New Impact for the Journal

The European Thyroid Journal (ETJ) is now in its 8th year of existence and has earned its own place in the biomedical literature. When we started the journal back in 2011, I considered it as an experiment and experiments can either succeed or fail. Failure seems no longer possible: the journal is here to stay. The number of submitted papers gradually increased over the years, and its flow was more than sufficient to support the transition from a quarterly journal to a bimonthly journal 2 years ago without jeopardizing the quality. Quality is key to the journal, and reviewers are instrumental to safeguard the scientific quality of our published papers. As a courtesy to our reviewers, we list below the names of all who have reviewed for the journal in 2018. The journal has gone much further in acknowledging the essential role of reviewers by establishing the ETJ Best Reviewer Award. Criteria are the number of reviews done for the journal, the quality of the reviews, and the speed in which the reviews are returned. Winners have been Maria Alevizaki in 2016, Steen Bonnema in 2017, George J. Kahaly in 2018, and Kris Poppe in 2019. Awards are presented at the opening session of the annual ETA meeting and consist of a plaque and reimbursement of the registration fee and travel expenses to the annual meeting. ETJ is the formal journal of the European Thyroid Association (ETA), and as such the natural home of ETA guidelines. Up to now, we have published 16 guidelines, on average 2 per year. We publish on all aspects of thyroidology, but consistent with patients’ and clinicians’ current needs, thyroid cancer, Graves’ orbitopathy, and T4 + T3 combination therapy are topics of special attention. Whereas about 50% of submissions have come from Europe, 25% are derived from Asia, 20% from North America and Latin America, and 5% from elsewhere. The journal thus has developed a truly international flavor.

It took a relatively long time before ETJ was given an impact factor. Impact factors of biomedical journals are calculated based on citation rates and curated by a commercial company called Clarivate. The process by which a journal is given an impact factor lacks transparency and there is no right of appeal. Although there is much doubt about the value attached to impact factors, many universities worldwide still use the impact factors as a tool to evaluate the scientific standing of their professors, departments etc. It seems incongruous that such a relevant evaluation tool for academia is completely at the whim of a commercial company. The more so because one is at a loss when e.g. administrative errors result in no impact factor. Against this background I am delighted to announce that ETJ just got its first impact factor of 3.025. This lies around the median rank for journals in endocrinology and metabolism, and is significantly better than several longer established publications. This is the new impactfor the Journal and is an excellent first entry, reflecting the number of ETJ papers cited over 2017 and 2018. We hope this innovation will stimulate more submissions, especially in the field of basic thyroidology. The other new impactfor the Journal is that we will have a new editor-in-chief as of July 1st, 2019: Simon Pearce. Simon is a long-standing supporter of the Journal, having submitted a paper on the first day that the manuscript submission system “went live,” in October 2011. In his capacity as associate editor for Clinical Thyroidology he knows the Journal very well already, thereby securing a seamless transition. Patrice Rodien from Angers will succeed Simon as associate editor for Clinical Thyroidology.

Personal Comment from Simon. As the incoming Editor-in-Chief, I need to pay a personal tribute to Wilmar Wiersinga for his vision in 2011 of developing and launching ETJ as the official journal of the European Thyroid Association, and for his tireless hard work over the last 9 years to guide it through to its current position. This has been a great service for the global community involved in the science and clinical art of thyroidology as well as for the European Thyroid Association. With the newly designated impact factor, Wilmar leaves the Journal in excellent standing for the future. As well as my sincere personal thanks for trusting me with this legacy, the President, Officers and Members of ETA also acknowledge a debt to Wilmar’s talents and dedication in steering ETJ to its current strong position.

Wilmar M. Wiersinga, Amsterdam

Simon H. Pearce, Newcastle-upon-Tyne