Abstract
I hope you noticed that this issue of the journal contains more articles than typical for the JRME. The vast majority of individual issues of the journal for the past decade have included six research articles, or about twenty-four per four-issue volume year (April through January). A year ago in my Forum (Sims, 2012), however, I wrote about the dilemma of increased article lengths and publication page limits, which resulted in the last two issues of volume 59 containing fewer articles. I also shared the good news about Sage’s generosity in providing us with up to one hundred additional pages per year for no additional charge, beginning in April 2012. That is why we were able to publish eight articles in this issue.
Now that we have a better feeling for page numbers and typical article lengths, you should expect to see extra articles spaced out more evenly throughout the four issues—most likely there will be several issues per year with seven articles each. This is good news for authors, because it will reduce the time from acceptance to print.
Readers also will benefit from the increased number of articles per issue, by having access to articles months earlier than they would have otherwise. Those of you who would like the most up-to-date access to JRME articles, though, should sign up for Sage’s free email alerts. Individuals can choose to receive email messages when articles are posted in Onlinefirst, the publish-ahead-of-print function of Sage’s JRME website. In addition, you can elect to receive a short notice when there is a new issue ready for viewing and/or a list of the complete table of contents when the full issue is completed and ready for posting online and mailing.
Signing up for email alerts is very easy to do—just navigate to the journal’s homepage at http://jrm.sagepub.com/ and click on “Email Alerts” on the tab near the top middle of the page or the menu at the top right. You then will be prompted to log in or create a free account if you do not already have one. You can set your preferences for messages about the JRME, as well as for any of the other Sage journals in which you are interested, whether or not you personally subscribe to the journal. Once in the system, you also can sign up for alerts from selected Sage journals or categories of journals (e.g., social sciences and humanities) based on key words you choose and for citation alerts for articles you specify.
With access to more original research articles per year, and notices about the newest published research arriving in your inbox, it should be easier than ever to remain current with the research in the field. (Of course, this also means that there is more than ever to read and keep up with!) I also want to use this opportunity to extoll the virtues of individual subscriptions to the print version of the journal. Although I confess to having only anecdotal data on this, it seems that the version that sits on a “real” desktop is more likely to be read, or at least browsed, in its entirety than the version that arrives via the table of contents to a virtual desktop. For those avid readers who, like me, enjoy “wallowing” in research, print journals plus online alerts and access provide the maximum means for self-indulgence!