ONLY OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING
My editorial letter for International Surgery issue 101 (3–4) focused on the increasing importance of open access (OA) publishing in scientific and medical publishing.
Following additional careful analysis and consideration, I made the decision that, as of May 1, 2017, and thereafter, only open access (OA) manuscripts will be considered for publishing in International Surgery at a fee of USD2,200. Those authors who have submitted manuscripts after May 1st have been advised accordingly and provided the opportunity to have their respective manuscripts be considered for open access publishing.
Open access publishing is free online access, unrestricted, to the results of scientific medical research. Open access publishing was, in part, stimulated by the use of governmental funds for scientific medical research, with one requirement being the immediate sharing of research results to all other researchers and other persons of interest. This governmental requirement has stimulated increased open access publishing. Studies now indicate that open access manuscripts are referenced more often over a longer period of time than non-open access manuscripts. This aspect is a major advantage to any author who wishes to gain recognition for his/her work. In comparison to embargoed manuscripts, a much larger number of scientific medical researchers see the research results much earlier.
The viewing of research results, on an enlarged scale in terms of the number of researchers in a larger number of research venues, is clearly to the advantage of any author. My intention, as Editor-in-Chief of International Surgery, is to offer each and every author the very best opportunity to gain awareness of their research results in the shortest period of time. This is the reason for switching publishing in International Surgery to open access only.
The choice of whether you wish to publish your manuscript as an open access manuscript is entirely your choice. We encourage you to consider the advantages of open access publishing and to contact our Editorial Staff with your manuscript.
I welcome any questions or comments that you may have.
Sincerely,
Professor Christopher Chen
Editor-in-Chief
International Surgery