THE EVIDENCE www.evidencejournals.com
Editorial Evidence Synthesis
Cite this Article
Singh M, Mathew JL, Sah R, Santos CAG, Kisa A, Morales AJR, Joshi A, Khubchandani J, Kishore J, Marzo RR, Adhikari A, Abubakari A, Singh A, Neyazi A, Mohanty A, Kabir R, Apostolopoulos V, Mewara A, Gandhi AP, Padhi BK, Navigating the future of academic publishing: mission and vision of "The Evidence". The Evi. 2023:01(01):1-. DOI:10.61505/evidence.2023.1.1.2
Available From
https://the.evidencejournals.com/index.php/j/article/view/2
Received: 2023-07-27
Accepted: 2023-09-19
Published: 2023-10-04
Evidence in Context

• The Evidence is a scientific, peer-reviewed journal introduced in response to widespread healthcare misinformation and disinformation. • The journal aims to provide rigorously vetted, evidence-based research, focusing especially on fields frequently misunderstood or misrepresented. • While many journals contribute to scientific understanding, "The Evidence" seeks to address areas where others fall short, such as bridging the gap between academia and the public, ensuring high-quality evidence, and emphasizing community engagement.

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Navigating the future of academic publishing: mission and vision of "The Evidence"

Meenu Singh1*, Joseph L Mathew2, Ranjit Sah3, Celso Augusto Guimaraes Santos4, Adnan Kisa5, Alfonso J Rodriguez Morales6, Ashish Joshi7, Jagdish Khubchandani8, Jugal Kishore9, Roy Rillera Marzo10, Atin Adhikari11, Abdulai Abubakari12, Aditya Singh13, Ahmad Neyazi14, Aroop Mohanty15, Russell Kabir16, Vasso Apostolopoulos17, Abhishek Mewara18, Aravind P Gandhi19, Bijaya K Padhi20

1 Executive Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.

2 Department of Pediatrics, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.

3 Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital Institute of Medicine, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal.

4 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal Da Paraiba, Paraiba, Brazil.

5 School of Health Sciences, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway.

6 Facultad De Medicina, Fundacion Universitaria Autonoma De Las Americas, Pereira, Colombia.

7 School of Public Health, University of Memphis, USA.

8 Department of Public Health Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, USA.

9 Department of Community Medicine, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, Delhi, India.

10 International Medical School, Management and Science University, Malaysia.

11 Jiann Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, USA.

12 Department of Sociology and Social Work, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana.

13 Department of Geography, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

14 Afghanistan Center for Epidemiological Studies, Herat, Afghanistan.

15 Department of Microbiology, Allindia Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.

16 School of Allied Health, Anglia Ruskin University, Essex, UK.

17 College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

18 Department of Medical Parasitology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.

19 Department of Community Medicine, ESIC Medical College Hospital Sanathnagar, Hyderabad, India.

20 Department Of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.

*Correspondence: meenusingh4@gmail.com

Abstract

In an era, fraught with healthcare misinformation and disinformation that frequently proliferates, the necessity for scientific, peer-reviewed journals like "The Evidence" is imperative. This journal aims to serve as a repository for rigorously vetted, evidence-based primary, secondary, and tertiary research. While offering a wide array of research articles, "The Evidence" specializes in fields that are commonly misunderstood or misrepresented. Whether examining the efficacy of a novel medication, the environmental consequences of a technology, or the sociological impact of a policy, the journal focuses on delivering critically appraised, current evidence to validate or challenge prevalent claims. The inception of "The Evidence" signifies not merely the addition of another academic journal but a pledge to maintain research integrity and democratize access to evidence-based knowledge.

Keywords: Peer-reviewed journal, Open-access model, Continuous publication model, Research integrity, Evidence-based medicine, Evidence-based research, Empirical, Systematic review.

© 2023 The author(s) and Published by the Evidence Journals. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Singh M et al., (2023): Mission and vision of “The Evidence”

"The Evidence" aims to establish a new benchmark in academic publishing through key unique features:

Unrestricted Access with Integrity: Commitment to an open-access model is maintained, ensuring rigorous peer-review processes and ethical standards.

Targeted Specialization: The journal functions as a repository for rigorously vetted, current research in specific domains commonly misunderstood or misrepresented.

