All San Lucas Medical journals have their own web pages with editorial contacts, guidelines for authors and recent and past tables of contents. Articles are also available online to institutional subscribers free of charge.

For guidance in constructing a new journal proposal please see our help-sheet “Guidance for a New Journal Proposal”.

Authors wishing to submit their own papers for publication in a journal should consult the notes for contributors on the appropriate journal home page.

GUIDANCE FOR A NEW JOURNAL PROPOSAL

We welcome suggestions for new journals, recognising that they provide an essential outlet for emerging areas of research. Below are the items that we like to see covered in a new journal proposal. This will help us, in conjunction with external reviewers, to fully assess it.

1. Background

• Please provide information about the subject field of the project and its current and future development.
• Please detail the full scope of the field.
• Detail the background to the project: Where does the project come from? What is its history? Who are the associates, if any? It is often desirable for a journal project to have the active support of an association or grouping.

2. Title

3. Aims and Scope?
We require an editorial statement of the aims and scope of the project. This should incorporate the following points:

• Purpose of the journal;
• Disciplines covered (or the cross disciplinary nature of);
• Intellectual level of the project;
• Its topicality;
• The unique emphases of the project.

4. The Rationale

• Why is there a need for this journal?
• What are the advantages of this project over the existing (or planned) competition? Or other existing outlets?
• What is the global audience for the journal?
• How will the journal generate sufficient high quality contributions?

5. Editorial Structure

• Who will be the Editors?
• Should there be Editors from North America, Europe and Pacific Rim?
• Please indicate likely members of the Editorial Board or team.
• How would the Editorial Board or team be selected?
• Please indicate how the journal would be administered.
• How would you expect to handle the peer review process?

6. Content

• Provide a list of the type of content that the journal might publish (ideally 'dream' article titles and authors).
• Please indicate the nature of the content e.g. research papers, review papers, case studies, rapid communications (letters), conference reports, calendar of events.
• Where is the work in this area being conducted? At what sort of institution is the work being conducted?
• What is the geographical spread of this work?
• Is there currently, or will there be, a teaching as well as a research base for this work?

7. The Market?
In many respects our assessment of a journal project is heavily dependent upon our assessment of the market. Many of the issues dealt with above are directly relevant to the issue of the potential market for a proposal. Nevertheless, we ask you to consider carefully the following points:

• Why is there a market for this journal?
• Who would subscribe to the journal? Which fields are they in? Which academic departments are they in? Approximately how many of these departments are there (by geographic location, worldwide?
• What is the size of the overall market in terms of actual numbers of individuals and in terms of actual numbers of institutions (libraries, organisations etc.), which might subscribe? Can you provide lists?
• Please indicate the international extent of the market (with special reference to Europe and North America).
• Is the market within academia or is there a practitioner/professional market? (Please elaborate upon any non-academic market, especially if you feel it is a prime market.).
• Can we easily reach the market(s) for this journal? If possible, please indicate examples of how we might best do this.
• Which relevant conferences might the potential readership attend?
• Which relevant societies might the potential readership belong to?

8. Publication

• What is the proposed frequency of publication and desired start date of publication?
• Is there a preferred format or size?
• Will the publication require special typographic features or design?
• Will the publication require illustrations or photographs?

9. Finance?
Is there prospect of the journal being adopted formally or informally by a professional or scholarly society, or alternative methods of funding some part of the start-up costs?

10. Review Process?
Please provide the name and contact details for four or five people in your proposed field of study who would be able to provide an informed expert opinion on this proposal. The names may include proposed members of the editorial boards but should also go wider. Please note that we will not necessarily contact all these people and we will contact others not on your list.