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FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR’S DESK |
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| Year : 2010 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1 |
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From the Chief Editor's Desk
R Raveendran
Chief Editor
| Date of Web Publication | 21-Jun-2010 |
Correspondence Address:
R Raveendran
Chief Editor
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0976-500X.64527
How to cite this article:
Raveendran R. From the Chief Editor's Desk. J Pharmacol Pharmacother 2010;1:1 |
The message I would like to convey is rather simple - 'we are starting a journal'. But then editors in general are not known for brevity notwithstanding the restrictions they impose on the contributors with respect to manuscripts the later submit. I am not an exception and hence this communication.
 Why Another Journal? | |  |
Why not another journal? It is claimed that the country is fast emerging as a hub for clinical trials. There is a manifold increase in the teaching and research institutes offering postgraduate training in pharmacology. It is expected that the post-GATT era would eventually force the pharmaceutical industry in India to get into some serious and meaningful basic research. There is already an increased awareness of the need for industry-academia collaboration. As a result of all these, one can reasonably expect the quantum of research in pharmacology and the output (publications) would go up in the coming years. But, is there enough number of journals in the country for researchers to communicate their findings? Sadly the answer is 'no'. The number of pharmacology journals published from India is just one. The Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics (JPP) is an attempt to fill this void. JPP is not in competition with any other journal and we believe there is room for all.
| How is JPP Going to be Different? | | |
Controversies
A former editor of JAMA once wrote in an editors' forum " If you do not ruffle a few feathers, there is no point in being an editor". Surely we would not hesitate to 'ruffle a few feathers' if there is a need to do so to achieve something good. " The controversial articles will be strictly scrutinized to protect the interests of the journal," remarked an editor in the annual meeting of an association. This, in my opinion, is nothing but a euphemism for " we do not want to publish any article that displeases anyone". JPP will not have such inhibitions. In fact, when the same editorial team was running the Indian Journal of Pharmacology (IJP), we never hesitated to raise important issues that were considered controversial and unpleasant by the pharmacologists in the country. We never believed sweeping the dirt under the carpet then. Not now either.
Rapid response
One of the common complaints from the contributors against the journals published from India is " we never get a reply" or " it is months before they reply". When I was the chief editor of IJP, we had a policy that any letter written to IJP would be replied within a week. Many times, replies were sent within 48 h. There was a delay during holidays or when the editors were not available in the office. No mails - except the abusive and irrelevant ones - to the best of my knowledge were left unanswered. We, here in JPP, are planning to do better than that. All mails will be acknowledged within 24 hrs and a suitable reply will be given within three days. We realize that it is not an easy goal to achieve but nevertheless we would like to make an attempt.
Educating the contributors
The quality of a journal depends on its contributors. It is expected at least for considerable years most submissions would be from India. Hence, it would be not be a bad idea to help the contributors to update their knowledge on research methodology including statistics and biomedical communication. When we were with IJP, we conducted a number of workshops on these topics under the aegis of IJP. The editors of JPP will wholeheartedly support any department/institute who would like to conduct workshops on research methodology and biomedical communication by offering all possible assistance.
New sections
In a medical journal which is primarily meant for communication of research findings, starting an entirely new section demands very good imagination. We have started 'postgraduate corner' dealing with topics of interest to postgraduates. The 'Molecules of millennium' and the 'Web Wise' started by our editors while they were with IJP are making their re-incarnation in the JPP. Some more new ideas are also on the pipeline and we are exploring the possibilities of making them a reality.
The journal is here and we need your support. Will JPP carve its own niche and occupy its own space in the world of publications? Yes, we believe so.
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| KK Mueen Ahmed | | J Young Pharm. 2011; 3(2): 81-82 | | [Pubmed] | [DOI] | |
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