What is your opinion?

EDITORIAL

What is your opinion?

We have commented several times in this editorial on the need for us to view the Internet as a means of disclosure and distribution of scientific journals, especially the Brazilian Journal of Orthopaedics, or RBO.

Several publications are already presented exclusively online, and we are reluctant to let our RBO be handled, transported and filed almost as a plaything - to have it in a tablet. We cannot deny that the electronic form is much cheaper, allows greatly superior image quality and enables more direct and objective search and retrieval of articles.

We discussed the various options with the publishers at the 43rd CBOT conference and decided to hear the readers' opinion.

The number of articles, which is progressively increasing, to the point where we are seeing a delay of almost a year in the pace of publications, obliges us to think about three possible options:

• We could increase the number of articles per journal, an attitude that would result in an increase in the journal's cost and in the cost of delivery by mail, and would solve the problem temporarily;

• We could increase the number of journals per year, which would basically produce the same difficulties;

• We could publish part of the journal in printed form, as we already do, and cite a number of articles that would be available online in full. Thus, we could satisfy the demand for publications and would use our electronic form, which has existed since 1993, to update the flow of publications. Articles published in electronic form would have the same citation value, as they would be listed in the printed form.

Some journals, such as Arthroscopy, already use this publication method for papers on surgical techniques, papers that require more precise images and case reports.

I would like to know your opinion.

In this manner, we will be able to test the Internet as a form of communication and discover your view of the subject.

Please reply by choosing one of the options and send it to: [e-mail]

We will inform the result at a convenient time.

Thank you,

Gilberto Luis Camanho

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  24 Feb 2012
• Date of issue
  2011