Abstract
Purpose
To identify the characteristics of the manuscripts submitted to the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia (CJA) associated with their acceptance or rejection and to analyze the reviewers’ comments and their impact on the editors’ decision to publish.
Methods
Peer review material was analyzed from 213 submissions to the CJA. Characteristics of accepted and rejected manuscripts were compared. Reviewers’ comments were classified according to editorial criteria used by the journal and the distribution of the different types of comments amongst accepted and rejected submissions was compared.
Results
Characteristics of 213 manuscripts and comments from 405 reviewers were analyzed. Overall, 57% of manuscripts submitted to the CJA were accepted. The type of research (study vs case report, clinical vs laboratory science) had no impact on the fate of the manuscripts; however, frequency of acceptance differed between articles originating from different geographic regions (P < 0.0001) with Canadian submissions posting the highest frequency (86%). Comment analysis suggests that the relationship between the experimental design, the results, and the conclusion was the main determinant of an article’s fate. Lack of originality or inappropriate experimental design were likely to be associated with rejection. Conversely, aspects involving the presentation of manuscripts (tables, figures, references) were rarely cited as reasons to justify acceptance or rejection.
Conclusion
Although articles are judged on many criteria, authors need to be aware that some aspects of a manuscript, namely the relationship between experimental design, results, and conclusions, the originality, and the use of an appropriate study design, are the most important features with regard to its acceptance or rejection.
Résumé
Objectif
Déterminer les caractéristiques des manuscrits, soumis au Journal canadien d’anesthésie (JCA), qui sont associées à leur acceptation ou à leur rejet et analyser les commentaires des réviseurs ainsi que leur influence sur la décision de publier.
Méthode
Le matériel soumis à l’examen des pairs a été analysé à partir de 213 textes envoyés au JCA. Les caractéristiques des manuscrits acceptés et rejetés ont été comparées. Nous avons classé les commentaires des réviseurs selon les critères de la rédaction utilisés par le journal et nous avons comparé la distribution des différents types de commentaires concernant les textes acceptés et rejetés.
Résultats
Les caractéristiques de 213 manuscrits et les commentaires de 405 réviseurs ont été analysés. Globalement, 57 % des manuscrits présentés au JCA ont été acceptés. Le type de recherche (étude vs observation de cas, science clinique vs science de laboratoire) n’avait pas d’impact sur le sort des manuscrits; cependant, la fréquence d’acceptation était différente entre les articles provenant de différentes régions géographiques (P < 0,0001), les articles canadiens étant les plus souvent acceptés (86 %). L’analyse des commentaires montre que la relation entre le devis expérimental, les résultats et la conclusion constitue le principal déterminant de l’avenir d’un article. Le manque d’originalité ou un devis expérimental inapproprié risquent d’être associés à un rejet. Par ailleurs, les aspects concernant la présentation des manuscrits (tableaux, figures, références) sont rarement cités pour justifier l’acceptation ou le rejet.
Conclusion
Les articles sont jugés selon de nombreux critères, mais les auteurs doivent savoir que certains aspects d’un texte, soit la relation entre le devis expérimental, les résultats et la conclusion, l’originalité et l’utilisation d’une méthodologie appropriée sont les plus importantes caractéristiques de l’acceptation ou du refus d’un manuscrit.
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Turcotte, C., Drolet, P. & Girard, M. Study design, originality and overall consistency influence acceptance or rejection of manuscripts submitted to the Journal. Can J Anesth 51, 549–556 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03018396
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03018396