From Fish To Philosopher: Journal of Allied Health Editorials: 2008-2020

By Thomas W. Elwood

From Fish To Philosopher is the title of a book that Dr. Thomas Elwood, the current Editor of the Journal of Allied Health, read in 1962. It relates the story of vertebrate kidney evolution seen through the function of that organ at different phylogenetic levels. A similar embryological perspective can be employed use

• Language: English
• Publisher: Science & Medicine, Inc
• Release date: Sep 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781792348013

Book preview

FROM FISH TO PHILOSOPHER

Journal of Allied Health Editorials

2008–2020

All proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the

Scholarship of Excellence Fund

which was established by the Association of Schools of Allied

Health Professions (ASAHP) to provide financial assistance to

students at the organization’s member institutions.

FROM FISH TO PHILOSOPHER

Journal of Allied Health Editorials: 2008–2020

ISBN 978-1-7923-4800-6 [book]

ISBN 978-1-7923-4801-3 [e-book]

© 2020 Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, reprinted, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, microfilm, and recording, or held in any information storage and retrieval system, without the expressed written permission of the publisher.

All proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the Scholarship of Excellence Fund, which was established by the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) to provide financial assistance to students at the organization’s member institutions.

Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions

122 C Street NW, Ste 200

Washington, DC 20001

Tel [phone]

www.asahp.org

Published by:

Science & Medicine, Inc.

Narberth, PA

www.sciandmed.com

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Embryological Perspective of Journal of Allied Health

Impact Factors, Socrates on Written vs. Spoken Words

Language Changes, Print vs. Electronic Journals, Research Productivity

Understanding the Editorial Process (e.g., Writing Quality)

Words Take on New Meanings, Shifts in Manuscript Topics

Health Professions, IPE, Complementary/Alternative Medicine

Leadership Development, Health Workforce

Gap between Research and Practice, Research Notes/Potential Patterns

Demographic Scholarship, Reductionist Scientific Method

Measuring Readership, Comparisons with Other Journals

Health Disparities, Differential Interpretation of Word Meanings

Reviewer Selection, Improving Manuscript Quality

Bypassing Formal Peer Review, Alternative Layers of Assessment

Advances in Publishing, Use of Impact Factors

Open Access Journal Financing, Evolving Role of Health Journals

Idea Dissemination, Reliability/Validity, Researcher Degrees of Freedom

Misconduct and Retraction of Publications, Journal Vigilance

Lockean vs. Darwinian Reasoning, Use of Apes in Research, Multiple Authorship

MOOCs, Faculty Adjuncts and Potential Research Impact on Research

Authenticity of Publications, Fee Payments by Authors

Paradigm Impact on Investigations, Percentile Ranking of Manuscripts and Outcomes

Production Data, Manuscripts Submitted by Health Profession

Observational Studies, Publication Bias

Methods for Characterizing Patients, Future Health Workforce Needs

Role of Impact Factors, Growth of Predatory Journals

Topics of Interest to Readers, Improving Manuscript Quality

Growth in Number of Periodicals, Scientific Quantity vs. Quality

Digital Access, Publishing Costs, Impact Factor Comparisons

Measuring Publication Impact, Most Popular Publication Topics

Peer Review Fabrications, Manuscript Readability, Gender and Interdisciplinary Research

Federal Research Grant Support, Peer Review Process and Outcomes

Manuscript Solicitation by Journals, Publication Experiments, Multiple Authorship

Conflicting Review Results, Gender Bias Issues

Possible End of Journal Subscriptions, Retraction Watch

Behind the Editorial Scene, Journal Imperfections, Plan S

Stages in Manuscript Acceptance, Reviewer Ethics, Gender Linguistics

Allied Health History, Communication through Metaphors, Inexactitudes

Gender Authorship, Reproducibility Crisis, Research Transparency

Detecting Predatory Journals, Open Access-Plan S, Gender Aspects of Research/Publications

DNA Helix, Posthumous Reckoning, Compromised Manuscript Quality

Index

Foreword

EVOLUTION can be characterized as gradual development often bringing change, especially from a simple to a more complex stage. This dynamic affects all of us in practically all aspects of our lives. The digital to information ages can be held accountable, bombarding us with information, tasking us with quicker reactions, and prompting more immediate responses. Focused time and reflection can be sacrificed in order to serve the multitude of masters of our time.

This book captures the evolution of the Journal of Allied Health with a collection of editorials eloquently crafted by a masterful scholar who draws our attention to topics that matter in health research, policies, and publication. The author offers us valued focus, reflections, accounts, and musings on topics that stamp time periods, offer lessons, demonstrate impact, guide decision-making, and help us determine our next actions or make sense of the current reality.

