Retracted: Publishing in the Journal of Hydrologic Engineering

The editors of the Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (JHE) continually strive to improve the quality of the publication for the benefit of the journal’s readers. To keep the lines of communication open between authors, reviewers, and editorial staff, which includes more than 30 dedicated associate editors, the editors would like readers to be aware of the journal’s submission procedure.

In recent years, well over 300 submissions have been received each year, with a final acceptance rate of around 60%. Submissions come in the form of technical papers, case studies, technical notes, and discussion and forum papers. The average time from submission to notification of authors regarding the first decision is around 100 days, with a goal of decreasing that to no more than 90 days. The time from submission to publication is approximately 10 months, but this varies with the number of submissions and the time required by the authors to respond to reviewer comments. While authors usually take around 50 days to respond to comments, the editors’ goal is to reduce this to 30 days. Reviewers generally complete their review in 4 weeks, though this time varies widely.

Along with the number of submissions, the impact factor (IF) has risen in recent years. For example, in 2010 the IF was 0.787, while in 2012 it was 1.379, a 78% increase. The 5-year IF has increased from 1.43 in 2008 to 1.63 in 2012. The editors would like to see this number continue to rise. It is believed that this rise in IF reflects the improved quality of papers. Online usage has steadily increased from approximately 34,000 full-text downloads in 2011 to slightly more than 39,000 downloads in 2013.

The goal of the editorial board is to continue the upward trend toward making the JHE a premier journal in hydrologic engineering. This will require the dedication of authors, reviewers, and the entire editorial board. Authors can do their part by organizing their manuscripts and ensuring that their papers observe rules of proper English grammar. While hydrology is interpreted in a very broad sense to include hydrogeology, ecohydrology, and water quality, authors should ensure that their articles are appropriate for readers of the JHE by verifying that article contents conform with the scope of the journal. The most common concerns of reviewers are as follows:

It is especially important for authors to clearly respond to all reviewer comments because a revised paper is generally returned to the same associate editor and reviewers to reassess the revised manuscript. Addressing all of the comments of the reviewers and the editorial board, whether in terms of revising the paper according to the comments or by providing a thoughtful rebuttal, greatly increases the likelihood of acceptance. Ignoring the review comments or simply offering a perfunctory response is not a good recipe for success.

Again, the editorial staff of the JHE is continually looking for ways to increase the quality and usefulness of the journal. Suggestions for improvements are welcome and should be directed to the editors. Every effort will be made to act on reader recommendations.