The November issue of the Journal of Swine Health and Production (JSHAP) is always one of my annual favorites as it is the issue of thanks! I have said it before and I will say it again, that it is a team effort to manage, peer-review, and publish the journal.
Last year when I wrote my November/December issue message, I was sincerely grateful that I could share with you that the journal had been thriving during the pandemic. This continues to be the case. The pandemic has affected people very differently depending on where you live, job demands, and life responsibilities. Our reviewers reside across North America and beyond our continental boarders. Yet, we almost always receive a whole-hearted “yes, I will review a paper for you” when we reach out to reviewers. It is imperative to have comprehensive peer-reviews of our publications and our reviewers take their job seriously. In my mind, this reflects the commitment our reviewers and authors have towards maintaining the high quality of our reviews and final publications.
While I usually only put my “thank you” formally into print for my November/ December issue message, please know that the gratitude is there all year. Everyone’s contribution to the journal is one step forward towards sharing and advancing our knowledge. Once again, I would like to draw your attention to the list of people on page 357 of this issue who offered their time to conduct peer-reviews. Thank you to those who found time in their schedules to conduct a peer-review for the journal.
Another important aspect of high-quality peer-reviewed manuscripts (and research) is the quality of the reporting of the research. The journal has published peer-reviewed articles under the heading of Special Topic before. This issue brings another Special Topic related to reporting guidelines. The journal does not require authors to strictly adhere to different reporting guidelines, but it is encouraged that authors, and peer-reviewers, take these guidelines into consideration. For a busy practitioner reading and interpreting manuscripts, these reporting guidelines can also help you critically evaluate the literature that comes across your desk. The author guidelines section of the journal website contains templates for manuscript submissions. The different types of reporting guidelines are also available on the journal website to facilitate locating them and encourage their use.
I hope you enjoy this issue.
Terri O’Sullivan, DVM, PhD
Executive Editor