Inclusive Public Engagement: The mission encompasses rendering academic research comprehensible and accessible to a wider audience via simple language and interactivemedia.

Maintaining Integrity in Open Access:A significant barrier to disseminating high-quality research is the paywall. "The Evidence" commits to an open-access model, ensuring that verified information is accessible to all, thereby democratizing knowledge. Upholding integrity while providing open access is a complex yet achievable aim for"TheEvidence." Here are some strategies that can be employed:

Editorial Policy: "The Evidence" advocates for and implements the guidelines and suggestions provided by the "Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)" [1], “the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)” [2], and the “World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)” [3] to ensure rigorous review and publication processes. The structured “Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT)” will be followed for greater transparency and recognition of author contributions[4].

Rigorous Peer Review: A stringent peer-review process serves as the first line of defense in maintaining the journal's integrity. "The Evidence" employs a double-blind peer-review system, ensuring anonymity for both authors and reviewers, thus minimizing bias.

Transparency: Transparency in the review and publication process aids in maintaining integrity. This includes publishing peer-review criteria, disclosing conflicts of interest, and revealing research funding sources.

Quality over Quantity: A selective publication strategy will uphold the journal's reputation. Although open access can result in a high volume of submissions, "The Evidence" places a strong emphasis on quality.

Regular Audits: Periodic internal and external audits can identify areas for improvement and ensure adherence to the journal's policies and guidelines.

ORCID iD: As a registered member of ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID), "The Evidence" requires the use of ORCID iDs for corresponding authors in all accepted research articles. Co-authors are strongly encouraged to use their ORCiD iDs for distinguishing individual researchers and address the issue of name confusion in academic literature.

Crossref: As a member of Crossref, "The Evidence" ensures that all its articles are easily discoverable and citable through the assignment of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs).

Continuous Publication Model: Since "The Evidence" uses a continuous publishing strategy, approved papers may be published online right away.

In the immediate future, the goals include:

Broadened Discoverability: The aim is to secure indexing with multiple abstracting and indexing services to enhance the journal’s visibility.

Impact Factor Enhancement: Through the dissemination of high-quality research, the objective is to achieve a noteworthy impact factor within the initial years of operation.

Community Development: Plans are in place to cultivate a robust community of contributors and readers engaged in evidence-basedresearch.

Long-Term Vision:The overarching vision is to establish "The Evidence" as a preeminent authority in evidence-based research. The aim is to proactively influence public opinion and policy, thereby contributing significantly to scientific understanding and societal well-being. As the journal gains prominence, plans exist to introduce special issues that focus on emergent

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Singh M et al., (2023): Mission and vision of “The Evidence”

topics requiring immediate attention, ranging from public health crises to technological advancements with ethical or societal implications. In this manner, the journal seeks to lead in shaping public opinion and policy based on scientific evidence. We can leave out the negative part 'rather than conjecture'.

Conclusion

The launch of "The Evidence" represents not merely the debut of another academic journal, but a steadfast commitment to preserving research integrity and facilitating universal access to evidence-basedknowledge.

Supporting information

None

Ethical Considerations

None

Acknowledgments

None

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author contribution statement

All authors contributed equally and attest they meet the ICMJE criteria for authorship and gave final approval for submission.

Data availability statement

Data included in article/supp. material/referenced in article.

Additional information

No additional information is available for this paper.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

References

1. Committee on Publication Ethics. International standards for editors and authors. Available from: https://publicationethics. org/node/11184; 2022. Accessed July 16, 2023 [Crossref][PubMed][Google Scholar]

2. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. Available from: https://www. icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf. 2023. Accessed July 16, 2023 [Crossref][PubMed][Google Scholar]

3. Winker MA, Ferris LE, WAME Ethics and Policy Committee, WAME Board. Promoting Global Health: The World Association of Medical Editors Position on Editors’ Responsibility. World Association of Medical Editors. 2015. Accessed July 16, 2023 [Article][Crossref][PubMed][Google Scholar]

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Singh M et al., (2023): Mission and vision of “The Evidence”

4. Allen L, O’Connell A, Kiermer V. How can we ensure visibility and diversity in research contributions? How the Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT) is helping the shift from authorship to contributorship. Learned Publishing. 2019;32: 71-74. [Article][Crossref][PubMed][Google Scholar]

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