twitter (@ashajournals) which articles you’ve learned the most from in 2019. We hope you have a great 2020 and look forward to opportunities to work with you!
