Editorial

Citation

Finch, E. (2009), "Editorial", Facilities, Vol. 27 No. 5/6. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.2009.06927eaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Facilities, Volume 27, Issue 5/6

This year, Facilities has adopted EarlyCite, which is is Emerald’s online, pre-publication service that will enable readers of Facilities to access journal articles prior to official publication. This is important for the journal Facilities in three respects:

1. 1.

   it demonstrates continuity and forward planning in terms of publication output;

2. 2.

   it provides a timely publication outlet for a sector characterized by rapidly emerging issues; and

3. 3.

   it provides a mechanism for the academic community to respond to published work prior to official publication.

On the first point, the ongoing efforts to obtain ISI listing (Citation Index) is of increasing importance to the academic community and the discipline of facilities management itself. As a fledgling discipline spanning less than three decades, the quality of academic output is in the spotlight. However, the sustained standard and throughput of academic publications, as witnessed by those published in Facilities, will inevitably help in this cause. EarlyCite helps in this endeavor, by demonstrating the continuity of article scheduling, leading up to the final printed form.

On the second point, a characteristic of academic journal publishing is that articles are all too often held in a queue, awaiting publication for many months before an issue becomes available. This is particularly true of successful journals like Facilities that attract a high volume of submissions. Through EarlyCite, authors’ research can be disseminated, read and potentially cited earlier. Similarly, users have earlier access to up-to-date research.

Lastly, EarlyCite provides an opportunity for timely discussion papers, whereby authors can engage in written critiques (both positive and negative) of papers appearing in the journal, at least three months before the publication appears in the printed form. We would welcome discussion papers of this nature and see this as part of being a mature FM academic community.

Edward Finch