May 5, 2009

Online Journals Now ASHA's "Journals of Record"

cite as: Jessen, J. (2009, May 5). Online journals now ASHA's "Journls of Record." The ASHA Leader, 14 (6), 19.

by Joanne Jessen

ASHA's Publications Board has declared the online version of each of ASHA's four scholarly journals the official version, or "journal of record." Up to this time, the online and print versions of the journals have been virtually identical in content; however, the Publications Board's action anticipates that this will soon cease to be the case.

As Web publishing technologies continue to evolve, so too does the nature of the research article. Online journals allow for inclusion of materials that go beyond the printed page. Articles can now be accompanied by, for example, expanded data sets, audio files, or videos of treatment procedures or complex research methodologies. With the communication of research no longer constrained by print requirements, ASHA's journals can continue to attract the best researchers and remain among the most respected research outlets in communication sciences and disorders.

Authors submitting to any of the four journals now have the option-and are encouraged-to include a variety of such supplementary, online-only materials, provided that they are integral to communicating how the research was conducted or how aspects of the research can be applied in clinical contexts.

In making this change to online as the journal of record, ASHA is officially notifying indexers (such as the National Library of Medicine's PubMed), academic organizations, and content providers that the online version is to be relied on for their purposes.

As the publisher, ASHA has committed its resources to the production and maintenance of the online journals. They are the version preferred by most users, and continuing to improve them is essential for keeping pace with other publishers and with the changing nature of how research is communicated. The online journals also are more broadly available and give greater visibility and access to the research that is adding to the evidence base for the professions.

Because of this commitment to online journals, beginning in 2010 ASHA members will continue to receive all four ASHA journals online as a member benefit, but the print journal selection will no longer be included in the membership package. Print journals will be produced in very small quantities to fulfill subscription commitments and will be available for those willing to subscribe individually.

Now that the online journals are the journals of record and are accompanied by full-text archives extending back more than 60 years, members may wish to opt out of receiving your print edition. To do so, just send an e-mail to subscribe@asha.org with "Cancel Print" in the subject line. Please also include an ASHA account number.

Joanne Jessen, MA, CCC-SLP, CCC-A, director of publications, can be reached at jjessen@asha.org.

Access Online Journals

Recent surveys have indicated that some ASHA members are not yet aware of the online availability of the journals or how to take full advantage of this benefit. If you are new to online journals, go to ASHA Journals and visit the individual journal sites to sign up for table of contents e-mail alerts. To make accessing journals online easier, there is an interactive online tutorial to help. Go to the journals online tutorial to view all or any part of the tutorial.