Of possible interest to the readers of this list. My apologies for
cross-posting. Please feel free to contact BioMed Central if you have any
questions. This announcement is also available at
http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/about/pr-releases?pr=20040624

Kind regards

Grace Baynes
BioMed Central

Press release: 24 June 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS PROVEN TO COMPETE ON QUALITY
BioMed Central journals get new impact factors from ISI*

LONDON and PHILADELPHIA: Open Access journals published by BioMed Central
have received impact factors that compare well with equivalent subscription
titles, it was announced today. The high impact factors, all for journals
that are just a few years old, prove that Open Access to research literature
achieves impact fast and makes quality articles much more widely visible.

Arthritis Research & Therapy jumped from 3.44 to 5.03, propelling it to rank
second in the rheumatology field in only its 5th year of publication. Breast
Cancer Research also increased its impact factor – moving from 2.81 to 2.93,
placing it on even footing with its direct competitor, Breast Cancer
Research & Treatment, which was established more than 20 years ago. Critical
Care moved up to 6th in its field, and now has an impact factor of 1.9. 

Four journals published by BioMed Central received their first impact
factors this year. Respiratory Research (5.53) comes in from nowhere to
immediately take second place in the respiratory field. Current Controlled
Trials in Cardiovascular Medicine has an impact factor of 3.12. BMC Cell
Biology (2.61) and BMC Health Services Research (0.67) also entered well.
 
BioMed Central saw its impact factors go up across the board. BMC Cancer now
has an impact factor of 1.7, while BMC Infectious Diseases (1.25) and BMC
Public Health (0.93) also saw increases in their impact factors from the
2002 Journal Citation Report.

The impact factors, which are calculated by ISI, look at articles published
in the journals in the period 2001-2002. To BioMed Central, the excellent
performance of its titles answers spurious accusations of low quality of
Open Access journals by some traditional subscriptions publishers.

Jan Velterop, BioMed Central’s Publisher, said:

“It is becoming ever clearer that BioMed Central’s Open Access journals,
once beyond their early infancy, are recognised as superior to their
subscription-based competitors with regard to making their quality articles
widely visible to, and usable by, anyone with an interest in them.”   

Traditional subscription publishers such as Elsevier have cast aspersions on
the objectivity of Open Access journals’ editorial decision-making.
According to CEO of Reed Elsevier Crispin Davis,

“If you are receiving potential payment for every article submitted there is
an inherent conflict of interest that could threaten the quality of the peer
review system and so on."**

The impact and quality of BioMed Central’s Open Access journals resoundingly
contradict this assertion. BioMed Central journals are all thoroughly
peer-reviewed and typically reject more than 50% of the manuscripts that are
submitted.

Thomson ISI is expected to publish an update of their citation analysis
shortly – comparing citation counts for Open Access journals and traditional
subscription products. In the press release announcing the April version of
the report, ISI stated “journals published in the new Open Access (OA) model
are beginning to register impact in the world of scholarly research”. The
statement continues “Using ISI citation metrics such as impact factor and
cited half life, the study focuses on determining whether OA journals
perform differently from other journals in their respective fields. The
study's initial findings indicate that there was no discernible difference
in terms of citation impact or frequency with which the journal is cited.”
BioMed Central expects this to change in favour of Open Access journals as
more data becomee available.

###




Press Office Contacts:

Grace Baynes for BioMed Central
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7631 9988
E-mail: [log in to unmask]

About BioMed Central
BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com) is an independent online
publishing house committed to providing immediate access without charge to
the peer-reviewed biological and medical research it publishes. This
commitment is based on the view that open access to research is essential to
the rapid and efficient communication of science. In addition to open-access
original research, BioMed Central also publishes reviews and other
subscription-based content.

*Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), Philadelphia, USA. Journal
Citation Report, 2003.

** From a statement made to the UK House of Commons Science and Technology
Committee inquiry into scientific publications, Monday 1 March 2004.
For the uncorrected transcript of the evidence session, please see
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmsctech/uc399-i/
uc39902.htm

Grace Baynes
Marketing Communications Manager
BioMed Central
Middlesex House
34-42 Cleveland Street
London W1T 4LB
T: +44 (0)20 7631 9988
F: +44 (0)20 7580 1938
http://www.biomedcentral.com/

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