Publication delays and associated factors in ophthalmology journals

Yinglin Yu; Wei Li; Chaoqun Xu; Yuan Tan; Weining Zhu; Bowen Zhang; Yingshi Zou; Leyi Hu; Guangming Jin; Zhenzhen Liu

doi:10.7717/peerj.14331

Publication delays and associated factors in ophthalmology journals

PeerJ. 2022 Nov 3:10:e14331. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14331. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yinglin Yu^#¹, Wei Li^#², Chaoqun Xu¹, Yuan Tan¹, Weining Zhu², Bowen Zhang², Yingshi Zou¹, Leyi Hu¹, Guangming Jin¹, Zhenzhen Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
² Sun Yat-sen University, Zhongshan Medical School, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the publication delays and correlative factors of peer-reviewed ophthalmology journals.

Methods: The ophthalmology journals listed in the Journal Citation Report 2020 were retrieved from the Web of Science database. The first original research article of each journal issue from January to December 2020 was extracted, and its submission, final revision, acceptance, and publication dates were obtained. Information on impact factors, advance online publication (AOP) status, open access (OA) rate and acceptance rate in 2020 was also collected. The correlations between publication delays and potential associated factors were analyzed.

Results: A total of 58 ophthalmology journals were included and information on 685 articles was collected. The median times from submission to acceptance, from acceptance to publication, and from submission to publication were 118.0 (IQR, 74.0-185.0) days, 31.0 (IQR, 15.0-64.0) days, and 161.0 (IQR, 111.0-232.0) days, respectively. A higher impact factor was correlated with shorter delays of acceptance and publication (P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between acceptance rates and publication delays (r = 0.726, P = 0.007). Forty-seven (81.03%) journals provided AOP. There was no statistically significant difference for impact factors and publication delays between journal with and without AOP (all P > 0.05). No correlation between OA rate and publication delays or impact factors was detected (all P > 0.05).

Conclusions: Journals with higher impact factors and lower acceptance rates tend to have quicker publication processes. No significant associations were detected between publication delays and AOP or OA rate.

Keywords: Bibliometrics; Impact factor; Ophthalmology journals; Publication delays.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Ophthalmology*
Peer Review
Periodicals as Topic*
Time Factors

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81873675). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.