The heart of the enterprise consists of the time and effort devoted by reviewers to assess the quality of manuscripts. Hundreds of manuscripts are submitted to the Journal every year. The author orchestrates the reviewing and winnowing process much like a symphony to eventually reach production. The outcomes reveal the magnitude of success. This year the Association’s Journal of Allied Health was among the top-ranked journals among 11,000 periodicals for largest number of downloads. The Journal attracts submitted manuscripts at a brisk pace internationally, originating from Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand.

The Journal will continue to depict evolution as characterized by its contents and highlighted by the Editor. Consider this book a mentor with experience that becomes an informant to your future.

PHYLLIS M. KING, OT, PHD, FAOTA, FASAHP

President, ASAHP

Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

August 2020

Introduction

One form of acquaintance with the Journal of Allied Health began when ASAHP President David Broski approved my creating a series of articles under the heading A View From Washington. Between the Fall 1989 issue and the Fall 2016 issue, I wrote approximately 40 articles that attempted to convey how a series of political vicissitudes in the nation’s capital affected health care policy and the health professions, with a special emphasis on any impacts on allied health in particular.

Beginning in Fall 2008, my orientation with ASAHP’s periodical was broadened when I was appointed its editor. The ever-changing face of federal politics was instrumental in placing me in the position of considering whether it also might be worthwhile to view the universe of professional journals from the perspective of a different kind of ebb and flow that characterizes both the Journal of Allied Health and the wider world of academic publishing.

A common practice in composing editorials for health journals is for an editor to comment on the essential contents of any issue by providing readers with concise summaries and keen insights regarding the potential implications for education and clinical practice of one or more articles. Instead of adhering to that highly valuable practice, I aimed to see if a different kind of editorial might prove useful in apprising readers of ongoing thematic considerations that shed light on the inner workings of the Journal of Allied Health while simultaneously attempting to acquaint them with developments that include changes in the logistics of publishing and key relationships between academic libraries and publishing firms.

Production of a book in both print and electronic versions is an outcome of this effort, along with a companion piece in the form of a series of podcast recordings based on a select group of editorials I wrote that were published between 2008 and 2020 in the Journal of Allied Health. From Fish To Philosopher is the title of a book from the 1950s that I read in 1962. It relates the story of vertebrate kidney evolution seen through kidney function of different phylogenetic levels.

It seemed apparent to me that a similar embryological perspective could be employed usefully as a conceptual framework to reveal how the Journal continues to evolve from one quarterly issue to the next by reflecting changing sets of circumstances over that defined time interval. That original book’s title, From Fish To Philosopher, was used as a heading for a Journal editorial in the Spring 2012 issue and is being repeated on the cover of the present collection of editorials.

The intended audience is of a two-fold nature:

• Prospective authors might find it worthwhile to become familiar with some inner workings of the Journal of Allied Health that pertain to the peer review process, reasons why manuscripts are accepted or rejected for publication, improving manuscript quality, multiple authorship, and related topics of possible interest.

• Readers with a broad interest in the rapidly evolving world of professional periodicals may benefit by learning more about open access publishing trends, why articles are retracted, role of impact factors, publication bias, growth of predatory journals, problems of scientific quantity/quality, the future of libraries, replicability challenges, and women as researchers and authors.

Several editorials address cross-cutting issues. For readers and listeners with a special interest in certain topics, the following rough guide may prove beneficial:

Authors and Researchers: Episodes 3, 18, 19, 24, 32, 33, 36, 38, 39

Manuscript Quality and Mechanics: Episodes 4, 7, 8, 10, 16, 17, 22, 26, 27, 28, 30, 34, 38, 40

Peer Review: Episodes 12, 13, 21, 25, 31, 33, 35, 36

Language and Nomenclature: Episodes 5, 37

Impact Measurement: Episodes 10, 14, 25, 28, 29, 32

Open Access: Episodes 15, 20, 23, 35

Predatory Journals: Episodes 23, 39

Both the book and the podcasts will be made available at no cost to individuals whose names are on the distribution list of publications of the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP). Revenues derived from any sales will go to the Association’s Scholarship of Excellence Fund to provide financial assistance to students at the organization’s member institutions.

THOMAS W. ELWOOD, DRPH

Leesburg, VA

September 2020

About the Author

THOMAS W. ELWOOD

Thomas W. Elwood began working for the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions (ASAHP) in Washington, DC, in 1988 and served as Executive Director from 1993 to November 2012 when he retired. Earlier positions include serving as chief health lobbyist while on the staff at AARP, a Deputy Director at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, and Director of Scientific Programs at the American Public Health Association.

In semi-retirement, he continues to serve as Chief Editor of the Journal of Allied Health and also teaches a graduate school-level health policy course offered by Rutgers University. A full scholarship student, he has both a Master’s and Doctorate degrees in public health from the University of California, Berkeley where he graduated with top honors. He was the individual selected to represent the School of Public Health in the Berkeley Professional Studies Program in India where he was assigned to the All India Institutes of Health in New Delhi. He also was one of three persons awarded an honorary doctorate in