Seeking Excellence

Many of the papers that come to the Journal are focused on research that occurs in a single region or country. Although such papers report on important research and are valuable to a regional audience, they are not well-suited to the global audience that the Journal serves. All region-specific papers will be returned to the authors, with encouragement to expand their research to identify how their findings contribute to our global body of knowledge.

Every manuscript that is published in the Journal must be underpinned by a scientific premise and contribute to the existing body of knowledge. Authors must consider how their new knowledge and/or innovation relate to our industry. The submitted manuscript must have a clear explanation of the primary contributions the research imparts to the body of knowledge. These claims must be present in the submission in three different places, as follows: (1) the last submission form question, which provides 2,000 characters to explicitly make these claims; (2) the Abstract; and (3) the Conclusion. Claims to new knowledge are best made when placed in the context of the “Point of Departure or Existing Body of Knowledge.” Claims to industry relevance are best made by describing the transformation from a state of the practice to a state of the art.

In an effort to decrease processing time and increase the quality of our submissions, the Journal has implemented a limit on manuscript revisions. If a manuscript is not ready for publication or review by “editor only” after the second set of revisions, the manuscript will be “declined with encouragement to resubmit.” If the authors choose to resubmit, the manuscript will be treated as a new submission, a new ID number will be assigned, and the manuscript will begin a new review cycle. The authors must include the old manuscript number in the cover letter and a detailed list of the changes that they made.

I invite all of our authors and reviewers to join me in striving for continued excellence in research and in the effective dissemination of that knowledge.