08/05/1991

Auburn-Based Scientific Journal Wins Acclaim

AUBURN, Ala.—When the scientific journal Domestic Animal Endocrinology was first published in 1984, it was the pet project of several Auburn University scientists who edited, produced, and published it in their "spare" time.

Eight volumes later, the journal has been ranked as one of the leading scientific journals in the world and its publishing rights have been sold to a major international publishing company.

According to Dr. Jim Sartin, editor-in-chief of the journal and an Auburn University animal health researcher, the Institute for Scientific Information in its recently released Journal Rankings Issue summarized journal rankings for 1989. The Institute ranked the quarterly publication of Domestic Animal Endocrinology in the top 20 percent of more than 4,300 scientific journals in the world, and number one in the area of veterinary medicine based on scientific impact.

Sartin explained that endocrinology involves the study of glands that secrete hormones which in turn regulate such functions as reproductive cycles and growth. Though several journals focusing on endocrinology were available, Sartin and other endocrinologists working on research through the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn University felt there was a need for one that focused on domestic animals.

"There were general journals that published a wide variety of topic materials, and there were very specialized journals that dealt only with the rat species or the human," Sartin said. "There was no place where you could go and read about dogs, cats, sheep, cattle, pigs and other domesticated animals."

Sartin and fellow Auburn scientists Dr. Robert Kemppainen of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Drs. Dennis Marple and Hardin Rahe of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences and Dr. John Pritchett of the Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, decided to initiate a publication dedicated to the endocrinology of domestic species.

Sartin noted that their approach was uncommon. "All of the other journals we knew of were either started by a publishing company or developed through a professional scientific society, and they've been around a long time," he said.

According to Sartin, naivety was a big factor in their start-up. "Dr. Kemppainen, Dr. Rahe and myself were all new on the faculty, still wet behind the ears, and we didn't know what we were getting into," he laughed. "In spite of that, we did it anyway." Sartin said Drs. Pritchett and Marple, both of whom had experience with journals, provided the essential expertise.

After okaying their idea with administrators and putting up their own money to get the project started, the group began advertising for papers and subscriptions. "We thought it would be a very slow process building up subscriptions, but within a few months we had a more than 100," Sartin recalled. Once the journal was actually in print, the subscription rate continued to grow and now numbers about 400.

Working with a Montgomery printer, the Auburn researchers divided up the duties of editing, business management and production of the journal. Eventually the journal grew enough to warrant part-time clerical help, but the editors continued to spend many hours labeling and stuffing envelopes, soliciting subscribers, and performing other management functions.

According to Sartin, the rankings are a nice reward for their efforts. "The rankings represent an external measure of our progress," he said. "Ours is a relatively new journal. It's hard to really compare what this figure means against another journal that's been around for 50 or 60 years and is backed by a professional society. But I think it speaks very highly of the quality of the journal."

"The Institute for Scientific Information rankings did not include Domestic Animal Endocrinology in the animal and dairy sciences category, though based on the scientific impact factors of others in this area, we would be number one in that category as well," he added.

According to Sartin, some of the work has now been lifted from the shoulders of the A.U. editors. Butterworth Publishing in Stoneham, Mass., has bought the publishing rights to the journal, and will assume many of the management duties, allowing the researchers to concentrate on selection and editing of articles.

"We now only have to worry about the scientific quality of the journal," he said. "I really think this will help improve quality and ensure permanence for the journal."

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By:
Katie Smith